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How to NOT mail a postcard abroad – Backpacking Europe

Need to mail a postcard abroad?

Look no further. Today we are going to learn what not to do in order to avoid these misfortunes for yourself. For the record – the postcard DID get mailed eventually… just with some complications in transit, naturally. If you need to mail a postcard abroad, use your discretion, people! Anyone can find their local correos with a little direction. Hopefully, this article will help you avoid the mishaps I had to endure. For the busy people who wish to get straight to it, click HERE!

Before the whole postcard chronicle, this was the last full day in Madrid and only two things were going to happen.

Find a postcard to mail.
Go have a picnic in a park.

Getting a late jump on the day was not a big deal since so many things were knocked off the list yesterday. On the way to Parque del Reitro, dropping into a market was a must. I’m not gonna lie, my body was ready to lay under the shade of some trees and tune out for a while. The shopping list was simple: some bread, meats and cheeses, plus some fruit would do the trick.

Leaving the market and walking to Retiro, I was hoping I could find a kiosk to pick up a postcard. It was not to be. A solid 15 minute walk to the park and not one kiosk?! What is this?! I couldn’t help but find it ironic that the moment you actually need to find a kiosk, there seems to be not a single one in any direction. Don’t be cruel, universe.

Into the Park

You’ll have plenty of spots to check out arriving at Parque del Reitro. Since most of the day was planned to be spent here, much of the park was explored. Plus, I got some decent pictures of two of my favorite areas. Scouting out a spot for the picnic, there was a perfect patch of grass off the path that had a great view of this unique structure called the Crystal Palace. Lots of people were around the area, so obviously it must be good. I set up a time lapse on the GoPro and walked over to the entrance.

From reading some things, apparently the Crystal Palace was a greenhouse that showcased exotic plants from around the world. Nowadays, it is an art exhibit. Funny enough, there’s no crystal; rather glass and steel. Nonetheless, the transparency of the architecture was awesome. I wonder what it looked like back in the day full of global greenery.

Bird Situation at the Park

Alright, enough of this talk. It’s time to eat. All the food was laid out and the the masterpiece sandwiches were made. However, there was one thing severely underestimated – the local, fearless park birds. Yes, yes, I’m aware birds, especially in cities have little to no manners, but these little dudes were really pushing their luck. I mean, what does a guy have to do in order to eat a sandwich and people watch in peace?! These birds were dive bombers coming in from all directions with their kamikaze attacks. I don’t blame them though. The food was excellent. First, it was the smaller birds, and then the pigeons joined in. As a result, bombs dropping from above were a real concern now. Close encounters of the turd kind… Fortunately, fate was on our side and everyone lived to see another day.

Retiro Picnic Guide The bird is NOT the word in Parque del Reitro. Tread lightly, and exercise caution when picnicking.

Jiggly Trees in Retiro

After finishing up the picnic, it was a short walk over to the main pond (or lake?) in Retiro. You could grab food around this area, which also had seating around the pond. We picked up some dessert here and hung out for a bit. There were a decent amount of people out rowing around in boats, and we found out the pond also had some giant mutant fish that would devour anything you fed them. Seems like the fish were even more aggressive than the birds.

Tempting Ice Cream Sandwiches For any fellow sweet tooth - there are these pictures of this amazing looking ice cream cookie dough sandwich thing at every food shop. We finally gave in. Needless to say, it was over-hyped and the let down nearly brought tears to my eyes.

However, giant mutant pond fish were one-upped when we discovered something more amusing. In the garden park, within the bigger Retiro park (Parkception), there lives some trees that one couldn’t help but be curious about. First of all, they aren’t over-the-top or anything like that, but there was just something about them that was entertaining. I still don’t know if the trees were trimmed to take this form, or if they naturally grew like this. Regardless, they resembled big fluffy clouds. And, yes, shaking them is very satisfying.

Things to consider to mail a postcard abroad

Finally, we get to the main reason for this post. I do apologize, but I had to mention the stuff in Retiro. It’s worth a visit! Anyways, upon leaving the park and heading to the airport, I was still in search of a kiosk. Normally, they are everywhere around larger intersections. Fortunately, there looked to be a good chance of running into one, according to the google map route back to Atocha station. With fingers crossed, the trek began. After more than half way to Atocha, the kiosk was spotted. I quickly ran over and, sure enough, there were tons of postcards. Jackpot. Even better was that I found a picture of the Circulo de Bellas Artes from the exact spot I took a picture from earlier (top of article).

Ok, the card has been purchased. Next stop – the post office, or “correos.” So, to mail a postcard abroad is really no different than mailing anything, anywhere else. You get a stamp, a package, pick your shipping, etc. The reason for the title of the article was to talk about the pre-logistics of just finding a damn post office to mail from! It was quite the journey to say the least. I may have even broken a sweat from the correos tag I was playing. Here’s a list of things to factor in if you need to mail something from another country.

1 - Do not trust fully in Google Maps

For about 99% of things, google maps is king. Maybe it was simply my situation, but the correos locations were not lining up every time. One of the three didn’t exist at the point given on the map. Additionally, do not trust in the “hours of operations.” This can probably apply to other things as well.

2 - Siesta is real

No joke on this one. You will play a dangerous game going by the “hours of operations.” Many people, especially those travelling from the US, may overlook this. If you have something important to get done, say mailing a postcard, morning is your friend. Two of the three correos I found were closed after midday. It was at this point I probably looked like a world-class courier running between post offices. The tempo inside of the fine establishment may be sluggish as well. I ended up skipping roughly 15 people in line because no one looks at their ticket number. Or maybe they were not in a rush and didn’t care. Who knows! I had a plane to catch!

3 - Time to practice the native tongue

If you happen to speak the same language as the employee assisting you, then it looks like you’ll have no trouble to mail a postcard abroad. However, in the case where you both stare at each other attempting to say “sorry, I do not speak <language>,” it’s time to be creative. Use those hands. Become the charades master. With a little bit of luck, they will come around and understand that the postcard needs to be sent to foreign lands and a stamp is required. For the less risky, google translate works, too.

Well, that’s that. As a result of running between three correos, skipping lines, playing charades and two euros later – we have achieved how to mail a postcard abroad! Furthermore, remember at the beginning of this post I mentioned “transit complications?” It wasn’t until my return home I was enlightened to one slightly important fact. Because I FREAKING FORGOT THE APARTMENT NUMBER ON THE ADDRESS, the postcard was forever lost. *Sigh*

Postcard Masterclass Do yourself a favor and remember to double check the address for the postcard's destination.

Hey, all is good tho. We win some, we lose some. Stay tuned for next time when I launch my body off cliffs in Menorca and almost become stranded on a scooter in the middle of the island!

Michael Lakus

IT professional, athlete, musician, ponderer of many things... Born and raised in Florida, I began traveling internationally after college. I created this site primarily to remind myself of where I've been and to share my experiences on traveling with a quirky, stress-free, travel attitude.

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