We got going a little early today because we had some travel involved – we were going to the nearby town of Sintra, about a 45-minute train ride away. We got to the Rossio train station (the one with the cool Islamic-inspired facade) and onto a train that pulled out at about 9:15.
Sintra is home to several castles, and so is a popular tourist attraction. We got off the train with a couple hundred of our newest friends, and piled on to a full-sized bus that did an amazing job of squeezing up a small mountain. We passed by the Moorish Castle, which we came back to later (and so we will here too), and pulled up outside the Pena Palace, a fairy-tale castle from the mid 1800s, built by King Ferdinand II. It is completely over the top, with tons of colors and styles: Islamic influences, Indian styles, and visions of medieval castles, all rolled into one.
Although it was clear in Lisbon and in the town of Sintra, the top of the mountain was enveloped in a thick fog. Since the sun was out lower down, I was confident it would burn off and give us magnificent views. So we got an hour-long audio tour of the castle, and wandered through the comfortably ornate interior. Since the castle was built on and incorporated an existing monastery, many of the rooms are normal-sized and more comfortable-seeming than opulent palaces like Versailles.
When we came back out from the interior, the fog was still swirling, but we walked the “wall walk” anyway, during which our audio guide rhapsodized about the views from the walls. They were still interesting, in a Brigadoon sort of way, with fleeting glimpses of the town below being swallowed up in fog.
It was about noon, so we grabbed some lunch in the cafeteria, and I was confident that while we ate, the fog would burn off. When we came out, the fog was still swirling. Pena Palace has extensive grounds with cobblestone paths (it is good to be king), and so I decided we should walk the lower-down grounds to give the fog time to burn off.
After a false start or two in trying to find any landmark other than the palace, we got situated. We found the queen’s fern garden, and from there we climbed though dense, vine-covered trees, with the fog drifting through it all. It was magical. Dubbs brought up the Lord of the Rings and Braveheart soundtracks on her phone for quiet atmosphere, and it suited perfectly. Every corner was a delightful surprise of nature and weather interacting in amazing ways. We found a small grotto where the monks would come for solo contemplation and prayer, and a view terrace favored by the queen. We couldn’t see anything but fog, but the sign post said she loved the view.
We finally climbed all the way to the highest point in the park, where there was a high cross erected. The views are spectacular. Or so we were told, since all we saw was fog. Still, the mystical quality imparted to the grounds by the fog was worth it. We headed all the way back down through the grounds, leaving two thirds of the grounds left unseen because of lack of time.
We next walked down the mountain a few minutes to the Moorish Castle. It was built by the Islamic Moors as an outpost to help defend Lisbon, and was conquered during the reconquest around 1100. It is a huge and impressive complex, with two well-defended hills connected by a wall. The castle inside the walls is so small as to have escaped our notice before we found it on a map – it is a keep tucked into one corner of the lower hill wall. But the wall and fortifications are remarkable. The castle is in excellent shape, as it was restored by King Ferdinand II as part of his palace complex, so the park would have a proper castle to look at. We wandered the walls from the smaller hill and up to the larger hill. The wind was blowing quite hard, and the fog was fairly thick on the larger hill, although the views from the smaller hill were quite good. It seems the fog had a strict elevation it stuck to.
We caught the bus back down, and then took the train back to Lisbon, getting back around 6:00. We ate supper near the train station, sitting outside in the windless, fog-free air. We then took the Metro and some trams around town in quest of crepes, failing on our first attempt, but finally finding an open place near Commerce Square. We walked back home, full, happy, and tired. It seems it takes at least twelve miles of walking to see the fogs of Sintra.