Braga

Hello everyone,

I'll be back a little more regularly with an update on my last stops in Portugal and my first stops in northern Spain.

On the way from a natural park to a national park on the Portuguese-Spanish border, I stopped in Braga. A city that claims to be the most Catholic city in Portugal. In addition, a few years ago this city was also the city with the youngest population on average in all of Europe. Facts that I learned on my free walking tour and would like to pass on to you. For once and luckily for me, the campsite was "almost" (30 minutes walk) in the city center and I didn't have to worry about finding a parking space.

So I went to the meeting point after sleeping in and having a late breakfast.

The starting point of the tour was one of the old city gates, which no longer had a proper gate due to its late renovation. Because of this funny fact, there is a saying in Portugal: "Are you from Braga?" This is equivalent to our “Did you grow up in the train station?” and should kindly ask people to close the doors in the house.

There is also the saying "I'll send you to the goal of Braga!" which is equivalent to "Go where the pepper grows!" is. This is because the point in front of the gate is one of the deepest in the city and all the rubbish from earlier times has collected in this exact spot.

The coat of arms contains part of the Portuguese flag (the towers). The city's patron saint is also depicted at the top.

We then continued through the city along the old city walls and old Roman ruins until we arrived at the cathedral.

This consists of different architectural styles and is: Once again a church. Man, I'm starting to almost be able to build one myself!

After that there were many small stations:

The city is working on the future of the city in a variety of ways. There are a lot of art and cultural exhibitions and the new mayor is working on some projects and new or repurposed buildings to make the city more attractive for residents, scientists and tourists.

These include centers for solar cell research, a new market hall with refrigerated lockers, new camping plots and the City of Culture in 2025.

An example of this is an exhibition in the market hall in which older residents of the city were able to take part:

So all in all a city that is worth seeing and I think I will come back in a few years and see what the new mayor has been able to accomplish. Not everything is possible with politicians who have a vision.

After the tour we went back to the campsite and the next day I wanted to write up my blog posts in peace and quiet at Starbucks. Well, long story short: Someone had a joke and put a Starbucks in Braga where there isn't one and I was standing in the middle of a private property / paddle club and only then did it dawn on me that I probably have to look for another café. Said, done, written - I already told you about my caffeine shock via WhatsApp.

With this in mind, you will hear more from me from the national park.
Your Britta