Castle of the Moors(Castelo dos Mouros) - Hill top Medieval Castle

This is another weekend trip as last one. It seems there are plenty of places to be covered in Portugal which is an amazing country with lots of beautiful people and places.

 http://blog.shelan.org/2014/09/cabo-da-roca-western-most-cape-of.html

So all the EMDC students got together for a weekend out. We decided to pay a visit to Sintra without knowing what exactly we would we be going to explore or it would offer. We knew that it had lots of attractions and that was all what we needed to know.

 You can reach there using viva gem card which is valid for Metro and train (My previous blog post explains about it) . We travelled from Alameda to Rossio Metro station and then changed into the train to Sintra. It took around 1 hour to reach there and it was a different city with mountains all around and more green sights. You can see lots of tourists visiting there too.

We thought of going to the Castle of the Moors and then visit other places after that. But we had marginal time even to return. That place was amazing and a worth place to kill your time in the weekend. It took around 2 hours or more to go to the top. We hiked on our own and if you are bit lazy
you can get a Hop on Hop off bus. To be frank we thought that option better too had we known that earlier :). But you will burn some calories (a lot i would say while enjoying the nature) so it is okay if you are settled for it.

There are two castles on the top and one of them was closed (It closes around 4.30 pm after summer) so we had to choose Castle of the Moors which closes at 8.00pm. You need to pay Euro 7.50 per person for the entry ticket. This place was amazing and well maintained. Below pics will proof that to you for sure. You can enjoy a breath taking view from top of the Castle. And this castle was a Medieval Castle which built couple of centuries ago during 8th/9th Century. So it was pretty old one which poses a great historical value too.

On our way back six of us got into two groups due to bad timing and three of us almost lost on the way. Luckily we had Google maps and found a way to Sintra Train station. Luckily
That path was much shorter but steeper than the path we climbed. Ask Google the path he will tell you obviously :).

Enjoy my pics.

Cabo Da Roca - Western Most Cape of Europe

 It is a new country for me and it is full of new places to travel. Luckily we have one friend at the apartment who knows the area pretty well. So we did not have much trouble in locating the places to visit but if you travel by public transport following information would be useful for you.

  If you are near IST you need to travel from Alameda Metro station to Cais do Sodré station which is at the end of Green line. Then you need to get the Train from Cais do Sodré station to Cascais. To travel up to Cascais you can obtain a travel card from Metro station which covers all 4 forms of transportation including Bus, Metro, Train and Ferry. You have different options but it is better to buy  a viva via gem card if you are a non frequent traveller. It is reusable and reloadable card.

source :http://www.metrolisboa.pt/eng/customer-info/viva-viagem-card

Loading this card with 10 Euros would be enough as we experienced and you can top up it from train stations or metro stations conviniently. It is advisable to keep 5,10 Euro notes as sometimes it will issue receipt for balance which you should claim at train stations if you try to recharge from a train station. Believe me it is a hassle :(.

 You should spend some time at Cascais as it is a beautiful area with lots of tourist and local activities. We stayed there before moving to Cabo da Roca.

                  This was truly a beautiful beach...

From Cascais you need to get 403 bus operated by scottrub. It is usually has one hour frequency. It will go via Cabo da Roca to Sentra and you have to get down from the Cabo da Roca on the way. These buses does not have display boards for the stops but Cabo da Roca is a special stop and you know once you arrive there and just enjoy the breathtaking views out side on the way from the bus. (Believe me it is a special stop ;) )

Cabo da Roca is the western most point of the Europe mainland. You will be surely amazed how picturesque the view is. You will lost in your thoughts for a moment when you reach the top. But make sure not to fall out from the top to Atlantic ocean while taking selfies.. Cos' it is a shame that you cannot tell how magnificent it was to you friends :P

New window just opened ...!

  It has been a week since i have became a student once more in my life. I like the experience of recreating the feelings that i had when i was a student ago two years back. Since now this blog is full of technical content and i did not have much time to blog much about my other experiences. But now this is a new life so thought of doing the same to my blog. Lets see how the new story unfolds...

I am an EMDC ( European Masters in Distributed Computing) student at IST (Instituto Superior Técnico) and KTH (Royal Institute of Technology) in Sweden. This offering is great not only because of the content it offers but the cultural experience you will gain. It is a bonus..

During the first week I was fortunate to visit some of the very beautiful places in Lisbon. I should say the coastal area is really fantastic even though i am coming from a place with full of beaches covering my beautiful island Sri Lanka. I will post more about that place in another post with more details.. and of course with pictures. Till then Just relax with the view out of my apartment...