The police officer on my side of the street is still busy with his last client. The young, blond officer on the other side walks a few steps in my direction, but doesn’t look at me and doesn’t signal me to stop. So I calmly drive to the stop sign to turn right, and have […]
It’s busy in the supermarket. Two checkouts are already open. I’m just last in line when it’s announced that the next one is opening, and that we can go to checkout 3 in the correct order. The man who has just arrived, with a few items in his hands, nods at me, because I’m allowed
The portuguese way Read More »
If you’re going to a small town in Portugal, you might start with the highway, but eventually you’ll end up on those lovely, winding little roads. You might encounter the typical portuguese potholes there The smaller the settlement, the less settled it’ll be. Portugal struggles with spending on “the man on the street.” All European
Portuguese potholes cause flats Read More »
Elections are always held here on a Sunday. Then everyone has the day off — well, almost everyone … with illness and fires, there are always people at work, and without problems, you’d still need train conductors and coffee makers anyway, but you can’t take that into account, so: Portuguese elections are always held on
Choice Stress – the portuguese elections of 2025 Read More »
We’re off again with four wheels this week, dear readers! When returning the rental car, we passed an estante, a car dealer of which you have many in Portugal. Often many together. Handy if you want to buy a second-hand car Now I wasn’t immediately looking for pre-owned wheels, but my eye fell on a
Buying a second-hand car? Read More »
This week less words and a lot of notes.To show how much my fellow countrymen love portugese music. The titel of this video: spontaneous singing This was the first one I stumbled upon. A father and a son at home on the couch. Just another day. The portugese society is drenched in music! Another one,
The portugese love portugese music Read More »
The first one dates back to a long time ago when we were taking lessons in the beautiful portuguese language and suddenly came up against the imperative. We haven’t done that in the dutch language for a long time. I only know the famous slogan just after the war: “Help each other, buy Dutch goods!”
Portuguese-Dutch culture shock Read More »
“Oh dear!” I say anxiously after I hobbled from one bed to the other, “Where is my arm?” “Look at that, you found it there,” the nurse says to me with a smile. My left arm is almost lying across my head. Completely numb. Very friendly staff at the hospital in Figueira How did I
How does it work at the portugese hospital? Read More »
The last time I was there, the ground floor was still full of old rusty fridges, and the stairs to the tower were closed because it was too dangerous. A stork had made a nest in the tree growing on the tower. The Monastery of Seiça has been empty for a long time It’s a
The Monastery of Seiça Read More »
My friend Anja is staying here for a few days. We’re going on an adventure, looking for a little lake that was recommended in the newspaper, the Diário de Coimbra. It looked like a fairytale in the photo, but on the way we suddenly see something else fairytalish. Abandoned and neglected houses are quite normal
Abandoned and neglected houses in Portugal Read More »
