A Day in Coimbra

Coimbra is full of tradition. It’s the oldest university in Portugal and the second oldest in Europe, established around 1300. University life dominates the old part of town. The students wear black capes everywhere, giving it a Hogwarts kind of vibe. We spent most of the day at the university. The early physics and chemistry buildings have been preserved, with an incredible array of “cutting edge” apparatuses used to develop knowledge of physics from the 17th century on. Rooms and rooms of devices, old lecture rooms and history. Way cool.

We dodged heavy rain and occasional thunderstorms all day. It has been a wet spring so far. This evening we went out walking and ended up at the cafe that used to be part of the Church of Santa Cruz, where there was live music. Student singing groups were performing fado, a mournful Portuguese singing style. It appeared to be a competition. Each group marched in with their own flag, sang a song or two, and marched out. I don’t think it was classic fado, but it was enjoyable. Afterwards, the group that won climbed into the fountain outside and sang another song.Read more