Portugal 2010

Back in Finland now, after yesterday's long and boring flight. As always, I managed to be really late to the airport, rush hour got me by surprise. Luckily there were no queues on the airport, so I ended up being early enough on the departure gate.

Somehow I had managed to check myself in to seat 9F, and in the place last seat row before toilets and coffee machine was 8. After those the seats continued from row 11. The flight attendants seemed to be just as surprised as I was, and also a bit amused of the situation. After a few "James Bond, outside seating" "You can select between coffee machine and toilet" jokes I got a nice seat in front part of the aircraft, so no problem after all.. :)

Both flights were smooth and easy, and driving from Helsinki to Turku wasn't much of a problem either. Just a bit tiring, as it was already like 4AM when I got home..

As a conclusion.. Well, that was a nice and surprise-less long weekend. Not much worth of blogging, but still fun. Expect better and more entertaining blog in June, when we head far east from Finland, Kazakstan :)

Btw, some pictures coming later.

I took the walk on the seaside then, just a brief one though. After that I returned to the hostel, and as I was feeling a bit ill just stayed inside all the evening and drank a couple of beers. I was originally planning to go meet a few Slovenian people, but they were not able to go out today so.. It ended to be a bit boring "drink beer and chat online" evening for me.

Too bad Portugal doesn't seem to have much Turkish immigrants, no kebab places all around. The only place to get food in the city at this hour was a McDonald just on the other side of the square from the hostel, and as it's the only open place you get all those nice side effects like crazy guys inside the restaurant, a few black guys having a fight outside the door and so on.. Getting late-night food is an extreme experience, trying to avoid all of those. :)

Hmm, maybe this still isn't that worth of blogging. Yesterday I woke up pretty late and went to check out the nearby castle, Castelo de Sao Jorge. Not much to say about that one, a typical old castle. Some pictures coming later when I have time and motivation to go through them.

In the evening there was a Couchsurfing picnic, enjoyed a bottle of wine on a viewing point above the city and then had a pub crawl around Bairro Alto neighborhood, the nightlife central of Lisbon. Around 5AM I was back home again. The local party habits seem to be a bit different from most European countries. They start partying really late, and most people just hang around on streets between pubs in Bairro Alto, sometimes picking up a beer from a bar and returning outside for chatting and so on. Well, maybe in these temperatures and weather conditions it is a good way.

Today I just woke up early, had a breakfast, slept some more and now thinking what to do.. Maybe taking a walk on the seaside.

That was an interesting way to wake up. My bed was vibrating heavily and I was wondering what the hell is happening.. Earthquake or what?

After waking up a bit more I realized there were washing machines in the next room just next to my bed and when they were drying the clothes they were making the floor vibrate. :)

And of course I woke up 10 minutes after free breakfast time ended.. Damn. :P

Ok, this was a long day. After walking around the city I spent a while in the hostel, having a couple of beers, chatting and just hanging around. After 11pm I took a taxi to the couchsurfing party, which itself was a bit boring as most of the attendees already knew each other and I was about the only non-portuguese speaking person in there.. Well, it was not that bad after all.

From the party we headed to a local club with a few guys, partied for some hours and another taxi took me home. Nothing special, just a casual fun night :)

Sipping my water now and hoping to find some food in the morning.. Seems like all the food places in here close way before the bars do.

It's also fun to notice how the Portuguese people are starting partying really late. Most parties begin just before midnight, and nightclubs are open until sunrise. This particular club we went to close at 05, but there still were many open ones..

As a side note, it's a bit surprising that Lisbon taxis are considered to be reliable and mostly non-cheating.. At least after getting used to Eastern European taxis. I took a taxi both ways tonight and didn't notice any problems either. A few kilometers ride was something like 3 euros and the taxi drivers were actually using their meters and so on :)

No much news again. I guess city vacations are not that much worth of blogging, especially if just hanging around alone and not doing anything exceptional :)

It has been a busy shoe-hunting day today. In the morning I headed a bit outside of the city to a big shopping mall and bought myself new hiking-type shoes from a sports store. My casual walking shoes were just impossible to use for walking around, after a few kilometers my feet were hurting badly and blistering.. I already had the same problem in Budapest last new year, but simply forgot to buy new shoes in Finland. Well, now I have and they weren't even that expensive :)

After getting back to the hostel and having a few cups of coffee I headed out again, this time looking for some Spanish-made shoes which Laura asked me to bring here.. Didn't find those, but at least I got to walk around the city a bit more.

In the evening there should be a couchsurfing party which I will probably attend. These guys seem to start partying really late, around 22-23 and the bars are open until sunrise. Yesterday I never got into any bar though, and probably won't do that today either.. Maybe on Saturday evening.

By the way, Lisbon seems to be full of people selling (fake) drugs. Once in a while I get stopped on the streets by a guy offering coke, dope, weed.. And half of them are probably selling fake stuff. Kinda annoying.

I wonder when I actually learn to check that I have a memory card in my camera when I take it with me.. That damn card is always home in some memory card reader, this time inside my laptop..

Hmph. Still no bag. I called the call center of the ground handling company, and they promised to bring the bag either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Well, at least they have found it and it's already in Lisbon but I still would love to have my shower stuff here as soon as possible.

No much other news from here. I slept for a couple of hours, took another walk around the city and ride a few exceptional public transport methods of Lisbon like a funicular and an old pretty cool lift to the top of the nearby hill.. Now waiting for the wine tasting party, borrowing a towel from hostel reception and taking my much needed shower.

I haven't been traveling alone in a strange country for a while, and after the first day I have a bit mixed feelings of it. It's fun to just wander around, with no need to discuss with anybody what we should do. On the other hand, it's a bit lonely. I guess I should attend local couchsurfing meetings tomorrow and the day after..

Whoah. After Finnish winter I really ain't used to heat. It's only like 25C which should be nothing, but after months of darkness and coldness it takes time to get used to summer weather. It's also pretty humid, as Lisbon is on seaside which maybe makes the air feel more sweaty.

Anyway, I took a walk up the hill to Bairro Alto and other areas near the hostel. Wandering around small alleys was fun and the sunshine is making me feel good, but after waking up after 3AM and flying for 6 hours I could actually use a few hours of sleep..

Finding the hostel was not much of a problem. The bus stopped right in front of the hostel in downtown Lisbon and I checked myself into this place called Rossio Hostel for at least two days. The hostel looks pretty cool so far, a comfortable looking small place with friendly staff.

So far my impression of Lisbon has been extremely positive. It's warm, sunny and the city is green and beatiful, built in very easily recognizable Spanish style. It's not so "South American" as Mexico but more Mediterranean. I guess I should head out to grab some food and maybe wander around the neighborhood for a while.. The hostel has some kind of a wine party tonight, doesn't sound like a bad idea :)

I was not thinking of writing a blog from this trip, as this is just a quick and spontaneous long weekend in Lisbon but well.. Why not.

Last week I was going to attend a work trip to Nice, France but unfortunately our flights got canceled because of the volcano eruption in Iceland. I had already prepared myself to spend a few days in Mediterranean heat and just couldnt resist booking flights to somewhere warm.

So, today in the early morning hours I drove to Helsinki-Vantaa airport and boarded a Lufthansa plane to Frankfurt. Unfortunately the flight arrived there a bit late and I already had a really tight stopover schedule. Boarding to Lisbon flight started just as we got out of the first plane, on apron far away from the terminal where the second flight was supposed to depart. Bus ride to the terminal, and I ran through it to the other end of the terminal just to find out that the gate had changed. More running and I finally boarded the correct aircraft just a few minutes before it departed towards Lisbon.

Three more boring hours on an Airbus 321 in nice, turbulence-free flying conditions and we landed to sunny and warm Lisbon. The airport immediately felt really familiar. The looks, the smell, everything reminded me of Mexico which I cant say was a bad thing. Well, actually that was not much a surprise, both countries have very strong Spanish cultural influence anyway. Kind of like meeting an old friend or something.

Unfortunately, the term "we landed" did not include my bag. Friendly lady at the lost&found office told me that the bag was in Frankfurt, it should arrive here in a few hours and they will deliver it to my hostel. Ah well, there's nothing really critically needed except my shower equipment and clean clothes...

I found a post office, bought a 4 day travel card for public transport and hopped into a bus which took me to downtown and to the hostel.