The hands of the railway station clock hugged each other. Just some moments later the minute hand decided to move forward for one minute line and leave behind the hour hand. The fusion of modern features in this one-century-old railway station seemed at the first glance a bit strange. I saw beautiful ornaments and thousands of tiles that made a collage of wonderful artwork on the walls. While I was observing the vintage clock that was in the centre of the main entrance to the railway platform I couldn't avoid the presence of the digital display board. It was announcing the departures and arrivals, on the blue, shiny screen. It was a reminder that I am not in a museum, as it would seem at first sight.
Just take a look at this photo. Do you see all these scenes, probably representing the most important historic events in Portugal? The Portuguese past which is pictured on more than 20 thousand tiles is eye-catching.
Battles, wars, victories and losses, scenes from the everyday life of the people, revolutions, royal processions, and a train that is arriving... all way up, on the left side. Do you see that little detail?
A whole history lesson that could be experienced here, though we didn't stay for a long time in this place. It was evening, as you also see 7:40 p.m. It was our last evening in Portugal, though we didn't know that we would stay even less than 24 in this city, Porto. The plans were to look around the afternoon we arrived here, watch the sunset from the park that is placed on the hill on the other side of the river, and go to have dinner in one of the restaurants on the river bank. The next day would be the day when we would meet the city better, and find more cod fish, pastel de nata and wine.
The plans were changed the very next day but not as we wanted those changes. We stayed less time than expected, however, it will be explained on another occasion. We will focus now on this evening and the railway station that we came across while strolling around in the city centre. We were searching for a restaurant but I didn't like any of them by the river. It was cold to sit outside on the terrasse, so we headed back to the city centre to find a cosy place. The lady that was at the reception desk of our accommodation recommended a few places and also explained what to visit and see. She was very kind and helpful 😇 She also mentioned the street works that are going on in front of the railway station and that it would be best to avoid it. But we anyway passed there 😁 Actually, the yellow excavator can be seen in the left corner of the image. On the right, we see the facade of the Sao Bento railway station.
The building itself calls for attention, but the real beauty is what we have seen inside - those tiles that decorate the whole interior of the building are much more interesting. I read later that this railway station was inaugurated in 1916. Already for more than one century, it serves as an important transport junction in the life of the city of Porto.
If only I had more time... maybe I would get on one of these trains, and go on an adventure to some another town... but let's not dream!! We were on our search expedition for dinner, and it had to be done on foot, in the city centre.
The very short unplanned visit to Sao Bento railway station finished and indeed, bacalhau was again on our dinner menu that evening. The trains from here went to their destinations... And this post will also arrive at its destination in just a few moments... at a community dedicated to trains, engines, stations and more, related to trains. 🚋
