Es ist Brazil! Genau, Beleza!!

I am writing this from a place that can only be characterized in one way: a total sensorial mess! This is Neverland, this is Fantasyland, this is GRAMADO. “What is so special about Gramado?” you may ask. Well, let me tell you.

Gramado is a small town in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, about two hours away from Porto Alegre. It is a very peculiar place in Brazil because it has been home to a big German immigrant community that built the town like if they were in Europe. They found some mountains (what else?...) and made a small Deutschland in the middle of Brazil. But that’s not all, the town has also been home to Azorean settlers and Italian immigrants, making it quite the Babel. So the result of it is utter confusion, but in a good German structured way.

To get here you need to drive through the mountains and there you get your first glimpse of confusion – pine trees on the left, palm trees on the right; cactus here and hydrangeas there. You realize something is odd and you pay more attention. Then you see adverts to the local Oktoberfest and to the Spieger brewery. Ok….. But nothing prepares you for the town itself – you discover a little German alpine town, the kind you would find in Southern Bavaria or in Austria. The buildings are made in wood with their balconies and rooftops similar to those of the popular German stories. The streets are orderly and clean, time is shown in cuckoo clocks, the people are tall, blonde and blue-eyed and here and there you can hear Brazilians speaking a mix of Portuguese and German on the phone! It is quite bizarre!

We have passed by Square Nicoletti, we have seen the Azorean church and we are staying in a German-style chalet. In rural Brazil... Tomorrow it will be time to check out more about this quirky little place and, who knows, maybe even have a schnitzel and a caipirinha!!