The Ryanair experience

For my travel to Madrid, I booked budget carried Ryanair. They have some extra cost-saving measures when compared to US budget carriers - most notably, no free beverages, ads on the seat backs, and a lack of seatback pocket. We also flew into Shönefeld, which doesn't have gates so we board and de-board via stairs.

And my flight included a guy in a hot dog suit (pictured below) and about 10 of his best friends.

At the conference

I grabbed this panorama of the main auditorium of the conference during the break before my talk. It's not too big, and I like how funky the yellow seats are. The talk went well, and I head back to Berlin tomorrow!

Conference Banquet

Most conferences have a nice dinner on one of the nights to celebrate all the excellent science - this one included a fancy ceiling and a piano player. I snapped this picture from my seat:

No time for anything more exciting, I've been brushing up the talk I'm giving tomorrow!

Madrid at night

I had a busy day at the conference (and hot - some of the AC stopped working) and I totally forgot to take a picture until I was nearly back at my rental apartment for the night. Ambulances look different here than they do in Germany, which is different than they look in the US. Also, you can see some of the architecture details in the buildings behind.

My next two days are also going to be pretty full, but I'll find *something* to post!

Conferencing, day one

I'm in Madrid for the rest of the week, attending the SDSS-IV meeting at the If you like science via twitter, you can follow along on twitter #sdss15. The meeting isn't in downtown Madrid, it's in the outskirts. It's in this building (it's a bit more lonely and hot than it looks).

I also snapped this picture of the Madrid skyline in the distance:

Not pictured: after today at the conference I joined some collaborators for dinner and drinks - very delicious!

PS: David has started posting too, so more pictures for you!!

Homeward Bound

Sarah and I are apart for the first time since our move, so to help give an idea of what my day looks like, I will be guest posting whenever we're in different places.  I have a busy week coming up at work, and after a delicious breakfast of Tortilla de Patata I hopped on a train bound for the airport.

Yesterday on the Teleferico Sarah and I saw 3 distinct skyscrapers seemingly set apart from the rest of the Madrid skyline.  I changed trains at a stop near the skyscrapers, and was surprised to find that there were 4 towers, not 3.

Ryanair is a low-cost no-frills air carrier that is (in?)famous for providing rock bottom flight prices at the cost of comforts.  Typical Ryanair departure lounges don't feature seating, and passengers line up (and stand) for over an hour waiting for the gate to open.

Flying into Germany felt like coming home, it was nice to see an abundance of greenery after the yellow, red, and brown hues of Sunny Spain.

Mostly food

Today, David headed back to Berlin and I mostly took it easy so I'd have plenty of energy for the SDSS meeting this week. Here's a sign from the place I had dinner with fellow astronomers in town for the conference:

And here is some seriously amazing tortilla David and I had for brunch:

And a gratuitous panorama of the inside of the tortilla place (La Bodega de la Ardosa). It was really neat inside - more like an old school bar with stand up tables than a restaurant. Both delicious and an experience. Hooray!

Day two in Madrid

Our main torist thing was El Teleférico - a cable car that essentially runs from a park to a slightly higher elevation park. Here's the inside of the cable car station:

We took some pictures from inside the car, but the windows were a little scratched, so most of them weren't all that good. Instead, here's David throwing a disk in the park at the top of the ride. Scenic Madrid skyline included:

We then walked by the Royal Palace, which is pretty majestic:

But most importantly, our day ended in chocolate con churros:

Madrid!

I have a conference in Madrid next week, so David and I are taking a mini-vacation here for the weekend. Despite getting in at about 3, we managed to hit went to the Prado Museum (they have free admission 2 hours before closing) and had some tasty food. And took these pictures:

The first few are on the way to the museum and in it, but this one is the Plaza del Sol at night.