Streets of Porto
For a short introduction to Porto please see here. Shot in February 2015.
Discovering Porto
Porto is truly a magnificent city. Though unmistakably Portuguese, it is pretty different from Lisbon. Porto is much smaller than the sprawling Metropole in the south, but that’s the apparent difference. While Lisbon is more polished and colorful, Porto has a more rugged feeling – ochre color tones being much more prevalent in the city’s architecture. The narrow streets of Porto are every writer’s dream city for the location of a suspenseful historical thriller set somewhere between the 16th and 19th centuries. And then there are the churches, covered in pure gold; they are monuments of the town’s past glory. It was a time when Porto was literally the country’s principal port, and all the riches of Brazil poured through the city, bringing previously inconceivable wealth to the citizens. Finally, the British conceived the Port Wine to ship wine from Northern Portugal to the British Islands. While it is solid and heavy, at the same time, it tends to be sweet and gentle. It’s much like the city itself, actually.
Urban Structures in Monochrome
Shot in Vienna, Berlin, Cracow and Warsaw in 2014.
Photographing Lello & Irmão
Also called the “Harry Potter”-Bookstore, for JK Rowling supposedly being here and taking inspiration, Lello & Irmão is a magnificent piece of architecture in Porto, Portugal. It was built in 1906 by Xavier Esteves, a well-known Iberian architect of the prewar period. Usually, the style is described as Neogothic-Jugendstil, and while that is true, it definitely has a fantastic or mystic touch. Indeed, the bookshop would fit very well in any wizardry story, and it is the perfect place to dive into your fantasy book. The store and the books seem to mix here in an engaging, almost magic way. I very much recommend a visit.
Porto in Rain
Shot last weekend while roaming through the rain soaked streets of Porto in Northern Portugal.
Discovering Lisboa
I have been living in Lisbon since November, there are a couple more months to come. But inevitably, I will have to take my flight back as my stay here is limited. What will I miss? A beautiful city, that’s for sure. And the Portuguese winter. Of course, there are rainy days, but when the sun is out, the city shines, and the people smile (the last one is a cliche ;)). So, what I like to do is seize the day (off), focus on certain parts of the city, and take my time. The beautiful thing about staying in a city for a longer period of time is precisely the luxury of being able to do this kind of “salami tourism.” It allows me to discover hidden streets and uncover interesting artifacts of urbanity (like street art) of the well-traveled routes. Tough a post titled “Discovering Lisboa” has to start with a known and beloved view, I guess, so here we go:
