Brazil: Petropolis

From Rio we started heading north, first to Petropolis, ~60km in the hills and 850 m.a.s.l). It is a planned city commissioned by King Dom Pedro II as a summer retreat, and first settled by German immigrants. Today the old center appears distinctly European, even the centro commercial area bustles the way European towns do. Coffee built much of Petropolis.

On the second day we took city buses to Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, and did a little hiking in the Atlantic Forest. Most people were setting off on the 3-day traverse. Surprisingly, from the bus rides, we saw that many, many people live in the hills outside Petropolis, and the morning commute is not single directional towards town. People were going all directions all over the place. No wonder the city center bustled.

The Petropolis Cathedral was setting up tents and about to celebrate its centennial when we walked in. The tombs of the Imperial Family are here.




Many Mansions were built when Petropolis was rich, from 1870 to 1914, and King Pedro II summered here at the Imperial "Summer" Palace (1st below - no photos allowed inside). Not to mention the Bohemia Brewery (2nd below).








The most interesting mansion is the so-called Casa dos Sete Erros (House of Seven Errors). Why this name? There are seven deliberate and distinct differences between its two halves. But can you spot them? The building is undergoing a much needed major renovation and we were not able to go inside.






Palácio de Cristal (Crystal Palace)


Lutheran Church.


There were also some nifty mid-20th-century modernist and art deco buildings. First and second below is the old train station, now the bus station, designed by Oscar Niemeyer - we'll see his work again and again on this trip. The Art Deco Teatro D. Pedro is 3rd below.








On our second full day in Petropolis we took two buses, in what we thought was the direction opposite to the morning commute, to get to Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, only to find commuters going in every direction. We were lucky to get seats!




The side trail, Circuito das Bromelias, was very cool, with waterfalls and pools, and lots of bromeliads.










Then up, up, up to the Veu da Noiva (Bride's Veil Waterfall).




There was a well-tended cabbage field near the return bus stop.


And a Caracu Sweet Stout with dinner was pretty darn tasty.


Some bonus scenes around town.










We twice ate lunch at a tasty pay-by-the-kilogram Taiwanese-run vegetarian restaurant.