Anecdotes from Lisbon Some supplementary experiences and thoughts about my time in Lisbon which I didn’t include in my last […]
28 Tram
• I read somewhere about the famous or was it infamous No.28 Tram in Lisbon. I had seen it a few times and didn’t think much of it but eventually thought I should give it a try. One of the reasons that made me give it a go was because of the steep inclines and declines of many of the roads not to mention how narrow many of them are too! Well, I’ll start off by describing it; the coaches are old, exactly how old I have no idea but must be from the 1940s or 50s at least – maybe with a few updates through the years. Think of a thin tin can cab shell around a wooden frame, the frame exposed inside as part of the design, an upgrade from an ox-wagon just with a tin outside. It’s hot (end-June) so thank goodness the windows open fully which gives some respite when packed in like sardines. The driver only seemed to know two speeds, fully steam ahead and slamming on the breaks which would give anyone with issues of “self-space” nightmares – if you aren’t holding on to something of what little there was to hold on to considering how many people were inside for most of the journey you are likely to end up sitting on a stranger’s lap. Back to the trip……undulating steep inclines and declines means you are constantly trying to stay vertical, that all the while the rickety coach creaks and groans to the extend that you cannot help think and wonder how they hell this thing stays in one piece! The suspension must be made out of the stones they use to pave the roads, added to that the rails on the grounds must have been installed by a blind drunk as it rocks from side to side and corners like jolts of electricity jerks it around. The No.28 Tram is indeed a legend! The journey is an absolute joy to experience and it would be top on my list of first things to do if I go back to Lisbon. What could be a better experience than going through a city on a stop start wooden rollercoaster!