June 8: Coimbra

Dear Friends,

Today we were off relatively early, once the fog had lifted, to Coimbra, a university town and about 30 minutes away from Condeixa.  Coimbra was a former capital of Portugal, and one of the country's oldest cities.  Along with Guimaraes, Lisbon, and Porto, it forms the quartet of Portugal's historic capitals.  It is situated on a hill above the Rio Mondego, and is full of ancient alleys and lanes.  It is famed for its historic hilltop university, established in 1290.  Coimbra has an impressive number of historical monuments, including ancient convents and two cathedrals.  

After wandering through some alleyways, we approached a Fado shop, where we attended a Fado concert with two instrumentalists, playing a 12-string guitarist and a mandolin-type instrument, as well as a singer (in Coimbra tradition, only men sing Fado).  I had heard Mariza, a famous Fado singer, on CD, but was now front and center listening to these three musicians handle songs of love lost, and political and nationalistic songs, all expertly performed in the black robes that all students at the university are required to wear.  The audience was even asked to sing along at the last song, something like "April in Portugal," which I actually knew and sang with a full heart!  

Twenty thousand students swell the town's size throughout the academic year, and we were even taken to see student prisons, which did not, however, sport the etched signatures of its inhabitants that the "Karzer" of Heidelberg University fame did.  

For a while in its history, the University moved to Lisbon but then moved back the former royal palace in 1537.  We toured its Biblioteca Joanina, a. Baroque confection of marbled wood, gold leaf, imposing frescoed ceilings, and elaborate trompe l'oeil decorations.  This elaborate library was installed in 1717, and lining the walls were 250,000 rare books, including a Gutenberg Bible manuscript and many explorers' journals.  We also toured the Sala dos Capeles, a series of grand rooms which were once part of the royal palace and then became an ornate venue for students to sit their exams beneath the portraits of former monarchs and rectors.  The rooms are still used to award degree certificates.  Previous graduates include the epic poet Luis de Camoes, writer Eca de Queiros, and 20th c. dictator Salazar.  We also stopped at the Capelo de San Miguel, a 16th c. chapel with a splendid 18th c. Baroque organ.  The room is adjacent to the Sala dos Capelos.

It was then time for lunch, and traveler Barbara and I had lunch together (I tried another new beef and vegetable soup and a frothy lemonade), and then did a little shopping (cork shoes and handbags are big sellers here, as are tiles).

Our final destination of the day was the Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro, housed in a 12th c. former bishop's palace.  The museum has just been renovated, and the palace in which it is housed is on top of Portugal's most important Roman building, the Cryptoporticus, a series of underground 1st c. galleries which I visited in the basement.  The museum highlights Coimbra's cultural importance over the years, with an array of artifacts such as religious sculptures, jewelry, ceramics, furniture, textiles and paintings dating mostly from the 14th to the 18th c.  Signage was not particularly good, and guards kept wanting to herd us through the museum, but otherwise, the material, especially the religious sculptures, were quite splendid and stunning.

It took us about 30 minutes to get back to our pousada in Condeixa, and we had a nice 1 1/2-hour hiatus between arrival and dinner.  Some people swam; others took a nap.  At 7:30 we met and had a dinner of monkfish and perch soup (about my 5th variety of soup so far on this trip, and very fine); turkey slices, spinach, and medallion potatoes in their jackets; and for dessert a very fine, fresh apple pie.  So scrumptious!  Afterwards, about 10 of us took a walk and then watched the sun set over our pousada.  Glorious day!  As ever, SV

Sylvia M. Venable, PhD

Instructor, German

St. John's Episcopal School

Dallas, Texas