Harry Potter Goes to Coimbra

As we drove from Lisbon toward Porto to board our Douro River Cruise, Tiago shared interesting stories intermixed with information about Portugal.  

An engaging guide makes the bus journeys as meaningful as the destinations, regardless of the weather, which is good to keep top of mind should forecasts curtail your plans.

On this day, we were blessed with  lovely summer weather, with some morning clouds rolling in as we proceeded to our first stop in the village of Coimbra.

Tiago mentioned that J.K. Rowling lived in Porto for a few years.  She married a Portuguese man and had a daughter with him.

Rowling was working on her first novel about an unusually gifted schoolboy named Harry Potter.  

While Harry Potter famously went to the fictional Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry, the uniforms required for students like Hermione, Ron and Harry were modeled after those actually worn at University of Coimbra in Portugal.

Students dressed in black robes and ties on this warming summer day posed for photos and sold postcards of their school for "donations." We bought a postcard from them to send to our granddaughter Emma, who will be off to college herself in just two years.

The bustling Medieval village of Coimbra is situated below the hilltop site of the university.

Busking musicians performed for cash. One accordion player had a little dog that collected tips in a little bucket, although the musician probably hoped to fill the larger cardboard box weighted down with a chair.

Candy and snack merchants handed out samples of their wares.

Almost past a young lady offering caramelized sunflower seeds, we ate a few.

After a couple of steps, we doubled back to her shop to buy a small bag.

Mostly, we just wandered around window shopping.

Back on the bus, we drove up the hill to the oldest university in Portugal.  It was founded in 1290 by King Denis as Studium Generale (Estudo Geral), which basically translates as General Studies.

Founded originally in Lisbon, the university moved back and forth between Lisbon and Coimbra over the decades.

Lisbon had too many distractions for students who should have been studying, or so the story goes.

In 1537, after 247 years, the university relocated permanently to a former royal palace in Coimbra, during the reign of King Joao III.

I would say the entrances were the most consistently attractive eye-catching on the sprawling campus of large buildings.

In front of he Porta Férrea (Iron Gate) is a large mosaic tile of Minerva, the Roman goddess of Wisdom, War and Crafts.

Julie's family grew up on a street named Minerva.

A special treat was the included admission into the magnificent Baroque library, Biblioteca Joanina.

Photos are not allowed inside the most beautiful part of the hallowed halls illuminated only by diffused sunlight.

We were allowed to take photos in the anteroom, but other than the vaulted ceilings, it is not particularly noteworthy.

Antique, leather-bound books fill shelves in several rooms from floor to ceiling.

The library holds 60,000 books from the 16th to 18th century.

As Tiago said, you can get a very good idea of how it looks inside by watching the live action version of the Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast (clip linked here).  Disney Imagineers copied many elements, just as a another generation of Imagineers had been inspired by Mad Ludwig's Neuschwanstein as the model for Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Before becoming a library, the building had served as an academic prison, where students were forced to serve time for academic infractions.  Being in this prison didn't free them from school work. They were escorted to their classes and then returned to prison.

Being a cool building due to its thick walls, it began to house rare books, eventually being converted to a library.  Most of the books were provided by King Joao V, who founded the library.

As a parting note, while the goddess Minerva is featured prominently at Coimbra University, women were not allowed to attend until 1891, when Domitila de Carvalho was admitted as the sole woman on the condition that she always dress exclusively in black, including a discreet hat  Sorry Hermione.

A trickle of other brilliant women were allowed to matriculate at Coimbra University, and the trickle gradually became a flood.

Today, about 57% of both students and faculty are women.

Domitila de Carvalho graduated with a degree in Mathematics, Philosophy and Medicine.  She went on to an impressive career as a medical doctor, teacher, writer and politician.  She was one of the first three women in Portugal's National Assembly (Parliament).

After concluding our tour of the university, we went to the included authentic Portuguese lunch as a group.

The restaurant featured Coimbra Fado music.  Fado is the renowned sad music of Portugal.

Coimbra Fado is a variation, in which only men perform, traditionally wearing the black capes of UC students.

Three gentlemen performed as we dined.  They were considerably older than college-aged, but presumably had been former students. The silver-haired singer was particularly good.

The bright, rather modern interior didn't seem like quite the right setting for heart-wrenching music.  Then, again, this was a group of American tourists with glaucoma, so it was probably for the best.

The Portuguese seafood dish I selected was unexpectedly heavy and not really to my taste, but Julie enjoyed her chicken.  I think my problem was that our last Viking River cruise had been in Provence, where the French food was fantastic throughout. I guess I'm just not a big fan of Portuguese food.

Still, it had been a very pleasant travel day, much better than just getting on a train or bus without a guide.  

Some other Viking passengers had selected the optional tour to Fatima for an additional surcharge. Presumably they loved their day, just as Julie and I had enjoyed our guided tour in Fatima a few years ago.  A fascinating episode in the Catholic Church and modern-day prophesy unfolded there.

Back on the bus, we had some time for a siesta before arriving in Gaia.  It is actually the city on the opposite side of the Douro River from Porto.

As a Viking hostess who is a Porto resident joked, the only thing better about Gaia than Porto is the view.

To be clear, that's because Gaia gets to gaze at Porto, in case her joke is too subtle.

We could have easily walked across the nearby bridge, as could anyone who wanted to check out Porto that evening.  We all knew, however, that we would be returning at the end of our cruise to tour Porto.

Gaia, which has plenty of restaurants and wine bars of its own, was easy to reach by simply walking off the ship.

We joined in White Port and Tonic welcome aboard drinks with our fellow passengers, sipped wine of our own choosing using our Silver Spirits Beverage Package, listened to introductory talks by our young Captain (27-years-old!) and crew, and ate dinner on Viking Torgil.  

Julie and I were satisfied to stay aboard for the rest of the night rather than exploring ashore.

The next morning, we would be cruising the River of Gold.