What we miss from Portugal

Portugal – land of fado, port wine, Algarve and great people. Well, in contrast to northern Spain, the male part of the Duro crew particularly liked Portugal. And there are some things what we miss from Portugal.

What we miss from Portugal – the landscape

The landscape of Portugal captivates with a rich, bright green. One or the other will now think: “What’s that supposed to mean? The landscape in Central Europe is also green. ”Yep – by no means – but only in spring and summer. The green that I am trying to describe here is the green in November. The trees and bushes glow as if the Irish had just moved their Saint Patricks Day to Portugal. The forests are numerous and dense. Eucalyptus trees line up and shine in competition with the vast amount of olive trees. Who would have thought that it could be so green at this time of year? We don’t – especially not in these latitudes.

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We miss people

Maybe that’s a little over the top now. Maybe just a little … tiny little … ok, rather a good exaggeration. Still meant honestly. If the invention of helpfulness can be attributed to a country, it is Portugal. Wherever we drove, stood or strolled … a Portuguese was always nearby who wanted to help us and could. The Portuguese seized enormously good English. We were very surprised that so many people – young and old – were so proficient in the English language. This makes international understanding easy. 🙂

We miss the port wine

Believe it or not, I’m still against the uncontrolled consumption of alcohol. Many people say: “A beer or a good glass of wine is part of a good meal.” Alcohol is therefore socially acceptable and the negative consequences are always nicely hidden. Who stays with a glass of wine? Drunk in company, one or the other tilts down the pressed juice like water. The liver does not thank them in the long term and the brain notices the negative consequences after just a few sips. The accident victims are also not jumping for joy.

But I also found something alcoholic that inspires me. It is the port wine from Porto. Real port must have been grown and pressed in the Douro area. And so there are really delicious droplets here. We tasted the fine wines from Burmester, Càlem, Ferreira, Graham’s and Ramos Pinto. And the Ramos Pinto is by far the best port there is. Which species? Everyone!

No matter whether Ruby, Tawny, Rosé, White, Vintage, LBV or the award-winning Terroir Gold RP10, RP20 or RP30. No other port is comparable to that of Ramos Pinto. Have we all tasted? Yes … and it was funny too. It was really a tough fight. 🙂

Complete abstinence is now required for a long time.

We miss the coasts

Rugged coastlines are reminiscent of Brittany. But the steep coasts of Portugal cannot be compared to those of the French region. Here a cliff likes to drop a hundred meters vertically into the sea and continues the angular rocks below sea level in the same way. Here the Atlantic sea lashes against the rocks with full force. Nazaré is a world-famous hotspot for surfers. Huge – no monstrous waves break here on the beach. In 2013, several world records were broken here when riding the highest waves. The highest ridden wave is said to have been 21.6 meters high. Although this has not been confirmed so far, these water masses command awe.

And at night, when the waves are softer and longer, you are carried into a deep healthy sleep here.

We miss the 4G networks

We were amazed at the technical progress in Portugal. Everywhere … and I also mean remote corners and streets in the coastal region, the Internet can be reached with excellent 4G speed.

We miss beautiful houses

Portugal’s houses are modern and in many places they are younger. That surprised us the most because a few years ago the state was on the verge of state bankruptcy. Not much was read in the media about the economic recovery – we were all the more amazed at the number of beautiful houses. The Portuguese have a taste when it comes to building a house. There are some delicious huts in which to stay for “eternity and much further…” is an easy one.

Conclusion

We really liked Portugal. The country and its people inspired and caught us. It would be easy for us to spend the evening here. In addition to traditionally prepared dishes, the country is also very modern in culinary terms and can easily reach the Hiltl in Zurich with vegetarian cuisine.

We would travel to Portugal again at any time and then stay even longer than before. And then we are sure to go to a fado concert. That just didn’t work out during our visit.