The last week of September, 2019, Madrid held their second MadCrash event. And it was incredible. In case you don’t know what a ‘crash’ is, let me break it down for you. A crash is a multi-day event where Couchsurfers from all of the world come together, and hang out for a whole weekend. The local community plans a weekend of events, and in the case of Madrid, the organizers went above and beyond!
The event began on Thursday, with a Tapas tour that began at Pez Tortilla. Pez Tortilla, in case you are not a tortilla aficionado like myself, is the best tortilla in Madrid. Ok, that may be a little bold, but it is delicious. With tortilla flavors such as salmon, avocado and spinach or brie, truffle and ham; their tortilla provides a nice twist on the Spanish classic, and it was the perfect place to meet other Couchsurfers, get some dinner, kick off the weekend and get our MadCrash bracelets (which got us discounts and entrances to other crash events).
Friday night was the official welcome party and was held at Generator Hostel. This hostel is unlike any hostel I have stayed at in recent memory. The entrance looks like a chic cafe, and the rooftop has an incredible view of central Madrid. We had a photo booth set up capturing everyone’s selfies and watched the sunset as our weekend began.
Saturday was an action-packed day. There were many events to choose from, such as a free walking tour where Nacho, one of the organizers gave us a quick lesson in Madrid’s history. The gastronomical tour, where Jean-Marc showed us the less touristy, but equally delicious Madrid markets. A photo tour, a wine tour, a salsa tour, there were so many events to choose from that I truly wished I could be in two places at once. But the grand event of the day, was the evening event. Beginning at 10pm, we were treated to a Flamenco Workshop by the group Amorai Flamenco followed by a private Flamenco performance. If you have ever seen flamenco, you can imagine how incredible this way. Especially as we had just spent an hour learning the history, the words, and the moves.
Sunday was the final day of the crash, but it didn’t slow down at all. The morning kicked off with a running group, a cycling group, an intricately planned treasure hunt and the MadCrash picnic. The picnic was held at Parque Templo de Debod (a fascinating park centered around an Egyptian temple) and was the perfect end to the weekend. People played guitar, shared bocadillos and chorizo, played lawn games and the photo booth made another appearance. It was the perfect time to just meet Couchsurfers from all over the world and enjoy our last day in Madrid.
These events happen all over the world all year long, in fact I met many Couchsurfers who purposefully choose their holidays around Couch Crashes. In some countries they’re called ‘invasions’ or ‘camps’ or ‘national meetings’ but they all mean the same thing – an amazing weekend, filled with amazing people, in an amazing place. MadCrash, you were an incredible experience!
Aw, this was an incredibly nice post. Finding the time and actual effort to make
a great article… but what can I say… I hesitate a lot and don’t manage
to get anything done.