hardware – Page 2 – a blog with very few updates

Guess the genre

We went to the movie theater and in the middle of the movie – which was after 45 minutes – this

appeared. Last time I have experienced an intermission was between two movies of LOTR.

This time it was a kids movie: Patos! Based on the booking information it was supposed to be the OV but it turned out to be the Portuguese version. Since the ducks did not discuss philosophy we were able to follow anyway and had fun.

While I did not further investigate the real reason for the intermission I believe it is intended as service break for the young audience.

Ovos moles

We tastet the local specialty of Aveiro. Ovos moles. Very sweet.

Aveiro is the “Venice of Portugal” because of it’s canals, bridges and boats.

Instead of locks with names the bridges are decorated with ribbons of friendship.

After 4 weeks of rain we enjoyed the nice weather.

Changes

Climate is changing. That’s not really new. However it was new to me that Portugal has a skiing region. It’s located in the Serra da Estrela. But due to less snow and warmer winters skiing is in decline and lifts are closing.

There is also an active lift which in summer is used by hikers.

And there is political change. The radar towers are remnants of the Cold War. Portuguese Air Force and NATO do not need them any more.

Pontederia crassipes

Another invasive species crossed our way. The common water hyacinth.

Pastel de nata – 1st attempt

Probably the most famous sweet of Portugal: Pastel de Nata.

I’ll need many more attempts.

Hard questions in Duolingo

While I like Duolingo in general the latest updates could have been better.

You shall not pass

While taking a walk between Espinho and Esmoriz this little guy got a little bit defensive.

While it’s looking nice it’s another invasive species. It even made it to Berlin.

Nature recovers after wildfire

Most wildfires in Portugal happen in the south. But the risk is there everywhere. In the Serra de Estrela it happened xxx years ago. Now nature is slowly recovering.

I was wondering why in some places the trees have survived while a few meters to the right and left are completely burnt.

Eiffel-Bridge!

Unlike the one in the other post this

bridge is an actual Eiffel bridge. It’s located in Viana do Castelo, which we’ve visited to finalize the immigration process for Portugal at the SEF.

It’s noteworthy that above the visible rail track there is also a second level for cars. We took a little bit of a detour to use this bridge on our way back.

Cortaderia selloana

We came to know that, cortaderia selloana, the nice looking grass/reed that can be found everywhere is actually an invasive species.

Because of it’s invasive nature it appears on the website of the Parque Biologico de Gaia that we’ve visited. It’s a nice park with local animals.

All of them needed some kind of support, because they were found injured or abandoned by the parents so I think it’s good they found a new home. My favorite was the costal biorama.