Steilküste, Portugal, great medication against November doom and gloom
Spent the second week of November in Portugal to escape the darkness and gloominess of Berlin. Berlin in November-March is truly horrible. Even more disgusting than the rest of the year. We went to a relatively lonely spot on the coast west of Lisbon, close to Cascais. A beautiful hotel built on the site of an old fort, right on the cliff – Hotel Fortaleza do Guincho, because the Reisebegleitung likes Steilküste very much indeed. Some impressions from the beach around the hotel, wonderful sunsets and great surf:
The hotel was very nice, beautiful sea views from our room’s balcony, lovely breakfast, very friendly and helpful staff. They also have a Michelin-star restaurant in the hotel, but they did not have any vegetarian dishes on their menu, so can’t comment on that. We went to Cascais for food, it’s just a few minutes along the coast and there’s plenty of choice there. Nice hot chocolate (100% 🙂 ), coffee, and sweets at Niccolo’s, very good vegan ice cream at Scoop’n’Dough, and good food at Hifen, World of Wonders, and Lambrettazurra. Ophelia has lovely Pavlova, good cakes, and delicious food in a quiet setting. Plus really really good patisserie at the slightly hidden Le Albatroz Cafe!
Turned out to be a great base camp for shorter hikes in the area, and since rental cars are cheap, it was easy to get around. Also just a short trip to Lisbon, the airport etc.
Cascais is really nice, too. I guess we were there at the right time of the year, probably unbearable in summer when the crowds descend. Nearby Sintra was overcrowded even in mid November. Crazy. Weather was great, 18-22 degrees throughout, mostly sunny, perfect weather for a short getaway.
Also, very good penis content in the area, which always makes me happy:
Couple of the walks we did in the area:
And some visual highlights:
