Rio de Janeiro

After the second night in Sao Paulo, we continue by bus to Rio de Janeiro. There we will also get to know the green side of Brazil for the first time, as we drive through meadows and forests for a large part of the 7-hour journey. Until we are warmly welcomed: by Cristo Redentor - Christ the Redeemer. We have a little more respect for the Rio metropolitan area than for Sao Paulo, as it is said to be even more dangerous there. But as it turns out, we can easily walk through the streets with a little caution, and soon we feel quite safe and comfortable.

On the first morning, we take the regular bus to Urca, the neighborhood where the famous cable car to Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf) is located. The bus ride is more like a roller coaster ride, where you have to hold on tight to avoid being lifted out of your seat and thrown up to the ceiling by the next pothole. But we're having fun :) And then we're already sitting in the cable car and are taken to the famous, almost 400m high Sugarloaf in 2 stages. It's a strange but beautiful feeling to be there, which we've seen in so many photos. The view of Rio and Copacabana is gigantic, so we make ourselves comfortable for a while and have a snack with the delicious olive baguette we bought earlier (it turns out that at least in Brazil, there won't be any better bread, we can really count ourselves lucky in Germany with this variety of non-flabby bread!!). After looking down on Copacabana from above, we decide to take the next cable car & bus to the famous beach and see it from below. The weather doesn't invite you to swim, but we still sit in the sand and watch the waves. It's definitely nice to sit by the sea, it has a calming effect, but we wouldn't want to have a beach holiday here. The many hotel high-rises on the beach don't give us a vacation feeling at least.

After the excursion to the sea, we visit the Santa Teresa neighborhood and admire the world's most famous staircase, the Escadaria 'Selarón', named after the Chilean artist of the same name. Even Lake Constance is represented here :) After a delicious Feijoada for dinner (a stew with meat and beans --> it's actually not that easy to eat vegetarian here...), we find out through the all-knowing internet that Selarón was found dead on his staircase in 2013... A bit sad.

The next day, we originally planned to go to Cristo, but since it's supposed to rain and we already had a gigantic view from Sugarloaf, we decide to spend another cozy day in the city. Here too, near the modern harbor, we find a lot of high-quality street art before we come to another highlight: The ride with the Bonde through Santa Teresa, one of the oldest tram lines in the world. Really amazing how the train winds its way through the hilly, curvy streets... Until it eventually stops, the driver honks like crazy and jumps onto the road in a rage: A wrongly parked taxi is blocking the Bonde! Since it can't go forward or backward, we get off and just keep walking, enjoying the view of Sugarloaf and the city. After visiting the Parque das Ruínas, we take the next Bonde back. We spend the rest of the afternoon on the Escadaria Selarón, watching Brazilian families spend their Sunday together with friends and relatives on the staircase, while sipping our Maracuja Caipirinha.. You're not in Rio every day :)