On the spot

In On the spot, we delve into different locations in Europe that are medically-literarily relevant. The posts are divided into categories and/or location. They appear on a biweekly basis.


Arles

Writing about Arles and Vincent van Gogh is actually a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. There is already a description of the places he stayed there in the form of a walking…

Doctor José Tomás de Sousa Martins

There are many famous doctors in our history. Some doctors have had diseases named after them. Think of Gilles de la Tourette, Cushing, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Dupuytren. Or doctors associated with a…

Fernando Pessoa (1)

Close to the square where the most famous Portuguese poet, Luis de Camões, has a statue, Praça Luis Camões, next to the entrance to the metro, is the terrace of Café A Brasileira, a café that opened…

Fernando Pessoa (2)

After his death, Pessoa was buried at the Cemitério dos Prazeres alongside his family. It is a beautiful cemetery, but it is located close to the airport, so planes fly low overhead constantly…

Jan Slauerhoff

There are a few places in Europe with a large square directly on the water. In the past, this was the place where people arrived to be impressed. The square in Venice is world famous, those in Trieste…

António Lobo Antunes

We have just stepped out of the metro at Picoas station on the yellow line. The meeting point is the kiosk. This is fitting, as the history of kiosks in Lisbon is partly intertwined with the history…

Herman de Coninck

Warning for the non-Dutch reader: As you know, this is originally a Dutch website, so now and then you will stumble upon some very Dutch, or, in this case, Flemish content. This episode of on the spot…

José Saramago

We are standing near the Tagus River on R. dos Bacalhoeiros, in front of an olive tree. That olive tree is not here by chance. Beneath that tree lies José Saramago, or at least his ashes. Next to the…

Two novels set in Lisbon

One of my favorite walks in Bern is to slowly walk down the covered Kramgasse and then the Gerechtigkeitsgasse. Just before the bridge over the Aare that leads to the famous bear pit, which…

On the spot – Lisbon (9) – What remains

In eight episodes, we have reviewed all kinds of literary and medically relevant places in Lisbon. Although this collection can always be expanded later, in this – for now final – episode about…