E phatlaladitšwe: 13.07.2018
The pure horror. Sleeping was not possible at all. At most 3 hours and not very pleasant. But well, you have to go through it. The train arrived in Coimbra with a delay of about an hour. I was done with the world and freshened up first. You might think now, well, it's 5.45 a.m. Go to your hostel and lie down first, so you can enjoy the day. But no, I can only check in at 3 p.m.
But since I didn't want to waste the day, I made the best of it. It's now 6:00 p.m. I've already walked 23km (with a big backpack), but I will also lie down in about 2 hours😬
Coimbra reminds me of Lisbon (what a coincidence, as if the cities were in the same country). But Coimbra looks like it hasn't been taken care of for decades. You can see that it used to look really cool, but because it looks so run-down and dirty, it gives the impression of being something broken. Well, I walked a lot, took a bus tour, unfortunately fell asleep briefly, and saw everything possible. I especially liked the Church Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova and the university campus. By the way, Coimbra is a student city. Another striking feature of Coimbra is that, like in Lisbon, it always goes uphill and downhill. Apparently, the Portuguese like to build their cities on hills...
Just like in Lisbon, the sidewalks are very beautiful. Decorated with patterns made of beautiful stone, but very slippery when it's wet.
My first meal on the trip was a disappointment. But now it can only get better. The first night was all the more relaxing. The hostel is very, very good value for money. Comfortable beds, clean room with Wi-Fi, towels, and a locker. Clean hygiene area, free breakfast, all for 18€. Although I had the "worst" room. So a six-bed mixed dormitory, but that's secondary. This morning I just felt bad when I had to finish packing my backpack and they were all still asleep.
Now it's off to Fatima!