Weşandin: 18.04.2022
Good morning Nazaré - parts of the motorhome crew slept well, despite the uncertain environment and the new territory of free-standing.
But one thing is certain - we don't want to have breakfast here. For this, we are looking for a nice place by the sea and a supermarket for shopping beforehand. Both can be found and we enjoy the beginning of the day with a perfect panorama.
Then we continue on the country road to Coimbra.
It's only 90 km across the country. Coimbra is described as worth seeing on many internet pages, the old university town has the charm of an old metropolis. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. However, Coimbra is the 3rd largest city in Portugal and has an oversized number of students. The university is the flagship of the city.
It is also very impressive and reminds a lot of Hogwarts and Harry Potter. The university also promotes and demands traditional clothing from its students, which reappears in the cityscape as a matter of course and is accepted. Allegedly, J.K. Rowling got her inspiration for the school uniforms in the Harry Potter books here. We were pretty right to feel reminded of Hogwarts. However, we didn't meet Harry, Hermione, or Ron.
The city itself is a gem of antiquity and narrow streets. It is a pleasure to explore these streets on foot up to the university - thankfully we left the bicycles behind.
You always have the feeling of being in the Middle Ages and in the past. Only the small restaurants along the ascents to the upper town could slow us down and invite us to a small snack.
The rest of the day passed relaxed in the streets of Coimbra. The city is said to accommodate up to 30,000 students out of 140,000 inhabitants. You know where the action is. But not with us. We search for our motorhome before dark and prepare for the night. In any case, we are not alone today and there are other motorhomes around us. That calms the old bull and promises a relaxed night.
Tomorrow we will continue to Porto.