Reys Adventures on the Island

Some things change, some things stay the same.

Well actually more man than mad. As in Manchester. Since Sunday I am in Manchester for my mandatory internship for my bachelors studies. I can’t believe it has already been 3 years since I went to Madeira. 

A lot has changed since then. But a lot of things also stayed the same. I am still trying to learn Portuguese. At least every now and then. 

Manchester has greeted me with typical English weather to which my body responded with getting a cold. What better way to start this experience than with being sick? 

It is March 1st 2016, which means it has now been exactly one year since I started my adventure. I’ve been back in Austria for 6 month now and a lot has changed in my life. I always wanted to write an ending for this blog but I forgot and then I didn’t know what to write and then I thought it was too late now anyway.

I’ve been thinking about my time in Madeira a lot lately. Now that I’m studying at university my life is much more stressful than it used to be back on the island.

I miss the sea right in front of my doorstep.

I miss all my friends I made there.

I miss the relaxed life I lived there.

This isn’t to say, that I’m not happy where I’m at now. I live in Vienna now and I study at a University for Applied Sciences with a lot of great new people. My life here is wonderful.

But every now and then, when I am very stressed, I think about the great time I had there. And for a moment I wish I was back on Madeira where my life was much simpler.

My time in Madeira was amazing even if it wasn’t always easy. But everything I experienced there helped me grow as a person and even though I am not in Madeira anymore Madeira will always be with me :)

In the middle of Lisbon, just opposite  of the Elevador de Santa Justa I saw a green heart that looked familiar. 

At closer inspection I realized that it was, indeed, a heart with the words 

Steiermark 

Das grüne Herz Österreichs

on it.

I spent two nights in Lisbon at the flat of a girl that I met in Braga. 

The first evening the roommates of the girls I knew took me to a small Jazz festival which was very cool.

Afterwards we went to get some pizza and then to the nightlife area of Lisbon. I had a great night seeing the ‘real’ Lisbon and not just the parts you will find in a guide book.

The next day I explored Lisbon on my own. I tried to see as much as possible in just one day.

When I came to the Mainland I had no idea where I wanted to go. This whole trip was a very spontaneous thing. So on the last day in Braga I still didn’t know where I wanted to go from there.  At lunch I looked on the Internet about places to see in Portugal and read about a town called Aveiro.

I took the train to Aveiro and booked a bed at a Hostel on my way there. It was a very nice place to stay and the town has the relaxing atmosphere of a small town. 

The town is called the Venice of Portugal because it is build around a system of channels. 

Being, for once, a tourist and not the guide, I took a ride on one of the boats and let them tell me something about the town.

At night I found a nice shopping center called Forum Aveiro. It was partly open air and had a cinema so I went to see a movie.

I love reading and I love anything that looks even remotely like a library or bookshop. I don’t think I will ever be able to pass one of those without going in.

The bookshop  Livraria Lello & Irmão is said to be one of the most beautiful ones in Europe.

It’s also said to be source of inspiration for J.K Rowling who lived in Porto for some time.

Porto is a beautiful city but I had actually no idea what I wanted to see there (like the whole trip).

I spend one day there when I arrived before going to Braga and another day before I flew back to Madeira because my plane was going from there.

I spent my first day there just aimlessly wandering around getting a feeling for the city.

The second day (last day of my holidays) I spent there I was actually very tired and just wanted to go home.

I had planned to meet up with a friend I met in Braga but she didn’t have time so I just wandered around again and used every possibility to sit and read something.

On my first day I accidentally stumbled across a wine cellar where I visited a tour and tasted some Port wine.

I went on another formation at the mainland and got some vacation days afterwards :) 

The formation was great and I made some new friends as well as meeting people from my first formation. 

Portugal is a beautiful country. Even though I had only 4 days to spend there, which is way too little, I had a great time. I hope I can come back someday with a friend or my family and see more of it!