Blogs from Central, Portugal, Europe - page 3

Bischöflicher Barockgarten in Castelo Branco. Ich sorgte für gute Unterhaltung bei einigen Bewohnern der Casa Misericordia. Sie saßen auf einem Bankerl vor dem Haus und ich parkte Paul daneben auf dem Bürgersteig. Den Rest des Tages ging es über eine Hochfläche, so ca 5-600 m, die immer wieder von Tälern durchschnitten war. Wenigstens war dann jedes Mal eine Brücke über den Bach und keine Furt! Sowohl in Portugal als auch dann später in Spanien gibt es zahlreich Stellen, wo ein Waldbrand war. Viele unzusammenhängende Flächen, die aber insgesamt beträchtlich sind. Ich war 2017 so auf Irma fixiert und die großen Feuer in den Rocky Mountains, dass ich von Feuerkatastrophen auf der Iberischen Halbinsel nichts mitbekommen habe. Am tollsten war aber Monsanto, ein kleiner Ort auf einem steilen Berg. Die Häuser sind an die Granitfelsen angeklebt, die ... read more

Rundtour von Elvas aus, weil mir das Hotel so gut gefällt. Evora: gotische Kirche und römischer Tempel. Stadtmauer. Arraiolos: netter Ort. Dort werden Teppiche gestickt. Kastell und Kirche auf Berg. Evoramonte: Burg, Kirche und kleine Häuser auf Berg. Umgeben von Mauer. Estremoz: ebenfalls Stadtmauer. Billigster Kaffee der Welt.... read more

Friday, Day 4: Mike and I awoke early this morning in our “hunting villa in the sky“ and decided to explore a bit before breakfast. Tia Wendy was busy in the kitchen. Insisting that she didn’t need help, we were given coffee and encouraged to wander. What a cool place this is! We found a circular stairway that lead us to the uppermost floor, used as their grand party room. With windows all around, we could see a bagillion little towns tucked in the crevasses of the mountains. In the center of the room, there was another stairway leading up the the rooftop. Not wanting to overstep, literally and figuratively, we decided to ask Pedro to take us up after breakfast. By 8:30am, the crew had assembled in the breakfast room. A wonderful meal had been ... read more

Saturday, October 28th, Tomar, 2nd day, Hostel 2300 Thomar, 15 kms. Two weeks ago we got on a plane for Lisbon. I have to say that so far the Portuguese Camino has been an entirely different experience than the Camino Frances last year. There are much fewer fellow pilgrims, much less support along the path (places to eat and stay), less knowledge even of the Camino by the Portuguese people. Today it began to feel more “Camino-ish.” It got hillier (downright steep at times), with more off-road hiking through forests and olive groves and along rivers. We were walking towards our half-way point, and the heat and hills were getting to me. We had 2 alternate routes to choose from ahead of us, and we took the one with the café where we could wait for ... read more

On the banks of the river Mondego, Coimbra is famous for its University, the oldest in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe. Among the many archaeological structures dating back to the Roman era, when Coimbra was the settlement of Aeminium, are its well-preserved aqueduct and cryptoporticus. Similarly, buildings from the period when Coimbra was the capital of Portugal (from 1131 to 1255) still remain. During the Late Middle Ages, with its decline as the political centre of the Kingdom of Portugal, Coimbra began to evolve into a m... read more