5th – 7th of May – Lisbon, pre-run

As usual the flight was as uneventful as such a flight can be. The second leg did get delayed for an hour; the first half hour was due to technical difficulties, the second was due to missing our window and got put at the back of the queue in a crowded air. But as soon as we were off everything went smooth.

Arriving in Lisbon and taking the metro to the hotel was easy, and after checking in I spent a short moment resting and recovering from the flight before leaving and trying to get a feel of the area in the diminishing light. I found myself ending up waterside in the central part of the city – as intended – and the timing was unintended near perfect as I got to see the sun set behind the 5th of April Bridge. The entire construction is very dominant and basically looks like a smaller version of the Golden Gate Bridge. I had a walk down along the water and beach, but I soon retuned to the hotel – a return that ended up taking half an hour – to rest for the remainder of the night.

5th of April Bridge in the sunset.

The following two days, Friday and Saturday, I spent wandering the city and encountering constantly appearing hills. I started off going to the runners’ expo, which was also the location of the run’s finish line, to pick up my bib and t-shirt before exploring the surrounding area. Having the expo approximately 8 km from the hotel there was plenty of distance to zig-zag my way back to the city center.

Buildings covered in tiles.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos, statue built in 1940 to mark the 500 year anniversary of Henry the Navigator's death.

With the expo being west of the center, I went east on the Saturday. Without knowing for certain it did feel as if it was way more hilly here than in the western part. Having walked around a bit and getting lost multiple times I ended up at Castelo De S. Jorge, the castle of Sao Jorge, a large castle overlooking the central part of the city. Entering and walking around on the walls gave some stunning views of the center of Lisbon and surrounding areas. And with clear weather there was nothing obstructing the far away views – except for the occasional tree towering over the castle’s walls.

View of central Lisbon from Castelo De S. Jorge.

Lisbon is a nice and beautiful city; old buildings line the streets in the old part of the city and while some of them look like the safest thing to do is to tear them down, many of the better-maintained buildings are either painted in bright colours or are covered in tiles – making them almost look like huge inside-out bathrooms. Some of the streets are very narrow, and combining that with the hilly environment the city gets a very special (in a good way) feel. Leaving the old center it gets less erratically hilly, the streets widen and get a more modern size, and building turn more and more ordinary.

The weather is really nice, especially if you’re not planning to run a half marathon. Around noon the temps were up in the 25-27 degree area, and with practically no clouds and only very little breeze, it gets hot and priority ends up being walking on the side of the road with the most shade. Unless you are out at a time where your shadow is less than 20cm long, then you’re pretty much out of luck unless you find a tree. My timing could be better; wanting slow and relaxing mornings I don’t get too much time outside in the cool morning air before getting hit by the sun and heat. No wonder the locals seem to disappear until mid-afternoon. Also, after these two days parts of my skin is getting a bit itchy.