ABOUT PORTUGAL

I will today write about another European country. I have earlier written about, Ireland, Slovakia, Poland, Bavaria, Hamburg and France.   Today I have chosen PORTUGAL.


This is – as you know – the European country at the south-west of our continent. Its size is 92.000 sq.km. And it has about 10 mill. inhabitants. You say about the Portuguese that they in particular are interested in the 5 Fs:  Fé, Fatima, Familia, Fado and Futebol 😊  In my view they are probably the most sympathetic and friendly people in Europe.

Politically Portugal was a dictatorship from the 1930ies and until the so-called Carnation Revolution made an end to it in 1974.  Around the time of the revolution there was a risk, that the right wing dictatorship would be replaced by a left wing one.  But it did not happen. A solid democracy took over.  And Portugal became a member of the EU from 1986.


Portugal was an old colonial power. Its colonies, Angola, Mozambique and CapVerde, became independent during the 1970ies.  Many people from the former colonies moved to the mainland. And they were and are very well integrated.  This openness to immigrants has also in recent years opened the country for immigrants from the war zones in Syria, Iraq, etc.


The Portuguese islands Madeira and the Azores have an autonomous status inside Portugal today. Madeira is about 1.000 km southwest of Lisbon – and the Azores 1.500 km to the west.  Both places are definitely worth visiting.  Many years ago I visited the Azores for a conference on the EU. I arrived there by plane from Boston the US. It turned out to become a very exciting experience. Many people from the Azores had over many years emigrated to the New England states in the US.  And on my plane many of the passengers were visiting their land of birth for the first time for many years. As we approached the Azores the mood among them became almost ecstatic!   Wonderful to see.   The Azores are volcanic islands.  In some places you can fry an egg just by putting it on the ground.


The whole of Portugal is very interesting. We have visited it many times. A special experience was a one-week cruise on the 900 km long Douro river in the north. Fantastic scenery. Lovely wine.   And when you travel through the country you should also try the Pousadas.  These are nice hotels built in old manors or small castles. There are 33 of them spread over the country. 

The Portuguese wine, Vinho Verde, in the special boxbeutel bottles is very recommendable. So is the Port wine.  If you love port, you should visit the special PORT INSTITUTE in Lisbon.   This is a nice bar, which seems to have all sorts of Port – old and new.   And when you enjoy some of these wines you have to listen to the special Portuguese songs called FADO. They are sort of melancholic – and have a long history back in time.  And you should try to visit a place, which has the famous Portuguese TILES on the walls.  They go back to the time of the Moors.   


My own very special relationship to Portugal – and esp. to Lisbon – goes back to 1998. I was responsible for EU’s pavilion at the world exhibition EXPO 98. We had built a very nice and impressive pavilion, which looked like a ship bow over the river Tejo.  The exbibition had 11 million visitors over six months and was a great success.  We also learned how to manage unforeseen situations.  During the whole building process we often had problems with our Portuguese builders and suppliers, as they did not always respect agreed deadlines.   And on the very morning when the EU Commission’s president, Jacques Santer, arrived at 9 a.m., the last Portuguese workers left through a backdoor.    But everything was ok.  The building is today called the Vasco da Gama Tower ( after one of the famous Portuguese discoverers ). And as far as I know it is part of one of the universities in Lisbon.