We took the long way to Lisbon and the wine made it all worthwhile
I’ve been plotting a Zürich to Lisbon road trip for the better part of six months. In its original form, it was going to be something of a delivery mission to transfer fragile objects from various lockers in my Swiss apartment to shelves and assorted surfaces in the Portuguese capital. It would be a three- to four-night journey with stops at various wineries and a night here and there with friends in and around Marseille. It was also going to be the first grand tour for the Toyota Land Cruiser and the plan was to turn it into a 10-day adventure.
A couple of months ago, however, it was decided that the diary wasn’t going to allow for such driving decadence and a new plan needed to be hatched. Do we skip the road trip altogether? Perhaps it’s better to let a gentle shipping company deal with the fragile objects? Or what about a one-way trip and basing one car in Lisbon for a stretch? After a bit more diary consultation and a conversation with the little Suzuki Jimny that’s been living a very comfortable life on Zürich’s Gold Coast, we landed on this past Saturday as the departure date for a three-day, two-night drive to Lisbon. Here’s a brief play-by-play peppered with a few observations:
Saturday 07.45
The plan was to be on the road at 06.30 but the most magical dinner the night before at Alex, across the lake, meant that the start wasn’t quite as sharp. Nevertheless, Zürich was in holiday mode so we were quickly on the highway. Destination: Geneva.
Mats played navigator and chief steward on the journey. As the Jimny is rather basic on tech, there was no need for a deejay. Radio would have to do and thanks to a bit of Chérie FM, France Inter and Los40, we did just fine.
France might be home to some of the world’s most admired retail brands and Spain to some of the world’s best chefs but you’d never know it based on the roadside hospitality offering. France and Spain have some serious work to do when it comes to polishing this part of their tourism infrastructure. There’s much to be learned from the Swiss, Austrians and Japanese in this territory. Toilet seats would also be a nice touch.
The Jimny’s speedometer shows the number 180 at the top end but the car is most comfortable at 110km/h or slower. At the last minute, we decided to cut the trip to one night and the most sensible (and perhaps most comfortable) stop was San Sebastián. We rebooked the Hotel Arbaso and, based on a Google estimate of 11 hours on the road, made plans for a lovely dinner around 21.00. In the end we dined very well but closer to 23.00; the total drive almost 14 hours.
Sunday 10.00
On Sunday morning we made a grocery, wine and coffee stop at Lukas Gourmet Shop in San Sebastián. If you’re not familiar, it’s worth a small detour. It’s just the right mix of the daily and more refined essentials that every neighbourhood needs. The extra boxes of wine helped steady the vehicle for a day on the road.
The Jimny is not the most aerodynamic vehicle in Suzuki’s line-up but it’s certainly cute to look at and under the right circumstances a treat to drive. Highways are another matter. Under windy conditions it’s essentially a cardboard box atop a skateboard and blows all over the place. Passing trucks and buses in 90km/h crosswinds near Burgos proved one of the trickier parts of the journey.
Who has Europe’s best highways and infrastructure? It must be the Basques. The region not only has exceptional roads and impressive tunnels, they’ve also done a decent job of keeping much of it graffiti-free, which is saying something in Europe these days.
Who has the worst highways? Salamanca. Shame on you. Absolutely dreadful.
After a 10-hour drive we reached Lisbon last Sunday at around 20.00. The Jimny is now adjusting to a slightly different pace from Zürich and enjoyed its first jaunt down to the beach. Soon we’ll do a spin around some neighbourhoods I’ve been wanting to scout. Beep-beep!
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