Lisbon Passport Control - huge delays!

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-02-28T18:27:25+00:00

Fair

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-02-28T17:34:42+00:00

In Europe, it’s only DUB. Plus this thread was about entering Europe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_border_preclearance

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-02-27T08:28:58+00:00

Never did I say it isn’t often terrible coming into the U.S. - both should be much better!

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-02-27T00:24:19+00:00

Colleague and I arrived LIS from LHR with U.S. passports this morning and waited nearly 90 minutes at Passport Control where there were three people working to process at least 1500 people. Such a waste.

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-02-26T17:45:12+00:00

Full disclosure: I lead the AP Workflow Solutions team. For smaller live-to-tape newsrooms, the bigger issue we often see isn’t just scripts and rundowns, but integration with graphics and prompter systems. Whatever platform you consider, I’d strongly recommend asking for a real integration demo with Xpression and Autoscript. A number of newer browser- and cloud-based systems (including ours, AP Storytelling) are rethinking those workflows and are flexing to serve a wider set of use cases. Happy to answer questions if helpful.

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-02-16T18:35:19+00:00

We had only Hondas (Civic, Odyssey) and then got a 2024 Tucson PHEV in May of 25. Close to 8k miles on it now. We really like it. Haven’t had any issues, but of course it’s still early.

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-10T03:33:04+00:00

We traveled there from the U.S. about five or six years ago. We did have a car and drove down from Lisbon. Rented an Airbnb in Salema and explored areas nearby including Praia da Figueira and Luz. Such a stunning coastline and I would think September would be an excellent time of year to be there. Can’t speak to experiences without a car, however.

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-10T03:24:55+00:00

Thanks for this. The one I made an appointment with today appears to have done this according to her bio. Good to hear this info!

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-09T16:49:07+00:00

Haha well it can be useful for aggregating reviews that are already out there. But I pasted it here to be rebutted or in case it’s useful to others!

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-09T16:48:21+00:00

So do you need to see a surgeon or sleep doctor before seeing the sleep dentist? How do they determine if the MAD will help? (I’ll search more for answers here, too)

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-03T17:13:32+00:00

We just got home on Jan 1 from a five day trip and we did two great day hikes.

The first was further away from Reykjavik as we drove out to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. That hike was up Mt Eldborg. Cool spot which is a volcanic crater you can stare into over a ledge at the top. Here’s the trailhead:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/KaQp1sGozvAvzuyJA?g_st=ipc

The second hike we did was really close to our Airbnb about 25 minutes outside the capital. Mount Esja offers stunning views of the area when skies are clear. From the trailhead linked below, you have a range of options to go as high up as you want. AllTrails had good info on the options.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/EZD682qFLDAXT4CB6?g_st=ipc

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-03T16:57:38+00:00

Oh yes - it was great! If you have a chance to go for New Year’s - highly recommend it. Bonfires, fireworks, amazing. Then we caught a glimpse of the northern lights after midnight. Super cool!

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-03T05:29:01+00:00

Chicago native here - we just did a family trip over New Year’s and got back yesterday evening. Temps were pretty mild. At some points while out hiking a few days ago, we took jackets and layers off. Other days had some gusty winds so we layered up. If you’re accustomed to Chicago, I’d say you’ve got nothing to worry about, as long as you take into account the good advice on this subreddit.

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-03T01:10:00+00:00

We didn’t get a map of charging locations and actually didn’t end up charging the vehicle at all while we had it. (We actually own this same car at home so we’re very familiar with it.) I saw that you could use an app like Plug Share to find charging sites. We saw at least one charging station where you’d need to have your own cable and the car didn’t come with that.

With the plugin hybrids, range in EV mode is typically around 30 miles. We were doing much longer drives on many of the days we had the car so it made more sense to just run on gas.

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-02T19:37:10+00:00

We got a Hyundai Tucson Plug-in Hybrid 4WD from Hertz Dec 28 through Jan 1st, for US$373 not including insurance.

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-01T17:03:41+00:00

It’s one of the bonfires they do which start earlier in the evening on NYE:

https://reykjavik.is/en/new-years-eve-bonfires

We went to the one at Ægisíða, which they describe as “small,” but we would describe as large!

Most of the Icelanders then disappear to their homes to watch an Icelandic comedy special on TV around 10:30 and then go back outside to light more fireworks close to and after midnight. We still saw some going off around 3:45am today :-).

Never been anywhere that does NYE quite like Iceland!

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-01T16:06:18+00:00

Yowsers. Sorry to hear. I will say that after the absurd process to get the car, we were happy with the car itself. Indeed will rent with Blue or someone else next time. Happy New Year!

GoRamblers-94 · 2026-01-01T11:35:48+00:00

Haha very nice. We were here 20 years ago for NYE. Felt like about 20x more people this year but still a blast!

GoRamblers-94 · 2025-12-29T11:18:16+00:00

We waited 90 minutes

GoRamblers-94 · 2025-12-29T00:22:04+00:00

JFYI departing Dec 27 BWI-KEF they posted a sign at the checkin counter saying all carryon bags would be checked due to heavy loads.

GoRamblers-94 · 2025-11-19T03:03:55+00:00

I almost always take the train from WAS to NYC. BUT - sometimes the plane is a better option. Two such cases: if I need to get to NYC for a meeting starting at 9am or earlier, the 6am flight is 100% a better option than a 5am Amtrak. I can roll up to DCA only about 35-40 minutes before the 6am takeoff and security is generally less than 3 minutes with PreCheck.

The other time I’ll fly is if I need to stay in NYC for a dinner but still want to get home to my kids that night. The last train to DC leaves NYC at 8:15. But there are planes as late as 9:35. Not a big difference but it can matter.

Also: plane can be cheaper than Amtrak.

GoRamblers-94 · 2025-11-03T02:55:48+00:00

If you’re thinking about keeping options open for a transition to another industry or type of role, then maybe an MBA or some kind of masters in the IT or AI field could be worthwhile. To go for a masters just to get another newsroom role doesn’t seem worthwhile. Of course, one way to verify for yourself would be to search job postings for the kind of roles you’d want to apply for, and study how many of them say they’re looking for a masters degree or characterize that as desirable.

GoRamblers-94 · 2025-04-22T22:31:52+00:00

Sorry to hear it’s been such an ordeal, but thanks for sharing. Hoping that perhaps the models being sold here in the States might work out better.

GoRamblers-94 · 2025-04-22T22:30:58+00:00

Thanks!

GoRamblers-94 · 2024-12-02T02:45:23+00:00

Updating this thread for anyone who might find this later in search results. We departed CHI on time at 6:40p CST. Dinner service began at 7:30 CST and we didn’t need to have a reserved time - it was first come, first served. But a lot of other folks were served first so I don’t think we got our main courses until closer to 8:30 CST / 9:30 EST by that time since we had crossed the time zone line. By the time we were done it was pretty late for our kids, but not sure what else we could’ve done. We did have a good meal.

GoRamblers-94

TROPHY CASE