Always bring your own sunshine with you.”

Portugal

Entering Portugal

Entering Portugal via plane was really easy. They say (as of start of April 2022) that you either need a negative fast test or a negative PCR test or a vaccine passport to enter. However, they only briefly checked our vaccine app (we both had the feeling they did not even look at it properly) when we arrived at Porto Airport. You also have to fill out a passenger locator form (which is no longer needed as of April 22, 2022), where you will get a QR code, which so far no one has looked at (and never did when we left the country two weeks later).

Porto

Things to do in Porto

• do a free walking tour with “Porto walkers”
• go to Jardins do Palacio de Cristal (park) and overlook the river and the Atlantic Ocean
• walk down to the riverside by night and enjoy live music and have a drink by the river
• walk over Lois I Bridge and explore the other side of Porto
• visit the library “Livreria Lello” where J.K. Rowling apparently wrote the beginning of the Harry Potter books (spoiler alert: on the walking tour we found out that she actually hadn’t written it there)
• do some port wine and chocolate tasting

Food/ drinks in Porto

• try Pasteis de Natas (sweet egg tarts – we were obsessed with them)
• drink port wine
• try the Francesinja Sandwich (it’s massive!)
• Bolinhos de Calahau (fried cod fish cake)
• meals are about 10-15€
• beer is 1,50€ for 0.25l
• wine is 1,80€ for 0.2l (they usually come in bigger sizes though – not complaining)
• restaurant: Postigo do Carvao (close to the river with great seafood)

Our accommodation “Zero Box Lodge Porto”

Around midnight we arrived at our accommodation “Zero Box Lodge Porto” where we were greeted with a free beer in the hotel’s bar – we straight away felt welcomed. The accommodation is super funky and we are literally sleeping in a box. The free breakfast on the fifth floor was amazing (with pancakes, freshly pressed juice, fruit, self-made granola, warm croissant and much more) and the rooftop with two swimming pools looks really cool, too. You can even use the sauna on the second floor for free.

Free walking tour

On the first day we explored Porto, first on our own, then on a guided tour. We wanted to have dinner in a small Portuguese restaurant close to the river, called “Ora Viva”, which was recommended by our tour guide. But it was super packed and even when we came back 40 minutes later (after having starters and port wine at a different restaurant), it was still very crowded. So we decided to eat at “Postigo do Carvao”, where we shared tuna steak and sea brass (we usually never share 😉) and I got a massive glass of red wine for 3.20€. Portuguese prices are unreal!

• 

• 

Our own food tour

The next day we explored the other side of Porto after walking over the famous bridge Porte Lois I.

Done with the city life

We both liked Porto as a city (even though we were not blown away by it), but we are also very excited to rent a car and get out of the “big” and chaotic city life (so many tourists!) and to explore Portuguese’s nature now.

First stop: Portugal’s wine region, the Douro Valley! 😊 Bring on some more port wine!

The Douro Valley

Portugal’s wine region

As always, by the time we had checked out, gone back to Porto Airport by uber and rented the car from there, it was almost 2pm. Oh well, we are on holidays after all.

Guimaraes

Guimaraes Castle

Our first stop was Guimaraes, about 40 minutes away from Porto, to check out the castle (Blake is really into history, I’m not so much).

Pesua da Regua

From there we drove further to Pesua da Regua, which is one of the more famous wine towns in the Douro Valley.

The Douro Wine Region Valley is the oldest demarcated wine region in the world.”

visitportugal

We stopped at a winery called Quinta da Pacheca. Unfortunately, they were very busy with a lot of wine tasting so we both just grabbed a glass of (port) wine each and enjoyed the view over the vineyards.

• 

• 

• 

The drive from Pesua da Regua to Pinhao on the N222 along the Douro River was announced as the most beautiful road in the world in 2015 and it was honestly stunning. It did remind us both a bit of the Mosel area in Germany though.

Since it was already quite late (what a surprise), we left the other vineyards for the next day and drove the winy road up to our hotel in Tabuaco.

Tabuaco

In our accommodation Casa Dos Ruis we were greeted with some wine (the welcome drink seems like a common theme in Portugal, no complaints 😉). It is actually run by an Austrian guy called Thomas Egger who moved here for a Portuguese woman many years ago. He also runs a restaurant called Tabua D’Aco, where we went for dinner that night. For 39€ altogether, we got a three-course-meal, including bread with self-made olive oil, a cheese, olive and meat platter, a massive codfish in cornbread with potatoes, two pieces of cake from a huge collection and a bottle of wine – we were clearly in food heaven!

The (free) breakfast in the next morning was just as incredible because it offered everything you could wish for! Surprisingly, we were the only guests having breakfast here or was that because all the other guests had come early and we left it to almost check out time again?

Pinhao

Winery Quinta das Carvalhas

Lookout Casal de Loivos

After that we drove up to the lookout Casal de Loivos from where you have a beautiful view over the wine valley! The drive up there was quite adventurous as the roads got really narrow and bumpy and there was no way any other car could have passed us if it had come towards us. I’d say Blake was probably as stressed driving up as I am when he’s flying the drone over some cliff (“It’s gonna crash for sure!”). He did well though 😉.

Winery Quinta do Bomfim

After all the stressful driving we needed to calm our nerves and what better way there is to do than with some more port wine?! The winery Quinta do Bomfim is probably the most well-known winery in the region. However, we probably liked it the least from the last three vineyards (most expensive and least cosy one, but more commercial). The views over the river and vineyards were nice though and so was the dark chocolate we paired with the red port wine.

Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela

It was time for us to leave the Douro Valley and head about 2.5 hours south to the national park “Serra da Estrela”. The scenery changed completely and vineyards were replaced by massive lush mountains.

Alvoco da Serra

Our accommodation was located in a tiny town called Alvoco da Serra with no supermarkets, bars or restaurants anywhere within the next 9 km. Luckily, we stopped at a Lidl for some take-away salads before entering the national park. This German supermarket had also saved us many times on our Southern German road trip in spring 2021, so it brought back many great memories.

Greeted by Portuguese grandpa Manuel and grandma Manuella in their home

In our accommodation Casa Da Ribeira, we were greeted by an old Portuguese couple named Manuel and Manuella. They had brought along their two grandsons for some English translations. Even though we weren’t greeted with some free drinks this time, we were greeted with a lot of kindness instead!

In the next morning Manuella prepared a great breakfast for us with some fresh bread and massive pieces of cheese. Although we had no idea what the other person was talking about, we felt so homely and Manuella really made us feel welcome in her home!

Covao dos Conchos

Beautiful drive through the national park

The main reason why we went to this national park in the first place was because of one tiny photo on Instagram that Blake had sent me a few months ago when we were doing long distance. I long distance. It was a photo of a waterfall inside a lake and we both knew we had to see it. The drive through the national park was very scenic and it felt like driving on the moon with all the rock formations (at least this is how we pictured it, probably not accurate at all).

Still homeless

Central Portugal

Alcobaca

At 11p.m. we were greeted by an American who owned the hotel and who had to tell us a lot of stories about why Germans and Americans are always stressed and why they should take on more of the laid-back Portuguese attitude (can’t blame him).

Nazaré

The next morning (or rather the next noon – somehow, we always leave late), we headed to Nazaré where we had acai bowls to start with and then did a walk along the coast. Even though I was so happy to be back on the ocean, Nazaré was a bit too touristy for my liking after all these deserted places (I know we are tourists too but somehow it’s still nice to get away from the crowds in my opinion).

Azenhas do Mar

Azenhas do Mar is a cute coastal town with stunning views where we only stopped to admire those.

Cabo da Roca

Only 20 minutes down the coast you can find the most western point of mainland Europe. We watched sunset here and then rushed back to the car to escape the wind as well as the tourist masses.

• 

• 

Cheap backpackers

Sometimes we take this backpacker mindset to a whole other level. For whatever reason we thought we do not need to spend 3€ on a USB C cable for the car to charge our phones, as we can do without it. Well, the end result was us panicking every night we might not get to our accommodation in time before our phone batteries would die and couldn’t lead us the way anymore. We were smart enough to charge our phones on our laptops and thankfully survived the next 1.30 hours with our phone battery to lead us to our next accommodation in Ferreira do Alentejo (only 5000 residents).

Ferreira do Alentejo in Beja

Check in ended at 10p.m. at Patio das Andorinhas, but (as always) we only got there at 11.30p.m. Being German and “always stressing” according to that American from the last place, I called the hotel to let them know we are running late. A Portuguese man answered in a very relaxed-sounding voice, like he was wondering why I’d even give him a call for that (to be fair, I also send him an email, just to be sure – the German way).

Laid-back Portuguese

When we got to the place, we knew why he didn’t stress: the owner Riu was sitting in the outside area with about eight other hotel guests and Portuguese friends and they all drank together and some played the guitar. After showing us our room, he asked us if we wanted to join them (technically, he asked us if we wanted some wine and I almost screamed “yes”).

Making their own wine

Riu and his buddies are making their own wine in the basement which he showed us, then gave us a bottle of it and also gave us some cheese, sausage and grapes with it. These are the moments I love so much about travelling: the people you meet on the way. We sat, drank and talked with them for ages about the Portuguese lifestyle (very laid-back) and their work ethic (“it does not have to be perfect, it just shouldn’t be shit”).

Loving our free breakfast

When we opened the curtains in the next morning (surprisingly hungover-free), we couldn’t believe what awaited us: a table filled with breakfast goodies. It clearly couldn’t be made for us and even when I double-checked our booking which said “no breakfast included”, I got confirmed. This was the moment when Blake should NOT have heated up his Lidl-pasta before stepping outside. The owner Riu greeted us and asked us what we’d like to have a drink with our breakfast – like it was the most normal thing. Just like on so many occasions before on this trip, we were in food heaven and almost had no other choice than to try all the different buns, cheeses, muffins, grapes and much more.

Fascinating accommodation

After that Riu showed us around his place which he had bought off his grandparents 17 years ago. He said it’s a never-ending project and when he showed us around, we could see how many stories this place could tell.

• 

• 

I hope we’ll come back some day, but as Riu phrased it correctly: “There are just too many good places to see in the world.”

Algarve

Odeceixe

And so we were on the road again. The scenery changed from mountains to lots of green fields with orange trees and other trees (maybe to produce cork – one of Portugal’s biggest industries).

Beach o’clock

We found a cute little coastal town called Odeceixe, which was our first stop on the Algarve. After some relaxing time on the beach, we went to its only beach bar to have a beer. Straight away the English couple besides us started talking to us, who were doing a three-month-trip around Spain and Portugal in their camper van. That definitely brought back great memories from our camper van trip around Southern Germany in Spring 2021 and got us excited for future camper van trips on our world trip

In the evening we checked into our accommodation in Lagos that we used as our base to explore more of the Algarve for the next three days. Little did we know did this turn out to be the worst accommodation on this trip. I’m blaming the Easter weekend where not many good options were available in our “budget”.

Lagos

Always competitive

Two nights later, when Blake “desperately” wanted to have a night out again, the town was empty though. Many of the party tourists must have just come for the Easter weekend.

Aljezur

Surfing at Arrifana Beach (just watching, not doing it)

We soon realized that this beach was not for relaxing but mainly for all types of surfers. I remember having surfed here nine (!) years ago, which

• one: made me feel very old
• and two: made me remember that I was one of those beginners with the heavy blue surf board surfing the white waves (in my mind I was rocking the waves back then, maybe not).

It was still great watching the surfers.

Bordeira’s Beach

We travelled down the coast for 20 minutes to another beach called Bordeira’s Beach. After crossing a little river, we felt like in the desert as there was sand everywhere! It took another 15 minutes to walk over the beach and actually get to the ocean. Watching some kite surfers was great, but that also meant, it was really windy. This is why we found shelter behind a big sand dune (which was not that enjoyable as sand was constantly blowing into our faces).

Escaping the wind

Sagres

The next day after having another delicious acai bowl in the old town of Lagos and walking around the town for a bit, we headed to Sagres, the most south-western point in Europe. Calling it “windy” was an understatement, we were about to blow away! We found a cute bay along the coast where we stopped for some beach time. After 15 minutes, however, we were fully covered in sand due to the strong wind. Looking around, it seemed like we were the only ones who seemed to mind though.

• 

• 

Algar Seco

Driving past Lagos, we went to Algar Seco, which is a great coastal boardwalk with all the typical rock formations the Algarve is known for.

Albufeira

Boat trip along the famous rock formations

On the next day we did a boat trip to see similar rock formations from another viewpoint. Again, I found it a little bit too touristy, but what do you expect when booking a tourist boat really? We also went into the most famous cave of Portugal: Cave Bengali. However, all the tourists took away a bit of the beauty of the cave (this is the typical German in me complaining!). We also tried to spot dolphins, one of the main reasons we (or rather I, Blake didn’t care as much) wanted to do this boat trip. Unfortunately, we did not see any dolphins on the tour which left me a little bit disappointed.

Back to being flashpackers

Faro

Rental car

Although we still had four days on our trip around Portugal, dropping off our rental car in Faro, felt like our trip had already come to and end. We’d definitely recommend renting a car when you want to explore Portugal because you are just so much more flexible and there are so many places along the coast as well as inland that you wouldn’t get to this easily otherwise.

As always we were running late dropping the car off in time at Faro Airport. “Fortunately”, we had already been late picking up the car in Porto eight days prior. So those 1.30 hours were essential to not having to pay for an extra day for the car.

Old town of Faro

A cataplana is the name of a typical seafood dish of Algarve region.”

wikipedia

In the next morning after quite an uncomfortable night in our hotel, we took the Flixbus to Lisbon (3.30 hours) to start our last leg of the trip.

Lisbon

Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, awaited us with a grey sky. Unfortunately, that did not change much in the next 2.5 days. We had been spoilt the last 1.5 weeks on the trip, so we sucked it up and did not complain (as much).

Things to do in Lisbon

On our trips it has become an unspoken truth that I check out breakfast places (I’m talking acai bowls and other healthy food options) and Blake checks out the bar scene for us.

Breakfast places in Lisbon

So the breakfast places we can recommend are:

Bars in Lisbon

The bars we went to that were rather special (in a good way):

A resumé of Lisbon

All in all, Lisbon didn’t blow us away, but I’m sure the weather did play a massive role, too. I just notice about myself how I enjoy nature (and less people) much more than the busy chaotic city life. However, I can see why many people love Lisbon with its (normally) good climate, beautiful architecture, great history and lively vibe.

A resumé of Portugal

Next time we would probably spend even more time on the southern side of the Algarve as this definitely felt like our “happy place”.