Our trip to Braga May 2026
In May we went on a visit to Portugal with six children and two teachers from Houten, the
Netherlands. We have had an amazing time and felt very welcome at the school. This is our
day to day report.
Sunday
When we were at the airport we had to say goodbye to our parents, which was of course
very difficult, but we were also excited to go. The flight went well, and the bustrip also. When
we arrived at the station our host families picked us up. In the afternoon we did some
activities with the families, which was very nice!
Monday
On Monday we had a warm welcome at the school Escola Dr.Francisco Sanches. We also
met the Romanian teachers and children and the Estonian teachers. We had a tour at the
school. It is a big school for children from approximately 10-14 years old. The school also
has a special room where they can record podcasts. They do this approximately once a
month and they also publish it on Spotify. In the afternoon we visited Bom Jesus. A beautiful
church on the top of a mountain. We went up with a funicular! We had to walk down 600
steps.
Tuesday
We arrived at school and we had an activity in the library. We had to paint what we felt while
listening to music. It was really calming and nice to do. We also had a swimming lesson with
the special needs children.
In the afternoon we had a cultural visit in the city centre of Braga. We visited the city hall and
a big Cathedral. There are many churches in Braga, they are all from the 18th century in
baroque style.
Wednesday
Today we started with a nice activity about nature. It was called: exploring the pond. They
taught us about what a good pond needs and we also saw it with our own eyes at the pond
of the school.
We also attended a ukulele class with the special needs children. This was taught by a
volunteer who comes in every week.
In the afternoon we went to Braga city centre to experience the ‘Braga Romana’ . This is a
festival where they celebrate their roman roots.
At the end of the afternoon there was an intercultural festival at the school. This is to connect
all the different cultures which attend the school. There are 45 different nationalities going to
this school.
Thursday
This day we had to get up really early to go to Porto. We visited the Sao Bento station which
is famous for its architecture and the typical Portuguese tiles. We also had a boat tour on the
Douro. There we got told all about the surroundings of Douro river. On the way back to
Braga we also made a short stop at the beach!
In the evening there was a farewell party. Here we had dinner together and listened and
danced to typical Portuguese music. We also received our diplomas for participating in the
Erasmus project.
Friday
Today we started with our presentations about The Netherlands. It was pretty scary,
because it was a whole auditorium to speak to. We handed out some stroopwafels and drop
and everyone liked that very much. After the presentation we did some painting. A local artist
made a drawing of a Dutch painter and we could add colour to make it beautiful.
After lunch we went to the bus station with only the Dutch children. We took a bus to Porto to
stay in a hotel for our last night, because our flight on Saturday was too early. After checking
in, we went to the city centre to do some shopping and we had a lovely pizza for dinner.
Saturday
Time to go home! Our flight left early in the morning, with a slight delay. After a good flight
we arrived back in Eindhoven and were very happy to be reunited with our families.
Things we will remember most about our trip:
– Julian: Bom Jésus was very beautiful. The colours and the nature were very
impressive.
– Aiden: Our host family was amazing. The older brother was relaxed and funny.
Everybody was so nice to us, we felt very welcome. Only the little dog was a bit too
loud.
– Quincy: Porto was a beautiful city. We loved buying presents, seeing the beautiful
buildings and doing the boattour.
– Elise: I enjoyed Porto too! And playing football in the breaktime was a lot of fun!
– Omar: I will remember our host families most. They were all very nice and we are still
in contact. Sometimes we play Brawlstars together.
– Noah: I loved how nice everyone was. They cared for us so much and we had a
great time with all the Portugese people.
