Night bus to Lisbon

If you want to get from Spain to Lisbon without flying and want to take the train, you will find that this is almost impossible due to the different track gauges.

So we chose the night bus. The driver had trained at Deutsche Bahn, however, and so we didn't leave at 0:55 a.m. but at 1:40 a.m., after a very dedicated security guard had briefly directed everyone waiting to Gate 20 - only to later lead us back to Gate 60.

After a long night, we arrived in Lisbon in the morning across the Tajo Bridge. In our youthful exuberance, we tried to walk the 8 km to the hotel with our backpacks. After 5 km, we decided to take a taxi. A private driver recognized our intention, stopped and drove us. The good man who gave us a ride was kind enough to point out that we were no longer young... "You are not young. Your muscles are not strong enough!" When we told him that we had come from the East Bus Station, he was so impressed that he gave us the bouquet of chrysanthemums he had with him as a reward for our sportsmanship. It would have been better if he had said: "You are still young, why didn't you run?"

Having finally arrived in the old town, we can say that Lisbon is not as alternative as our neighborhood in Madrid, but it has a lot of charm and beauty - which is what we expected. We hope the pictures speak for themselves.

In the evenings there were many street artists (folk singing, violin music, breakdancing etc.). Even during the day the variety of restaurants, cafes and bars was impressive, although our secret favourite was the hairdresser where you could buy kebabs and pizza. Haircuts and pizza - a completely natural combination that makes you wonder why no one has thought of it before...

On the second day we moved from the hotel to our small, very nice holiday apartment. Let's just say that we improved significantly.

Tips on what to do in Lisbon:

Ride the tram, take the elevator, drink coffee. It sounds banal - but it's true. The old-fashioned cable cars and elevators between the different parts of the city are now completely overcrowded tourist monuments. Nevertheless, they are highlights in the cityscape - and the trams are definitely cheaper than the by no means uncharming electric tuk tuks and electric vintage carriages. We really enjoyed the rides in an elevator and especially the quaint trams - as long as we were out and about in the morning without other tourists.

We went to a hip vegan restaurant, but the classic Portuguese bars and cafés also have their charm if you don't stick to the absolute tourist hotspots.

Our personal program also included a Fado performance with a male and female singer, which we really enjoyed.

The best way to experience Lisbon is in a café with a view of the sea, with some melancholic fado music playing from somewhere. But even if it doesn't work out as clichéd, Lisbon is definitely worth a trip - even on the night bus.