I arrived in Porto...

... unfortunately, my backpack has not (yet) arrived! But let's start from the beginning... 

As we all know, it starts at the airport and that's where "the drama" already started... Because of its size, my backpack had to be checked as oversized luggage - "as long as it arrives, I don't care," was my comment, and the friendly response from the Lufthansa lady was, "of course it will arrive." So much for trusting your gut feeling...🤨

There's not much to say about the flights - they were on time and uneventful. Only my ears/sinuses were having their own little fireworks... although I'm glad that I don't hear very well, because then I don't hear "the others" either... By "the others" I mean my fellow pilgrims, who, like me, board the plane in trekking clothes and hiking shoes, constantly talking (yes, I also like to talk, but that was unbelievable😉), and almost all of them weigh twice as much as me! So if they can do it, then I should be able to do it too!💪🏻 I'm curious to see if I will meet one or two of them again...

We landed on time in Porto and went straight to the oversized luggage carousel - but nothing happened... So I went to the regular baggage carousel - things were moving here! At least for the others... My backpack was nowhere to be seen, and soon this carousel wasn't moving anymore either... A mother with a child stood next to me, looking quite lost - also from Munich and without her suitcase. So we formed a partnership with a common goal - the Lost & Found office at Porto airport👀🙏🏻🎒 It seems our luggage will spend another night in Brussels and will hopefully arrive at my hotel tomorrow afternoon - keep your fingers crossed for me🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 But: I'm a quick learner (right, Steffi?😅😉😘) and I brought a change of clothes and sunscreen - so the basic necessities for tomorrow are covered😜

Now, onto the hotel... Very small, very friendly staff, and full of charm😍☺️ A room with a four-poster bed, a freestanding bathtub, and a small bottle of "champagne" - what more could you want😇 I quickly went to Lidl(😜) for toothpaste/toothbrush and then made a reservation at the hotel for dinner - it's supposed to have a good vegan restaurant. I wasn't disappointed - the food is really good!😋

With that, and a cup of coffee, I'm now wrapping up my first post... Tomorrow, I will explore Porto and hopefully have more to report. Goodnight!😴😘