Another glass of port, Senhora?
Senhora Malheiro greets us with many umbrellas and even more excuses in front of the outside staircase of her Casa das Torres property. "Oh, I'm sorry for you - end of May and no sun. The last few weeks have been so hot." I do not care. I like it when it's a bit cooler and I like rain. My worries are of a different nature. Traveling with me is not easy. I have to admit that. Not because I'm moody or sickly, but because I can endure certain things very badly, energy saving bulbs in bedside lamps, for example, scary wallpaper and weeping clowns over the bed, plastic garden chairs. That's why I always have a first-aid kit with me with candles, sheets and cloth napkins. Again. But this time things should be different. I was traveling in northern Portugal, returning to wonderful estates with affordable rooms. Since I was the "emergency kit" almost embarrassing.
Senhora Margerida Malheiro, round, small and smart, shows us the guest rooms. Breathe. All fine. Large balcony doors, wood shutters on the windows, masonry instead of wallpaper, few precious furniture. On the dresser a decanter of port wine, pastries and flowers from the garden. Welcome to Portugal. There is nothing to eat this evening. Cooks "only when you know a bit," says the hostess categorically. After all, she gestationally recommends her favorite restaurant, right on the river Lima.
in the middle of paradise
The manors in Portugal are like their view: beautiful
In the evening the sky opens. Ponte de Lima lies before us and enchants from the first moment. A small medieval town with cobblestone streets, crooked houses, many restaurants, beautiful shoe shops, here and there a wine shop. From the sandy banks of the Lima, a stone pedestrian bridge from the Roman era leads to the other side, blooming gardens nestle down to the water. The first glass of wine, a strong red from the Minho, the green province that we travel. We eat salad and chicken, simple and delicious. For the national dish Bacalhau we still lack the courage - in salt-dried cod, which can be prepared in 327 ways and must be 24 hours in milk or water. Evil tongues say he can stay there too.
Waking up in this silence is at least as nice as falling asleep. From the white starched pillow, the view falls through a box arch over the pool into the wide landscape. We stroll through the garden. Bougainvillea shrubs with pink flowers, tangerine trees, grape vines. Directly at the house leads a piece of pilgrimage path to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain.
"Casa das Torres" is a stately 18th century mansion with the finest of all kitchens: black and white stone floor, wooden table, terrazzo sink, huge open hearth. The Senhora cooks coffee and tells. "For seven generations, this house has belonged to the family, to get it costs money, a lot of money, 30 years ago we did not even have a bath." She rolls her eyes.
The rescue brought the tourism. "The government gave us money so that we could rehabilitate our homes. Condition: We need to open them to strangers." It's a good idea, we say. "Yeah," says Senhora Malheiro, "that had not done anybody here, my husband was horrified, but I was immediately excited, and here in Minho, you know, women have power." She laughs. "We are the pillars of society, you understand?"
It is easy to imagine how a new, unfamiliar age dawned for her and her, but not a bad one. Since 1982, the Malheiros have been sharing their house with guests - like many other noblemen who have been running the costs of maintaining their properties over their heads. In the organization "Solares" they have joined together and offer the tourists rooms with family connection instead of TV and minibar.
The more rural the more sympathetic Portugal is
The charm of the owners is as individual as the houses. You quickly learn which rules apply here, who has the say in the household - and that the Algarve is a hot topic. "Why do you always want to go to the Algarve?" Senhora Malheiro shakes his head. "There is everything here!" Right. Even beaches, but you do not need them, because for swimming there are the rivers with their wide, sandy shores.
We drive on humpy roads, on whose walls flowers bloom, past meadows with poppies, again and again grapevines. At small farmer's markets, we try Natas, puff pastry tartlets filled with vanilla cream. The more rural, the more congenial everything becomes, including the prices. An espresso costs 70 cents, a glass of wine just one euro.We come through sleepy villages, in the middle of which, right next to the church, women stand by stone pots and do their laundry: the "lavdouros publicos", public washhouses.
Just a few miles away yet in another world, Conde Francisco Calheiros greets us with a grand gesture on his Paço de Calheiros estate. He looks like Louis XIV in Blazer, and his house could certainly go through as a castle on the Loire. In front of the entrance portal is a vintage car, of which he is just as excited as his pergolas, terraces and himself.
The midday heat is shimmering. The count explains. "The pool is a bit higher, you know, I do not want to look at a modern achievement in a 17th century house." Tennis court and pool are therefore out of sight. They are not so ugly and have - of course - panoramic views over the gardens into the Lima Valley. We take a seat, a maid brings white wine, olives, salami, farm cheese and bread. "Dinner is eaten in the Knight's Hall," announces Calheiros. If you're just a couple, maybe a bit lonely? If necessary, the count eats with just. And like to tell some family stories while eating.
We miss the knight's hall. We want to go to Barcelos, a medieval town with a Jewish quarter, famous for its market. It's huge and a paradise for tart fans. You could bath here in vanilla cream. In addition, women farmers in apron and rubber boots sell tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, onions.
Back on the country road, we start to dream, our heads still full of pictures from the Douro Valley, the home of port wine. As the river winds its way past meadows, rolling hills and vine-clad slopes, glittering in the sun.
But reality is fast again. Suddenly skyscrapers, railway bridges, thunderous traffic. Billboards. The city of Guimarães is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One wonders first why. Out of sheer helplessness we lose the way, a police officer leads us to the old city center, and thank God again is beautiful. "Obrigada" means thank you, you have to remember that. The rest is pantomime.
Just outside, in the garden of the mansion Paço de S. Cipriano, the 72-year-old Maria Tereza de Sottomayor draws water from the well. In one hand the watering can, on the other her grandson, she pours the flowering oleander bushes. She wears an elegant dress and gold jewelry, her French sounds wonderfully soft, but you can guess at her look: Careful, the woman is a general! Her daughters Isabel and Tereza look like the late 20s, but in their early 40s and not married - very unusual for Portuguese standards. During the walk in the forest, one of the two trusts us: "I am unemployed and my friend lives in the Algarve." What is worse?
There is also a master of the house, but it does not matter much. "My husband was of course against tourism," says the general. Meanwhile, perhaps Dom João Almeida is also very happy about the company at dinner. The guests bring money and life to the baroque shack. There is vegetable soup, in addition to port a kind of national shrine.
At five o'clock in the morning the cock wakes us up. Never mind. It's raining. It does not matter. In the kitchen, right by the large open fireplace, the breakfast table is set for us: roses from the garden, croissants, homemade peach jam, cheese and ham. It patters inside and outside. Sun? It's bad for the skin anyway. In the house it gets hectic, the youngest grandson is to be baptized today - in the in-house chapel. Almost all noble families have one. Isabel calls her the "living room of God."
The food is as in the "house on Eaton Place"
Saturday night. Hymns sound over the valley. May is the month of Marian devotion - it is prayed, but above all celebrated. Burglar shots accompany us towards Trasosmontes, to the "Casa do Campo", a white manor house from the 17th century, famous for its camellias, the oldest in Portugal. The Meireles family has cared for them for generations, and when they bloom, the house becomes a place of pilgrimage. Cozy and dignified it is here, but there is still a relaxed atmosphere. Only with the food, as it is like in the "house on Eaton Place". I'm thrilled, that was my favorite series back then! The staff is on hand with every meal, lined in starched blouses and skirts made of finely striped fabric.
The next day we sit in the kitchen with the Meireles family. There is roast beef, baked potatoes and "pata negra", the nutty Portuguese ham for which the pigs are fed with acorns. The wine glasses fill up again as soon as they are empty. Now we even dare on deep-fried Stockfischbällchen. Gabriella cooks, her husband explains how it's done. The center of the board, how could it be otherwise: the mother. From what she says, we do not understand a word - the old lady speaks only Portuguese. But her smile rules this little world.
Travel info
All mansions presented (and many more) can be found at www.solaresdeportugal.pt.The houses belonging to "Solares" can be booked through the specialized tour operator Olimar at the travel agency or at www.olimar.com. The night in a double room with breakfast costs about 60 euros. About Olimar can also be put together other travel modules. For example, Fly & Drive (flight and Europcar car hire) from about 900 euros per person / week. Telephone code Portugal: 003 51
Book tips: - Jürgen Strohmaier, etc.: "Northern Portugal", Michael Müller Verlag, 15,90 Euro - The handy guide is full of information and recommendations for individual discoveries - and is still not a bit dry. The best proof that it does not always have to be the Algarve. - Eckhart Nickel: "Instructions for use for Portugal", Piper-Verlag, 12.90 euros - Entertaining travel reading on the go and before, which casually familiarizes with Portugal and above all: with his people, their quirks and passions, their music, their History and not least the "saudade", the great, burning yearning. - Inês Pedrosa: "In your hands", btb-Verlag, 9 Euro - Wonderfully melancholy family saga about three strong women in search of love - and their roots. A female story of Portugal.
