Lisbon

After yet another Hail and Farewell on Thursday evening I packed up and headed to the Hauptbanhof (train station) because my flight left at 0620 Friday morning. The rest of the guys were taking a later flight so this meant I would either have to sleep in the airport or drive at 0300 since no trains were leaving that early in the morning. I got to the Schweinfurt Hauptbanhof barely on time and was throwing away my drink on the platform when the train started moving. I got mad because the guy who usually blows the whistle definitely saw me but he didn't speak English so I didn't waste my time and headed south to Wurzburg to catch the next leg of the train. The Taco was running 110mph (at the governor) down the Autobahn and I made it with five minutes to spare. The annoying part of this is that in Schweinfurt I can park free where as in Wurzburg it costs me 40 euros for the weekend ($55). I slept on the train for the 1 1/2 ride to the Frankfurt Airport where I got off and tried to find the USO-type place. It's not actually a USO but where they receive new Soldiers coming into Germany. It wasn't open so I had to sleep on a bench in the middle of the airport. I woke up in a daze, checked in at the kiosk, grabbed some McDonald's and headed for the gate. It's only a three hour flight to Lisbon and combined I think I might have had three hours of sleep Thursday night. I arrived in Lisbon at 0830 and was planning to find the hostel and go surfing before the guys arrived. It took entirely too long to find the hostel (my GPS wasn't working) so I eventually ended up just taking a train to Cascais which is a beach town 30 min west of Lisbon. It was only 1.70 euro! Lisbon was one of the cheapest places I've been to that is on the euro. I came back at 1400 because that's when I thought the guys would be there. They didn't get back until 1800 so I did some sightseeing in downtown Lisbon as well.

Augusta Street and the Arco do Triunfo


This was painted in quite a few places which I thought was interesting. Who knew Portugal had a Nazi problem?



Praça do Comércio with the statue of King José I, whose horse is stomping on snakes. The square was under construction most likely because the Pope is coming to conduct mass here in May.



Interesting outdoor seating


The bucket on this thing was about as big as a shovel which I thought was funny.


Skateboarders shredding in front of King John I in Praça da Figueira


Funny signs on the metro and on a manhole cover



Jesus statue. The Portuguese that left and settled in Brazil sure did one up their homeland.


Elevador de Santa Justa built by an apprentice to Gustave Eiffel which is probably why it shares some of the same features.


View from the top



The original lift controls when it was powered by steam before electricity (no longer in use)


Church that is in view from our hostel patio


When they arrived this youth band was playing in the main square


We took Tram 28 took Tram 28 instead of walking the maze of the Alfama district. We then tried to get to Hard Rock Cafe but I tried to take a shortcut which took us way out of the way. The restaurant had a 45 minute wait and we were trying to catch the Pub Crawl hosted by the hostel. We ended up eating at an Italian restaurant with the loudest most obnoxious German women sitting behind us. We made it back to the hostel in time for the pub crawl but they ended up canceling it. We had to get up early the next day anyways so we had a few beers and went to bed.

Jerome and I enjoying our balcony


The next morning we wanted to see Belem (Bethlehem) and then go sailing at 1000. The Belem district has lots of sights including the War Memorial (how all the Portuguese died I have no idea...the 1960's were a bad decade for them).


Torre de Belém



Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries)



With the 25 de Abril bridge in the background


We take turns planning trips and this one was my turn so we did activities I like to do. Our skipper was Christophe from, well, all over and the boat was a 25' sloop. The winds were good with 24 knot gusts and nothing but sun in the sky. There were a couple of regattas going on but we sailed west away from Lisbon. We were on the Tagus River which had a really strong current and made things interesting. I had all the guys take turns at the helm and I think they liked it. It was a three hour tour (I know Gilligan) and I wish we could have gone longer.





An idea of how bad the current was even though the wind was howling


We then checked out Jeronimos Monestary where Vasco de Gama's tomb is. Don't know who he is? Well look it up because you obviously didn't pay attention in 3rd grade world history.






On the way back we walked through the park and had to do some racing in these pedal karts. They were pretty sketchy and I'm pretty sure Joe hit a little girl on her bike.


The hostel (Alfama Patio Hostel) was having a BBQ that night so we headed back. There was so much food with all you can drink Sangria (Beers were only 1 euro). We ended up circling our tables after dinner and drinking with Aussies, Kiwis, and Brits. Sunday morning we had another early wake up (0800) so we skipped going out again.

Sunday I booked a mountain bike ride from Sintra to Cascais. Our guide was Didio (I think) who was the shop owner. We biked through downtown to the Rossio train station and took a long ride to Sintra. Sintra was a beautiful little town in a valley that I wish we could have stayed in longer but we had a long ride ahead of us, including the monsterous climb up the hill to Pena Palace.

In the Rossio square.


Looking up the giant hill to the palace.


Cruising through Sintra


Climbing



Notice the guys walking their bikes in the background...


Finally at the Pena Palace




We biked across the ridgeline to another viewpoint where you could see the coast, Estoril race circuit, and the palace. I climbed a rusted ladder on a concrete cylinder to get a better view.





We finally finished the tough part and did a lot of mountain biking downhill to the coast. It was pretty challenging single track trails but a whole lot of fun.






Joe having a tough time in heavy brush


We then made it down to Praia do Guincho which was the beach I wanted to surf on Friday. The 8km ride from there to Cascais was mostly flat and along the coast and what the guys probably wished the entire ride had been like.




Didio had to head back to the shop but he said we could hang out in Cascais if we wanted. We sat by the beach for a little while before taking the train back to Lisbon.


Vireck is pretty exhausted from the ride


Estoril Castle. That's where I'd have one...right on the beach!


Jerome and I kept our bikes so we could go see the Castelo de São Jorge and go surfing the following morning. We had to hurry so we could make our reservation at Hard Rock (we weren't taking any chances). When we got back to the hostel, Joe and Vireck decided they would walk up there and check it out also.





Lisbon Flag


Views from the castle





Cannon with the Big Jesus


Our last dinner was at Hard Rock where we ate entirely too much food but it was awesome as usual. Sunday nights are pretty quiet in Lisbon so we missed our opportunity to go out to bars which is a first in our travels.



Joe enjoying his California Burger


We walked around downtown before heading back to the hostel.



Tram 28, a famous tram in Lisbon that was the one we took to our hostel



Our last morning I took some pictures from the hostel





The next morning Jerome and I woke up at 0700 and my bike had a flat front tire. I "rode" it to the train station and hoped to fix it in Cascais. The gas station I remembered seeing from the bike ride the day before turned out to be half way back to Praia do Guincho so I biked probably 6 km on a flat tire which was not only miserable, but slow. I put some fix a flat in there and pumped the rest up with air which worked great. We got to the beach a little after 0900 and the surf shop was supposed to open at 0930. The guy who worked there didn't have a key and had to wait for the owner who didn't show up until almost 1030. We quickly rented boards and wetsuits (probably not necessary, but most surfers had them on) and ran down the beach to the surf. There was a swell building with chest high waves. I had almost forgotten how terrible a surfer I was as I only got to my feet half a dozen times and had only one decent ride. We could only surf for an hour because our plane left at 1420.


We biked as fast as we could back to Cascais when my tire blew up. Luckily we were only a few blocks from the train station so I just hopped off and ran it the rest of the way. While running the bike over curbs the key for the bike lock fell out and I had to buy another one once we returned them. The fix a flat foam was everywhere and left a puddle on the train (oops). I called Joe and Vireck and told them we would running late and they offered to grab our bags and meet us at the Cais do Sodre metro station next to the bike shop. Somehow we didn't see them and we had to wait for them at the other end where we would get a taxi closer to the airport. There is a cheap shuttle that runs from downtown but we were way too late to consider that option. When they arrived at the Campo Grande station we all ran to get a taxi and hurried to the airport. We got to the check-in counter 55 minutes prior to the departure (1325) but they said check-in was closed. The email confirmation said check-in closed 45 minutes prior but TAP airlines closed it down early because the flight was overbooked. We were all furious and tried talking to everyone we could to no avail. Two Polish guys were in the same situation but somehow got put on the next flight at no cost. Jerome and I went to Lufantsa and paid 280 euro for a 1645 flight. Joe joined Vireck on the next TAP flight which Vireck was already booked on for 150 euro at 1910.

Joe and Jerome hating life


It doesn't end there. Jerome and I caught the next train to Wurzburg which is where both of our cars were parked. Unfortunately it wasn't and ICE (fast) train and it was running late so we didn't get to Wurzburg until after midnight. Jerome had parked at Vireck's apartment so I offered to drive him to it. The only problem was we didn't know where it was. My GPS was still acting weird and I ended up getting pulled over by the Politzei for driving in a Pedestrian zone. Luckily they let me go after seeing my paperwork. It was at this time when my GPS finally started working so I was able to drop off Jerome and finally head home.

Portuguese beer is much better than Spanish beer...though not as good as German. Nearly all of Lisbon (and I hear Portugal) is covered in cobblestone streets and sidewalks. They are not like typical cobblestone but little 1" square cubes so it's not as bumpy as regular cobblestone and they chisel and place each cube by hand.