Portugal in my Pocket: A Snapshot of Lisbon

You know what has been great about being abroad? All the spontaneous weekend trips we have decided to go on throughout the semester. One of these trips was in late March when I traveled to Lisbon, Portugal where I got to reunite with close family friends of mine for the weekend. 

The city was colorful and bustling with people. It was also much warmer which was a nice change from the cold weather we were getting in Bonn at the time! While here I was given a tour of different spots within Lisbon.

Our first stop on this tour was to Pastéis de Belém which is located next to our second stop of the Jerónimos Monastery. Opening in 1837, this bakery is famous for its egg custard called the Pastéis de Nata where the recipe was created by monks of the Jerónimos Monastery. It has been baked over 200 years and has only grown in popularity. The bakery was extremely crowded and had a line all the way around the building. We sat inside and enjoyed some Pastéis de Nata which I found to be delicious. We also saw many tour groups walking inside the building discussing various tileworks that could be seen around.

Next up was the Jerónimos Monastery, which took over 100 years to construct and was completed in the 16th century. It has a blend of different architecture styles of gothic, renaissance, and mannerist. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site too. After waiting in line, we finally got to go inside. My favorite part was the courtyard as it was filled with many intricate details and full of bright light. Despite the amount of people walking around, it was actually very peaceful. 

After this we took the metro to the city center. The metro was pretty easy to navigate as you can just tap in and out through apple pay or just purchase a ticket on your own. There are over 56 stations in Lisbon and 4 separate lines. The only drawback is that it can be hard to switch lines depending where you are in the city but luckily this was never a problem I faced. Once we arrived at the center we saw the city gate and Terreiro do Paço. The area was not too crowded as the square is quite large. As you walk through the commercial district the streets become filled with people going about their day. We decided to stop in this area to try some gelato which looked like a popsicle rather than your standard gelato. I was also told by my family friends how Portugal is responsible for exporting over 60% of the world’s cork and producing over 50% of it. Many products are made with cork including postcards which was a very fun discovery! 

Honestly what surprised me the most about Portugal was the amount of cars used in Lisbon alone. Streets were packed with traffic and while it was less than the amount seen in cities like New York, it was a lot more than what I had grown used to in Bonn. While it is not completely surprising due to LIsbon being a major city, I was expecting more people to use public transportation or alternative methods as they are both readily available and easy to access. 

Overall this trip was so much fun and I am super happy I got to visit my friends here and see their lives in Portugal. It was great getting to see the wonderful city of Lisbon and I hope to go back again!

-Samantha

Sources:

Jerónimos Monastery History | Construction and Architecture. (n.d.). Jeronimos Monastery Tickets. https://www.jeronimosmonasterytickets.com/history/

Lisbon Metro – The fastest way to get around Lisbon. (n.d.). Lisbon. https://www.lisbon.net/metro

Pastéis de Belém. (n.d.). History. Pastéis de Belém. https://pasteisdebelem.pt/en/history/#:~:text=In%201837%2C%20the%20baking%20of,unchanged%20to%20the%20present%20day

Pires, C. (n.d.). The cork | www.visitportugal.com. VisitPortugal. https://www.visitportugal.com/en/content/the-cork