Engineering view of things. From Spain to Portugal
The accidental purchase of one ticket was overgrown with new ideas and plans, and a "thread" of the route was put together, bordering on a gamble, which resulted in 50 days of travel, 15 planes, 7,000 kilometers driving four cars, hiking with a tent, traveling by trains, trains, ships of all stripes and even on yachts. These are travel notes from our diary about what we saw on the way, about people, places and impressions.
Once again behind the wheel after a two-day break, we could not get enough of the fact how comfortable and convenient it is to ride on your own wheels, stop where you want, and not carry luggage. As it turned out, dependence on the schedule of public transport and linking to its routes, as well as buying some kind of travel card, was quite nerve-wracking. Give you freedom of movement!
At about 10 o'clock in the morning we took a course from Seville to Portugal. It was not immediately decided to add the neighbor of Spain to the route, since there were simply no high-profile sights "with a name" on the ear. Superficial excavations of the Internet immediately stunned: there is port! OK then. They dug some more - Lisbon sailed with trams and Cape Roca. And then, as it went, it went: Freemasons, Templars, Manueline carvings, fantastic Sintra, harsh Tomar, Porto wine warehouses, and of course - Obidos. It was the photographs of the blue-yellow-white Obidos that became the last straw and put an end to doubts about whether to go or not. Of course, go!
On this journey, the plans were to travel "a little further" into Eurasia from almost the most eastern point to the most western one. The idea for this itinerary was conceived after traveling in 2011 when we traveled from the Sea of Japan to the North Sea in the Netherlands and Belgium. In the same year, they advanced to the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Roca in Portugal. So, everything is in order.
Portugal... It's almost like Spain. Almost completely Spain, only Portugal. That was my knowledge, or rather, my misconceptions about this country. We went there not expecting to see any striking differences between this small state and its older neighbor - neither ethnic nor, moreover, climatic. Still, it's nice to be wrong sometimes.
And an idea was born. With a beer, on the fence near my native school, I came, I don’t even remember who, to the head. Give in to the sun New Year. And where can you drown on a wheelbarrow? If you go to Asia, then the winters there are just as cold, and it’s a long way to go to India or something before the heat. In Sochi, some - it's raining, also not a varicose. If to Europe - it can be warm only closer to Africa. Here is Portugal - it should be warm, sunny, there is an ocean, and the westernmost point of the continent is Cabo da Roca. None of us have ever been this far, especially by car. The roads seem to be good, we'll get there.
We arrived at the lakes early in the morning, and there was fog. Don't forget to check the weather in Sete Cidades before leaving :) After walking along the shore of the green lake, we found some nice places for picnics, fed the ducks and, when the fog cleared, admired the views.
I gave birth to the second part in six months :). And it's time to write a new report on the current trip to the Crimea (2014), by the way. I plan to make a report with an overview of ALL Crimean sights. I think this year it will be very relevant. Decreased now foreign reports on the Drome. They began to explore their homeland :). That's right, and this year we are planning rides all over the country.
The idea to rush to Europe by car appeared every time after reading the next report on this site, at first it seemed fantastic to me, but after purchasing Toyota funcargo from an auction of 4 points and a rally from Krasnoyarsk to the Black Sea, I believed in the possibility of a multi-day road trip. For many months, cunning plans have been brewing to conquer the Alps and other interesting places of old Europe. Gradually, an approximate route began to clearly take shape in my head, I decided not to use guidebooks, they quickly become outdated and are expensive, I got information on Google and Wikipedia, wrote out all the places of interest to us with coordinates, and to see everything in Europe and life is not enough, since this open-air museum. My wife and other close people were twisting at the temple when voicing my plans, but I could no longer be stopped, because life without a dream come true is not life. Everything is decided, let's go. Since it’s not realistic to persuade friends to take such a trip, everyone has their own life and plans, and most people associate rest with lying on the beach and drinking strong drinks, we are traveling together with our beloved wife, our daughter is still too small and will stay with her grandmother.
going on winter holiday 2012-2013 to the Baltic States, we faced one problem: without buying a ticket, it is almost impossible to get a visa to Perm. Hearing another: “We don’t make visas to the Baltic states,” we turned to the same friend who made us visas to Romania. - Why do you need an Estonian visa? asked Pavel. - Do Spanish, they give you six months at once without any problems. We weren't going to Europe planning our May holiday in the Emirates, but why not?
Number of days: 26
Country: Spain, Portugal
Period: from August 04, 2014 to August 29, 2014
This ready-made itinerary through Spain and Portugal was dictated by the desire to see northern Spain, the architecture of castles and cathedrals, many of which are under protection, visit the castle of Henry IV in Navarre, taste Spanish wine and traditional dishes, see the amazing change of landscapes and visit different climates. zones in one short road from Zaragoza to Pamplona. Meet the pilgrims on the famous Way of Santiago, visit Catalonia, Navarre, Galicia, Castile, the Basque Country. Get to a concert of Spanish guitarists and see flamenco.
And we chose Portugal for a beach holiday and admiring the drawings on the traditional Portuguese tiles - azulejos. Here is the journey our dream has turned into:
August 4 - Departure from Moscow to Barcelona. Late in the evening we arrive in Barcelona and check into the hotel.
August 8 - we pick up the car at the Barcelona Sants station, which we booked in advance back in Russia. We settle in it comfortably and go to Montserrat Monastery. We walk around the monastery and along its hiking trails. After the monastery, on the same day we arrive in Zaragoza. We leave the car in a free parking lot. We check into a hotel.
August 10 - we leave the hotel. We go to Pamplona, on the way we examine two cities: Tudela and Olite. In the evening we check into a hotel in Pamplona.
August 11 - we leave the hotel, put our bags in the car and walk around Pamplona, mostly in the old town. After visiting the city we go to Santander.
August 13 - we leave Santander for Burgos. We check into a hotel in Burgos, walk around Burgos.
August 14 - we leave Burgos for the canyon de Sil. In the middle of the way we stop in Leon, a few hours to explore the city. After León we reach the Parador in the Canyon de Sil, where we sleep soundly until the morning.
August 15 – we leave Parador, explore the beauty of the canyon by car, stop by a small town for lunch. After walking and driving through the canyon, we drive to Santiago de Compostela. We check into a hotel.
August 18 - we rent a car in Vigo and go by train to the city of Sintra (Portugal) through Porto and Lisbon. We check into pre-booked through the airbnb service.
August 21 - from Sintra we go by bus to Praia das Maçãs beach. We check into a pre-booked house near the ocean.
August 21-25 - we relax on the Praia das Maçãs beach. We go to the ocean, buy fresh fish in the market, visit other beaches and Cape Roca (Cabo da Roca)
August 27 - We take a train from Madrid for a one-day trip to Toledo. We walk around the city, in the evening we return to Madrid.
August 28 - we continue our walk around Madrid. In the evening we pack our bags and take a night bus to Barcelona.
August 29 - in the morning in Barcelona. We get to the airport, fly to Moscow via Frankfurt am Main. We have a 6 hour layover in Frankfurt. During this time, we examine the old part of the city and walk along the Main. We return to the airport and arrive in Moscow.
At first, our route seemed very easy to us. We thought that we took everything into account: the distance between cities, the complexity of the road, the size of cities. Nevertheless, it was unexpected and nervous after the silence of the roads to enter the noisy, busy, often very narrow streets of the big cities of Pamplona, Santander, Vigo ... And, of course, we were exhausted by serpentines. But in the end, the route turned out to be interesting; seized various provinces of Spain and part of Portugal. For the first acquaintance with these countries, a lot of information and impressions have accumulated.
Brieflyabouttravel. Tasted traditional Spanish food and drinks. With pleasure, they "lost" money in the shops of Madrid. Carried out the promised meeting. Paragliding over the Sierra Nevada mountains!!! They celebrated my anniversary in Andalusia in a great way! We crossed Gibraltar on the ferry and saw Morocco out of the corner of our eye. Marked at the southernmost and western points of Europe. Ride on the Lisbon tram.
We planned a trip to Spain for the end of May 2012 a few months in advance, the choice fell on this country for several reasons. A year ago, we planned a road trip to the south of Spain, but at the last moment we changed our minds and rushed to Mexico along the most interesting route, about which I wrote a whole "Mexican series". This time we decided to take advantage of the open Schengen visa and go to Spain, and not to any other European country. We booked Transaero airline tickets back in February, which cost only 20 thousand rubles for two, but the trip as a whole still turned out to be expensive. Visas were already open from a previous trip to Andorra (), so we only had to work out the route, book hotels and rent a car.
- Spain - Madrid, Toledo, Puerto de Mazarron, Granada, Ronda, Tarifa, Seville.
- Excursion to the Moroccan city of Tangier from Tarifa.
- Portugal - Lisbon, Sintra, Porto.
Flight a / c Transaero Moscow-Madrid-Moscow. The plane was only more than half full, so we each sat comfortably on three seats and the flight went very smoothly, and I would even say comfortable, despite the venerable age of the Boeing 737.
Madrid. Of course, Madrid is the heart of the Kingdom of Spain, not only because it is the capital of the country, the city is permeated with history, art and unimaginable beauty with majestic architectural ensembles. There are very few Russians in Madrid, we practically did not hear Russian speech, but the Spaniards and Europeans themselves love to come here.
When getting to know Madrid, I strongly recommend taking a ticket for 1, or better 2 days for a tourist bus to the most significant sights of the capital, this is a good opportunity to see the city, listen brief information in Russian about passing objects, get off at any stop for a more detailed acquaintance, and then take the next bus to continue the route. The tourist bus costs 24 euros for 2 days per adult.
We visited MuseumPrado- the most famous museum in Spain, where Spanish painting is most widely represented. From El Greco and Velazquez to a huge selection of Goya, everything is impressive. Admission to the Prado Museum costs only 8 euros per person, and admission is free from Tuesday to Saturday from 18:00 to 20:00 and on Sundays from 17:00 to 20:00.
The largest attraction of the city and a popular Sunday resting place for Madrid residents is Retiro Park, in the center of which there is a small lake and a monument to King Alfonso XII. Those who wish can ride a boat on the lake, it is quiet, calm and romance is in the air.
Square Puerta del Sol is central to Madrid and one of the main attractions of the city. It has a plate with a zero point for counting road distances in Spain. The area is surrounded by ancient buildings, in the center of which stands the equestrian statue of Charles III, and on the corner with Carmen Street - the Bear and the strawberry tree, the bronze symbol of Madrid. Our Hotel II Castillas is located just near the Puerta del Sol, which was very convenient.
Another area of Madrid - Plaza Mayor, competing with Puerta del Sol for the right to be called main square the Spanish capital, is located in the "Austrian Madrid", as it is customary to call this part of the city. Plaza Mayor has numerous cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops from morning until late at night. Tourists are entertained by amateur musicians, street artists offer their work.
On the Plazas of Spain it was especially interesting for us to visit, because in the center of it there is a monument to Cervantes and his most famous characters - Don Quixote of Lamanche, sitting on an old mare and Sancho Panza on a donkey. Before the trip to Madrid, we almost completely listened to an audiobook about the adventures of a glorious knight who did many heroic, but absolutely fruitless deeds for the sake of his beloved Dulcinea. The syllable of the presentation of the work may be somewhat ornate and old-fashioned, but that's what makes it interesting. In my opinion, this is a brilliant work, over which time has no power, and its characters are simply funny, one cannot take their actions seriously.
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain
Museum of Fame of Real Madrid Football Club
Museum of Fame of Real Madrid Football Club
Museum of Fame of Real Madrid Football Club
Museum of Fame of Real Madrid Football Club
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain
Worth a visit to the Madrid market San Miguel, which is not like any of the markets I know of in other cities. This is one of the must-see places on the gastronomic map of Madrid. Mostly the Spaniards themselves come here to have a bite to eat and treat themselves to delicious wine, and the prices here are higher than in ordinary tapas bars. Clams, scallops, Galician oysters and other outlandish seafood are sold in their freshest form, sprinkled with lemon juice. Hung carcasses of jamon and spread out cheeses, strawberries and cherries of giant sizes and other fruits are neatly lined with berries.
shoppinginMadrid. I had a whole day allotted for this entertaining event. First of all, I decided to go to the so-called shopaholic's paradise - las Rosas Village. I decided to get there by the shopping express bus, which arrives directly at las Rosas Village, tickets for which are sold at the Julia travel travel agency. The agency is located next to the Plaza de España, in the same place where the monument to Cervantes is, the bus leaves from here. The ticket costs 14 euros in both directions. Departure and arrival back to Madrid strictly at a certain time. The earliest bus departs at 11:00, and the return departure is strictly at 17:00, the journey takes 30 minutes. The allotted time turned out to be too much for me, and I left by taxi to continue shopping at the El Corte Ingles shopping center. Despite the fact that the most famous world and Spanish brands are represented in the village of las Rosas Village, the assortment turned out to be extremely scarce. Although the prices for many things are indeed significantly reduced, I did not set myself the goal of buying a lot and cheaply, but on the contrary, I was interested in high-quality, beautiful and fashionable outfits. After going through half of the stores and looking at all this, I already decided that shopping was over before it started, and my mood, instead of soaring with the joy of shopping, was at zero. But still, I decided to go through all the shops to the end and carefully look at everything. And here it is - a red dress with a fashionable vegetable print, coquettishly and enticingly attracted my attention. Without hesitation for a long time, I buy it, making sure in the fitting room that it fits me perfectly. The joyful color of juicy tomatoes immediately cheered me up! In general, you can buy something here, but I think it would be better to go to Serrano Street in the center of Madrid and spend money there on new collections in branded boutiques. There I also bought (now beloved by me) D&G glasses in a trendy cat-eye shape. And then I took a taxi for 32 euros to El Corte Ingles, which is conveniently located in the center of Madrid and next to our hotel. Here I also bought some interesting things, and in the evening I went to the Retiro Park to see my husband on a date.
Looking ahead, but on the topic of shopping, I note that Serrano Street is really a wonderful luxury shopping, although the prices are high, but the latest collections of famous international and Spanish brands are presented. The only inconvenience is that Serrano Street is not pedestrian, but with busy traffic, so you first need to walk along one side, then along the other, so as not to waste time crossing the street and waiting for your traffic light.
As for El Corte Ingles, the choice of clothes of high-quality expensive brands is small, and I often faced the lack of my size, if I liked the thing and wanted to try it on, this is a minus. Pros of El Corte Ingles - everything is in one place, and there is a 10% tourist card discount, which must be issued before purchase. We bought a few things for my wife, but he does not really like to go shopping, the most important purchase for him in Madrid was the iPad, taking into account Tax Free, it turned out to be very profitable.
Important point! If for some reason you did not have time or forgot to get money at the airport, then a person flying to Europe, whom you trust, can do it for you, it is enough to have a photocopy of your international passport. You need to consider whether at the airport where your friend is flying to, the bank that issues money specifically for your Tax Free check, this information is on your Tax Free envelope.
Now a little more. If you make purchases in El Corte Ingles, you issue Tax Free at the very end with one check, after all purchases. Registration is carried out at a special counter in the shopping center by sellers, you only need to issue a passport and tell how you will receive money. Even if you shop at different El Corte Ingles malls, still make out everything with one check. For registration of Tax Free, a fee of 7 Euros is charged, it is simply deducted when receiving money. You can get money in cash at the airport at the Global Blue bank, but only during the bank's working hours. If you do not fall under the bank's schedule, it is better to indicate in advance when issuing a Tax Free check the method of receiving money using a credit card and drop the sealed envelope into a special Tax Free box of Global Blue Bank. The box is right next to the Global Blue window itself. If you make purchases in Las Rosas Village, then the Tax Free check is issued and looks a little different. Here, after each purchase, the seller prints out a Tax Free check at a special checkout, you draw it up yourself and cash out the money at the office, which is also located at the airport in Madrid and other European cities. The most important thing is to put a customs stamp on each check. They may also ask you to show a thing, it is better to have all purchases with you in your hand luggage.
If you have any questions or additions to the story, please speak in the comments, I will be glad to communicate.
Photo from a walk in Madrid before the rain.
Car rental in Spain. We booked a car rental through the already familiar company SIXT (site sixt.com). For 11 days of auto travel in Spain and Portugal, Opel Astra cost 300 euros, this included the cost of insurance in these countries with a deductible of 150 euros. The quality of the roads, of course, is excellent, the speed limit on highways is 120 km. Some sections of highways are tolled. Please pay attention to the presence of toll motorways in Portugal, the payment for which is not made at the toll station, as we are used to, but remotely, i.e. the camera recognizes the car number. And the easiest way to pay is to buy a subscription at the nearest gas station. Gasoline is generally expensive, with 95 €1.4 in Spain and €1.7 in Portugal.
Looking ahead, I want to note that we drove 3000 km by car and spent about 400 euros on gasoline and tolls. route in Spain and Portugal for 11 days was: Madrid - Toledo - Puerto de Mazarron - Cartagena - Granada - Ronda - Tarifa - Seville - Lisbon - Sintra - Porto- Madrid.
Portugal is a country where there were no all these well-known artists, sculptors, directors, musicians, writers ... There is no need to run headlong through museums, monasteries, castles and cemeteries. There are only two cities in the whole country. And and...
To Portugal by car. Part 1: Moscow-Algarve
Autotourism, Germany Travel Report; Spain, Lleida (Lleida); Spain, Toledo; Portugal, Algarve; France, Orange; Poland; Belarus
Portugal is a country where there were no all these well-known artists, sculptors, directors, musicians, writers ... There is no need to run headlong through museums, monasteries, castles and cemeteries. There are only two cities in the whole country. And that's why you need to rest there!
Something like this, briefly and succinctly, my friend Vasya admonished me to where the apartments had already been bought out, and where I was supposed to be in a couple of months. Of course, I wanted to turn out for a reason, I got into a Boeing in Sharik, sucked in a glass and was already there. No. The big goal was to drive a car, cross Europe diagonally, take a “selfie” at Cape Roca, gawk and touch the ocean, and the rest is up to you.
When planning a trip by car, you always define some milestones on your way and scroll through the route in your head. Got up at 4:30. Coffee. Teeth. Cigarette. Read the news in the toilet. Maybe more coffee. Another cigarette. Sit down on the path. And here it is the long-awaited moment - the key is in the lock, the headlights turn on, the motor starts. Unawakened Moscow traffic lights are flashing yellow, and the rear lights are no longer rare at the beginning of the sixth morning of random fellow travelers reflected in the asphalt wet from watering machines. MKAD. M1... The road is not boring. Provincial cities. The woods. Fields. Rivers and rivulets. Dnieper. In the Smolensk region, the relief is changing, small hills begin. The eye has something to catch on and time flies unnoticed. Belarus. Very high average speed, but it will be deadly boring and minutes will stretch for hours. Sleep fight. Border, Bug. Warsaw, Wisla. Huge, cheap, rotten dinner. New day. Early rise. Another 500 sad kilometers across Poland and cross the Oder. Germany! Ritual Sashin bokkvurst at the first gas station and peppy traffic all the way to the Rhine. I would like to cross it as soon as possible at Mannheim-Ludwigshafen and enter France, but we will go south. Crossing the Rhine in the south of the Black Forest. And now, on the second day of the trip, France. With luck, there will be a good dinner in Alsace. Day three. Again, we get up at the crack of dawn. Ron. Cotes du Rhone. We drink wine. We roll over the Pyrenees and in a couple of days we are waiting for a meeting with the ocean. That's pretty much how it all seemed. The reality came out a little different. About it in the report.
Plan
The trip to Portugal was the third item on my summer road trip plan. In February, we sat in our kitchen with friends and wondered where we could go. A month earlier, Natasha refused to run to Campania with the wording “it’s a very long drive, we’ll get tired” and bought tickets to Naples. In this situation, I was ready to agree to the traditional (for me) Arkhangelsk region. But somehow it so happened that in half an hour we were convinced that Portugal is not so far away, and the budget is feasible and I will have a vacation of 3.5 weeks with the standard two.
The general understanding of the rest is to rent a home for 2 weeks in the beach-bathing region, the province of Algarve (Algarve), indulge in laziness, fun and drunkenness, in between cultural enrichment with one-day outings somewhere. Mandatory points of the program were Lisbon, Sintra and Cape Roca, optionally Tomar Castle of the Templars.
From the very beginning, we planned the southern coast of Portugal to the west of Faro (Faro), a month earlier Sasha went there on a business trip. But in the end, the choice fell on the southern part of the western one. And as subsequent experience showed, it was true and expectations were 100% justified. On a stretch of coastline of 250 km, several zones can be distinguished:
Faro and east. Swim in the ocean. Quite wealthy citizens come here to watch flamingos and other birds. When you've had enough of everything, it's probably a great option for relaxing. Specific and expensive.
Faro - Albufeira. Great beaches for swimming and sunbathing. Villas and golf courses nearby, usually included. Expensive.
Portimao and surroundings. By nature and weather, it is similar to the previous one, but there are a lot of people and shit. Gelendzhik.
Lagos. Quite a cultural place. Without the pathos of Faro-Albufeira. There are no waves. Heat (as on the entire south coast)
South West Coast. Great wave. The ocean is slightly colder than the south coast. It is not hot enough that air conditioners are not even installed in the houses. There are few people. And the price tag is good. Paradise, in general, a corner.
We booked a separate house with a pool near the village of Aljezur, a kilometer from the ocean. With the machines and the 0.5 ppm rule, that was more than fine with us.
The family's trip to Italy fit very well with the train to Portugal. The road to the ocean for my wife and son was more than halved due to the flight Naples - Barcelona, and I was guaranteed to have time to get there without hearing “Dad, will we arrive soon?”. True, we had to make a detour of several hundred kilometers. The shortest way in terms of distance lies through Hannover, Cologne, Paris.
The total length of the route in one direction is approximately 5,000 km. It is clear that in three days this is, in principle, insurmountable (we are not talking about shift taxiing without overnight stays). For four, of course, it is possible, but the docking in Barcelona on the way there and the reluctance to drive back determined our speed of movement - five days in each direction. In this mode, it will be possible to make a short pause, on some day to get up not at 5, but at 7 in the morning, to see the cities. Sasha took over the development of the plan and the search for hotels.
In total, the road there: 2 long hauls Moscow-Warsaw and Warsaw-Belfort (Belfort, a small town in Alsace), on the third day, buying wine in France and finishing in Bars, where I meet my family and, perhaps, some kind of walk around the city. Gaudi and all that. Fourth day - a short drive to Toledo, a walk around the city. Fifth day - finish in Aljezur.
Return trip: Aljezur-Salamanca in a relaxed mode, we can hardly see the city, Salamanca-Diguen (Degoin, a backwater in the heart of France) with a purchase of wine somewhere in Bordeaux. On the third day, a short, but fast transfer to Nuremberg, in the plans of "shopping". Two last days we go home as soon as possible. Overnight stay in Biala Podlaska to get to the border early and lose as little time as possible.
We and our transport
We went to Portugal in two cars, two families. Me, my wife Natasha, son Anton. Sasha Nikolaev with his wife Tanya and son Sergei. It was the first joint trip. Serega already has rights and they will change periodically, if necessary, he can replace me. As it turned out, we had a very appropriate technique for traveling around Europe. If you do not take into account the German autobahns, VW Touran 2.TDI 110 hp. was ideal in terms of the combination of characteristics: a comfortable fit, a spacious interior, a roomy trunk, a fairly economical diesel engine. My son's bike got into the trunk, only one of the seats had to be moved 5 cm. The back row remained free and you could even lie down. Sasha Skoda Superb Combi 1.8T 152 HP with the Koni suspension, of course, it was more beautiful in Germany, but because of the great Seryoga, ⅓ of the seat had to be folded, and he consumed 20-25% more fuel in terms of money. However, both Skoda and Turan pleased their owners with efficiency.
There
A little late, at about 6:30 we left the Moscow Ring Road. We promptly rushed to the last Russian gas station, where at the same time we had a snack with homemade supplies. Serega moved in with me to disturb my sleep, and in the usual chatter, having fun reading settlements that are funny to the Russian eye (Arehavka, Alshanka, etc.), we quietly reached the last Belarusian gas station. In front of Brest, on the right, there is Belneftekhim. According to the experience of knowledgeable people, the DT in this network is quite decent, they are fathers. Cayenne ate and did not get sick. The cost of fuel is only a little, 10 percent higher than ours.
The border. We are bored passing Russian border guards, Polish customs officers and border guards. No one rummaged in the trunk, they didn’t snatch sausage from their mouths, they only asked about cigarettes.
From the border we weave along the village, staring at the life and arrangement of the gentlemen. Everything is decorous, noble, with an eye on the Germans, but in the Polish manner. Between villages and towns, it stinks of some kind of chemical manure. Maybe they add something to it, maybe the cows are already so shitting from compound feed, I don’t know, but it’s better to go with the windows closed.
We wandered around Warsaw - all in repairs and detours. It probably took us an hour to cross it. As a result, we got to the Rest Hotel (29 euros for a double room without breakfast). The place is suitable for an overnight stay. Its main plus on the way to Europe is that only the autobahn is ahead. The rest of the Polish hemorrhoids passed the first day. The food is tasteless, but cheap and plentiful, haha. Local beer (a little more beautiful than ours, very hard water) and bison (excellent vodka) are on the menu.
Total per day: 1,255 km from MKAD. Consumption ~ 5.8 liters per 100 km.
We get up early again, drink coffee and move out. The Polish Autobahn is fresh, newly built, smooth and fast. Limit 140 km/h. But an incredibly boring landscape, even in Belarus it will be more fun. Because fuel in Poland is still somewhat cheaper than in Europe, we fill up the tanks in front of the Oder. We have a bite to eat at the first German gas station with Bockwurst and go to the ban with its very dynamic movement, which requires regular rebuilding. The dream that had flown in Poznan was removed as if by hand.
German motorways are an interesting topic. The first thing that catches your eye is that the roads are heavily loaded. There are many reasons: the lack of fares, the high population density (there is nothing in the GED, but there really are many more), probably the largest number of cars per 1000 people. among European countries, and then it is still a country with an automotive history. But despite this, the entire motley army of motorists moves very quickly. Each road user is a cell of a single organism. All rearrangements, acts of courtesy or, conversely, rejection, are subject to a certain meaning and sharpened to ensure a high speed of safe movement from point A to point B. I learned the effect of several rules (they are also spelled out in our traffic rules, but perhaps spelled out):
1. Overtaking is carried out only on the left. The basis of the foundations of the entire line of behavior on the road and the guarantee of trouble-free movement of the flow. Consequently:
- Familiar only by hearsay “do not occupy the left lane” works. Cars move in the right lane as much as possible. Overtook, got away to the right.
- You can't even get ahead of the right. That is, if, while driving in the first row, you catch up with a rider in the second row, you must go to the third, overtake and return to the first. Yes, it is inconvenient, yes, the person being overtaken is wrong or just thinking (which is the same thing), but you can’t violate the order.
2. Do not force other road users to apply the brakes unless absolutely necessary. A general rule that helps maintain a high average flow rate is:
- The Germans always leave in advance in the second row before the exit to their road from another ban. Even if there are two accelerating lanes.
- If you see that in the right lane the car you are about to overtake is in turn catching up with another car, go to the third lane if possible. Well, etc., there are a lot of situations!
Guided by simple rules, the Germans are polite and expect reciprocity. If before the repair in the bathhouse in advance, as soon as the flows begin to form, start to change lanes to the left (when repairing the canvas in one direction, there is a narrowing from three to two lanes), they always skip. An attempt to get into an already formed stream is stopped in the bud. The attitude towards boors, idiots and simply gapes is approximately the same.
The canvas with which the roads are now being paved also deserves special attention. Something very similar to concrete, quickly diverting water and allowing you to reduce interest costs by 10-15%! Compensated by an increase in speed. More than 190 km / h on the speedometer I could not accelerate. At the same time, my main rivals have always been Mercedes Sprinter minibuses :) This is the fastest car on the autobahn! Another fast was the Porsche Panamera with Moscow numbers. Finally, he passed us in Thuringia on the ninth road. We left the Moscow Ring Road at the same time :)
It would seem that when driving through Germany, it is impossible not to stock up on beer. So no, you can! After Nuremberg, we moved to the town of Ansbach and did not find this German drink in two supermarkets. Those. there was Oettinger, Franciscaner and other rubbish, but there was no beer.
Some Taiwanese navigator helped me a lot with the function of receiving information about traffic jams in the FM band. An absolutely necessary item. Before Heilbronn, we left for Stuttgart, thus avoiding a large number of traffic jams on the 100-kilometer stretch to Karlsruhe.
Already quite late we arrived in Belfort in Premiere Classe Belfort (37 euros for a double room without breakfast). This is not a hotel, more of a cramped stall, but clean. Plus one - the price tag. There is no public catering, so we had dinner with cold cuts with beer, bison and went to bed. Tomorrow I have to get up early again, I need to be in Barcelona at 3-4 o'clock in the afternoon.
Total for the day: 1,434 km. Consumption ~ 6.1 liters per 100 km.
At 4:30 we got up, at 4:45 Sanya already asked when Seryoga and I would go down to the cars. We had a very quick packing and after dark we were already driving to the nearest gas station in the hope of drinking at least coffee and gobbling up a croissant.
The roads are toll, there are few cars and we drive fast. In Leon we get into a small cork. The French already allow deviations from the German "concepts", all this is a little like their homeland. The “Route du Soleil” (“Route of the Sun”, along which all of northern, densely populated Europe brings vacations to the Mediterranean Sea) is quite crowded, but we successfully avoid traffic jams and after Orange (Orange), we exit the motorway to the vineyards of Cotes du Rhone in the area Chateauneuf du Pape (Chateauneuf du Pape, a village in which one of the papal residences was supposed to be built during the so-called “Avignon captivity of the popes”).
Vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape
We turn to the nearest "chateau". We try 5, then 10, then 20 euros per bottle. It's not tasty. Those. quite tasteless. The hostess says that this wine (which is 20 each) needs to stand a little longer. No need. Aurevouard, madam. We drive a couple of kilometers to Domain de Saint Siffrein. The hostess is a southerner, more talkative and much friendlier than the previous one. They have 20 hectares of vineyards, of which 15 are under the “premium” AOC Chateauneuf du Pape. We try. 10 is excellent, 19 is excellent. We buy in Moscow, plus we take a package of 10 liters for 37 euros in the hope that we will take another 10 somewhere in Languedoc.
Why didn't the neighbor have such good wine? Madame explained it this way: farms specialize in different categories of consumers. She, more precisely her son, adherents of the old school of winemaking, and the neighbors make wine for young people. There are also winemakers who focus on the American market and other horrors. It's all so complicated, it turns out. Madame gladly told Tanya about her wine and answered all questions.
Naturally, there is a very special attitude to wine here. Perhaps wine is even the basis for self-identification in France.
“Dinner without wine is like a day without Sun”
Finally we stopped at another chateau. The stone house was more like a dilapidated barn. We were met by a couple of Labradors (although thoroughbred dogs are more rare than the norm here, unlike in Russia), then for about three minutes we called at least someone. To our question the question “does he have inexpensive wine”, the owner of an awake and light hangover, drawn from the darkness of the closet, said that in HIS establishment the price tag is from 40 euros. But everything is very nice. The bonus for the 10 minutes spent was his appearance and the appearance of his household.
Visiting a winemaker is not only good for the wallet, but also quite exciting. Not only that, at the minimum (!) price, you take your favorite (!) wine. You can still bargain, and French speakers can also chat in this beautiful language with the villagers. If you're lucky, you can meet a local grandfather or a peasant who will take out a bucket and ask the owner to pour it straight from the barrel. Or look at the townspeople who came to replenish their supplies for the year ahead.
We move on. Time is running out, the plane from Naples takes off right on schedule, which means that we are passing 10 liters of wine. Closer to the border, smart young ladies in uniform put up speedcams, and violators are accepted at the next payment point. And then there's Barcelona. A city that a huge number of my friends have visited, about which a lot of enthusiasm is left in the reviews, where there is Sograda Familia, some kind of Rambla, etc. But we drove up from the other side and the first thing we met was a natural favella on the outskirts of Barca! We find a hotel and while the guys are checking in, I rush to the airport. The plane landed about an hour ago. The round trip, finding the terminal, parking and meeting took no more than an hour. Upon our return, a surprise awaited us all: the hotel in which we planned to spend the night Center Esplai Alberque turned out to be a hostel with all the consequences. Dirt, poor air conditioning, uncomfortable beds, etc. We decided to leave the city. Sasha and Seryoga found a hotel in Lleida, Jardins del Segria (69 euros for a family with a good breakfast). This is for the best, there will be more time in Toledo tomorrow.
The asshole from the Barcelona hostel could not immediately return the money (paid at the reception before they saw the room) to the card. The return took about a month. And then, probably only because of the letters promising to report to booking.com
We drove to Lleida on the free highway. Unlike France, you can drive in Spain on free roads, but in some places, for example, to cross the Pyrenees, only toll highways or paths passing through settlements are available. On the way, we share our impressions of a month and a half and look at the landscapes outside the window. The hotel turned out to be quite decent, visited by the local population. We relaxed a little, tomorrow the drive is a little more than 500 km, you don’t have to rush to get up. Rioja is a very good wine.
Total for the day: ~1178 km. Consumption ~ 6.1 liters per 100 km.
The morning of the fourth day was gloomy. Loaded with rain. Small at first, then intensified.
Outside the window there are very nice pictures up to Sigüens, passes ~ 1000 meters, then to Guadalajara a flat plateau with fields. All of Spain is quite high above sea level, and Madrid is generally the most “alpine” capital in Europe. And in Spain, the cheapest fuel on the European part of our route. And if the difference with France is not so great for diesel fuel, then for gasoline it is ~ 15%. This must be kept in mind when planning a trip. Below are pictures taken on the go from the car:
We arrived in Toledo in the afternoon. The hotel is located in the heart of the so-called "historic city of Toledo", the Hotel Conquista de Toledo (€69 per family without breakfast). At 200-300 meters, a little higher, opposite the alcazar, there is an underground parking lot. 20 euros per night, after all the object world heritage UNESCO:)
After dropping off our luggage, we set out on a tour. The city itself (historic city) is located on a respectable hill and at one time was the capital of Castile, until the king moved it to Madrid. For a very long time it was a defensive fortification. First the Visigoths defended themselves against the Visigoths, then the Moors against the Castilians, then the Castilians against the Moors, and finally the supporters of Franco against the Republicans. On the one hand, Toledo is surrounded by a fortress wall, on the other, it is naturally protected by the Tajo River (the same Tajo, which in Lisbon will be called Tejo) and the abyss.
The city has a large number of attractions. Hordes of tourists from all over the world follow clear routes: just now you were in the crowd and suddenly you find yourself alone on the whole street. Many buildings look unnaturally fresh. All this together gives the feeling that there are no locals in Toledo at all. But this is not true, they are:
At a gallop through Europe, we ran the whole city. Fortunately, there is an escalator, a gift from King Juan Carlos. That's why it's absolutely free.
In the narrow streets of Toledo:
Traveling around Portugal by car can be very exciting, the main thing is to prepare well and learn all the nuances. This section will answer the necessary questions and help you properly prepare for the trip.
Speed limit
Light passenger vehicles without a trailer:
- 50 km/h in built-up areas;
- 90 km/h outside the built-up area;
- 100 km/h on highways;
- 120 km/h on the motorway;
Gasoline in Portugal
Gasolina sem chumbo 95– gasoline with an octane rating of 95
Gasolina sem chumbo 98– gasoline with an octane rating of 98
Diesel/Gasoleo- diesel fuel
GPL– gas
In addition, there are many places to charge electric vehicles in Portugal. And in Lisbon, they are in almost every parking lot.
The cost of gasoline in Portugal
The cost of gasoline depends on the cost of oil. In January 2016, at a low oil price, the cost of 95th gasoline dropped to 1.2 euros per liter. In Madeira and the Azores, the cost of fuel is lower than on the continent.
You can find the current average prices for gasoline, diesel fuel and gas in
The table contains prices in all European countries.
You can see that petrol prices are higher in Portugal than in neighboring Spain and France. That is why many locals who live near the Spanish border go to their neighbors in Spain to refuel.
Road map of Portugal and navigation
It makes sense to connect yourself to the Internet and use Google maps. He calculates the route and travel time well. I have no complaints, I use it all the time. The map is current and does not require updates. Now it is possible to download a Google map in advance and use it without an Internet connection, but the accuracy of determining your location will be lower.
- Reflective vest (in the absence of a fine from 60 to 300 euros);
- Warning triangle;
- Identification document with a photo;
- current insurance;
The driver must have an international driver's license. The ideal option is to obtain an international driving licence.
This is not necessary, since Portugal, like the Russian Federation, signed the Vienna Convention, in particular annex number 6, which concerns driver's licenses. But maybe it’s worth playing it safe and issuing an additional international certificate? Since in the new, "pink" rights, the translation into French of the words: "Driver's license" disappeared.
International driving license
This is a booklet where national driving licenses are translated into different languages of the world. In principle, if you don’t have it, then ordinary rights are suitable, both for rent and when checking documents. But they must be transcription and translation. These rights are an application and are not valid without the usual "plastic rights".
Getting them is no problem. It is enough to pay the fee, fill out an application and bring a photo. You can sign up through the State Services website.
But all this is for reinsurers. Most likely, you will need a license in Portugal only once - when renting a car.
The use of studded tires is prohibited.
Use of seat belts mandatory for the driver all passengers in vehicles in which belts are provided by design. The driver is not obliged to monitor adult passengers, since everyone pays the fine for himself. In the case of transporting children, the driver is responsible. The fine ranges from 120 to 600 euros.
The use of radar detectors is prohibited. The fine for this violation is from 500 to 2500 euros.
Rules for transporting children in a car in Portugal
Children under 12 and under 1.35 must ride in the back seat in a child seat appropriate for their height and weight. Exceptions are vehicles not equipped with seat belts.
Actions in the event of an accident or breakdown of the car
First of all, before getting out of the car, you must put on a vest and only after that set the emergency triangle.
The use of a reflective vest and an emergency triangle is mandatory. This is very important as the penalties for these violations are high. Moreover, they are summed up if you have not met both requirements.
You will be fined both for the lack of a vest and for the badge. For each of these violations, a fine of 120 to 600 euros is imposed, respectively, you will pay from 240 to 1200 euros. Moreover, if the violation is committed on the freeway, then the amount of the fine will be maximum!
emergency numbers
Emergency number - 112
I want to draw your attention to the fact that in Portugal it is forbidden to talk on the phone while driving while driving, if you do not have a speakerphone or a headset. Stopping at a traffic light or in front of a stop sign is no exception.
There have been cases where drivers have been fined for talking on the phone while stopping at the side of the road. Fine from 120 to 600 euros.
Here we have highlighted the main points you need to know for traveling around Portugal by car. We wish you a good trip!
