I understand 3 days of mourning have been declared. I'm curious as to what that actially is. Are banks closed or sporting events canceled?

Thanks

if three days of mourning had been declared in the UK .. things would come to a halt i'm sure . I walked into Puerto Banus and later on into Marbella and , quite frankly , it was business as usual . Quite shocking really . I didn't see ONE flag at half-mast !
This "3days of mourning" is cosmetic i'm sad to say . And whilst this message board wants to avoid politics i still want to say that most Spaniards are horrified at what happened .. truly ... but the government are lame as usual ...
On a "brighter"note , Spain should be so proud of it's emergency services ... Even the typically reserved BBC praised the Spanish on the way they've handled this .. superb men and women of SAMUR , policia , bomberos etc.... what haunting images they'll have to live with but how well and heroic they've dealt with this tragedy .
Steve .

I left Barajas yesterday (Thursday) with a heavy heart. Flying over the hallowed ground was difficult, getting on the plane less than 24 hours after this terrible tragedy was even harder. Barajas at 5am the next morning was business as usual, as I think people, especially travellers, just can't put those images (from the news) in their heads while taking off as well.
My heart goes out to the families, especially for the children lost!
I am home now, in San Diego, and am truly sad to have left my beloved Madrid.

I just got back to Madrid and was glad to see that Madrid is respecting the dead with ALL flags at half-mast .. even outside supermarkets .. I have to say that a huge wave of emotion swept over me as my train ( from Malaga ) came into Atocha railway station .
There will be a funeral service at Madrid's Almudena cathedral on September 1st .
On a brighter note , Laduque , COME BACK TO MADRID SOON !! I really loved meeting you again .. you've got a great and fun attitude on life and I like that a lot .
I'll just end this post with a "hooray" for Spain in 2 aspects . Spain's emergency services were exemplary in their handling of the Barajas disaster . I've had dealings with the police and ambulance/medical services here in Madrid and they've been fantastic always .
I travelled on the high-speed AVE from Malaga to Madrid this afternoon , travelling on average at 275 kph ( It goes upto 300 kph ). Journey time was 2 hrs and 40 minutes . My train left Malaga at 12:00 on the dot and arrived in Madrid at 14:40 to the second !! Espana should be incredibly proud of their railway service ... Everytime i've travelled on the AVE it's been perfectly timed .

I didn't see this thread until just today. Truly a terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to the families that lost their loved ones. It's quite nerve racking having to travel after hearing of such a crash. Laduque, glad to hear you made it home safely!

Thank you, my heart is heavy with this tragedy as i've stated before. Flying home this time was odd, not because I was scared to fly, but more because I was leaving Madrid when the city was mounring and departiing on those terms leaves an empty place in my heart.
Steve, I feel i've made new friends in madrid this time around and can't wait to visit with you and MM next time. Keep me posted on everything going on there!

p.s. Jetlag is still a problem, after 4 days, i'm up at 5;30am writing this.