Petropolis

Peter & Family

Typical Architecture

Phone Kiosks

January 24, 2009-History

There's mold as far as the eye can see. We're in the tropics. They're in denial. I asked Martha about the black mold that makes you sick and she said there was none. No way. She did tell us about the 600,000 AIDS patients treated for free. It's a huge problem but at least it's being addressed.

Petropolis, the city of Peter, sits at 2400 feet above sea level and has 500,000 people. It's another world forty miles (1 1/2 hours) away from Rio and that world begins at a bend in the road. We left in rain and mist slogging our way through light weekend traffic heading to clearer cooler air. We passed the usual clutter of trash and clamor of a city and its environs and then Martha said, " It all changes here." And it did. All of a sudden we were in Bali, or was it West Virginia, or Ireland? Unpopulated green hillsides rose and mountain streams tumbled as our less than steady bus made its way. We almost pitched in for a new suspension system.

How did Petropolis come to be? In 1580 Brazil was founded by the Portuguese, sort of. They didn't settle but just removed gems, gold, and silver and shipped it home. In 1808 the Portuguese royals came with 10,000 of their closest and richest friends. In Europe Napoleon was threatening to invade Portugal and eventually did. In 1821 the Portuguese emperor returned to Portugal. He left his son Peter I in charge of Brazil with the real power still coming from Portugal. It wasn't a problem until the king died and Peter I's brother assumed the Portuguese throne. That prompted Peter I to make the trip back to the homeland to kill his brother. Peter had been widowed (rumors are he killed her) and was a real stand-up guy. He left his five year old son, Peter II to fend for himself and be raised by the court in Brazil. Pete II did ok and turned out to be an intellectual who brought modernity to Brazil including the first phone. The question was to whom did he speak? The answer is that the second phone was installed at city hall. He also established Petropolis to get away from the summer heat of Rio and built the first rail line uniting the two cities. He didn't want to see any black faces around so instead of using slaves he hired a German architect to design his summer palace in Petropolis and asked him to bring German artisans to build it. They settled there and the town reflects their influence. His rich friends followed from Rio and helped turn Petropolis into the summer resort it is today. Brazil admits it also attracted some Nazis after WWII but "not as many as Argentina." After all, Brazil was on the side of the Allies.

At age sixteen Peter II became the emperor of Brazil. He married Theresa Christina, a Hapsbourg (weren't they all).  In 1887 his daughter Isabella signed the Golden Law ending slavery. It wasn't out of the kindness of their hearts but they were influenced by England with whom they had close trading relations and England was anti-slavery. By 1889 they saw the handwriting on the wall and with the encouragement of Portugal declared the independence of Brazil. With the freeing of the slaves property owners were angry that their free labor was gone. Taxes paid to the empire and valuables being siphoned off to Portugal were also an issue. It was not a bloody revolution.

A legacy of African slaves is Candoble, an African religion. Slaves were forced into Catholicism but managed to incorporate the saints into their spirit worship. A leader, usually a woman under the influence of two bottles of sugar cane alcohol, channels an entity to help the supplicant. Drumming and dancing is involved and money usually changes hands.

Buildings

We made two stops on the way to P-ville. One was to a crafts stand where Fernando treated us to a hand of what we call finger bananas. Yum! The second was a pit stop at a German bakery selling equally delicious goods. And then we were in Petropolis seeing St. Peter's Cathedral. It was Gothic-big, I was in and out in a heartbeat. We've only seen three on the entire trip but I'd reached my max. I hung around the outside of it long enough to notice that some decorative carving on the steeple resembled Mickey Mouse ears.

The palace is now a museum and what fun that was. We had to wear felt soled slippers to protect the wood and marble floors but they also served to buff the floors as we walked. I thought it was a sneaky way to get free labor. The benefit to me was that I used them as skates and glided and twirled as I went. The palace had a cheerful pink exterior and was authentically furnished. It was grand and, well, palatial.

Lunch was at Chalet Monica, a private home catering to small tour groups. It was the best meal we've had on the trip. There was lace at windows and on the granite-topped tables. The owner cooked and her son served. Neither was young. We started with cheese empanadas that made me salivate and tiny fish croquettes that were fluffy and perfectly flavored. The split pea soup was free of pork as was the entire meal. We could eat with abandon. David almost freaked out when he saw chicken wings. There was beef and all sorts of wonderful vegetables. It was what they did with them that made our taste buds sing. Dessert was flan with an assortment of toppings (mango, kiwi, coconut, pumpkin). Then came homemade Madeleines, a specialty cookie. After we ate we wandered the house walked through the kitchen and out to the garden where they'd grown the ingredients for our lunch.

The Crystal Palace was our next destination. It's set in a park and was a gift from Peter II to Theresa. It was originally a greenhouse but now sits empty and is used for concerts. The modern glass walls contrast with the iron cupola roofline giving it an unbalanced look. It was really ungainly. Laura Lee and Colleen from California couldn't resist singing "Shall We Dance" and twirling around in the echoing interior.

We'd driven through the town when we arrived and I asked Martha if we would have time to walk the streets later. She answered in the negative. Laura Lee told me to ask Fernando. Being a good manipulator I did. He conferred with Martha and they agreed to a stop if we had time. We stopped and Laura Lee, David, and I were the only ones to get off the bus. The rest waited the fifteen minutes until we made the circuit. I almost changed my mind and felt bad about making them wait, but I'd gone to that Cathedral they all loved so now it was their turn. I really wanted to get a closer look at the buildings. They were definitely Portuguese with bright colors and wrought iron fences and balconies. Many looked like they could be in New Orleans French Quarter. There was a shabbiness to them and the crowds were thick with back-to-school shoppers but we got the feel. I'd noticed Katz's Chocolates as we drove through the first time but we didn't walk that far.

We'd lucked out again weather-wise. It rained where we were not. We returned to the hotel and David and I walked two short blocks to the magnificent Fashion Mall. I could shop there the rest of my life. I didn't recognize any of the stores or brands but we'd found where the rich people were. Even the children were dressed for the runway. Most stores boasted branches in Paris, London, and Rio. We did buy something I'd been looking for all over. It was a challenge figuring out size and amount but I enjoyed "una bola" of cafe ice-cream in a "cuppy."

Fernando has been hanging out with older people too much. He experienced a senior moment when searching for a word in English. I forget what word. I guess it's fair if the “moment” is in a foreign language.

We have another farewell banquet tonight and tour the Favellas tomorrow morning. In the afternoon we'll try to get to the hippie market in Ipanema. We leave for the airport at 6 PM and our flight leaves at 10:30PM.  This will be the last email from South America. I had fun.

Toby