Lisbon

One of the old trams on the way up - Alfama spring 2009

Lisbon - Portugal's charming capital - is built on and around seven hills just like Rome. The city itself is estimated to have approx. 560,000 inhabitants (Barrio Alto, Chiado, Alfama, Castelo, Craca, Baixa and Rossio), but if one includes the suburbs, it is estimated that the population will reach approx. 2.5 million. The most famous of the hills is called Alfarma, and it is here you can find the castle Castello de Sao Jorge. From the castle there are an excellent view of the Tagus River and the city's red roofs. 

Wanted

Ponte Abril 25 bridge, the Cristo Rei statue and the footbridge to the Belém Tower at the entrance to Lisbon from the Atlantic Ocean and up the Tagus River - Spring 2019

When you come by sea from the Atlantic to sail to the beautiful capital of Portugal, you have to go up through the Tagus River and past the Belém tower, which was erected in memory of the great seafarer Vasco da Gama, but which also aimed to secure the city counter attack. Shortly afterwards, you sail under the bridge, which is now called the Abril 25 bridge in memory of the Carnation Revolution in 1974, but which until then was called Ponte Salazar after the overthrown dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar. The bridge is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, but has pretty much only the color in common with this one.

Belém Tower - Spring 2019

When the Belém Tower was built in the early 16th century, it was placed in the middle of the river to better defend the entrance to the capital. The river has subsequently changed over the years, which has meant that it is now quite close to the northern bank.
After the bridge you pass Cristo Rei, who is inspired by the figure of Christ in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The figure was erected after the war to thank God for avoiding being involved in World War II.

Shortly after Christo Rei you can see the rebuilt Praça do Comércio square with the statue of King José I, which reigns from 1750 - 1777. After the earthquake disaster in 1755, the square and the entire Baxia district were rebuilt by one of the city's famous sons, the Marquis of Pombal, which had the street structure rebuilt in the area so that it no longer was a fire trap. The streets became wide and winding in contrast to the building anarchy that had previously prevailed, where construction was just dense and more or less random.

There are three things to always keep in mind when visiting Lisbon that have meant a great deal to the Portuguese in modern times, and that is the earthquake of 1755, the reign of dictator Salazar from 1932-1968 and the colonial wars. The earthquake is considered one of the greatest natural disasters in European history, and it largely destroyed Lisbon. Dictator Salazar was behind the infamous state security police PIDE, which was tasked with tracking down and pacifying political opponents of the regime. Moreover, he was also against the independence of the Portuguese colonies, and for the same reason he threw the country into some very long, bloody and economically exhausting wars, which Portugal lost. It was also Salazar who ensured that higher education was for the rich elite and not for the poor - And for the same reason, the majority of the population only received 6 years of schooling.

The protracted and grueling colonial wars that continually drained the treasury of money and the population's lack of education have meant that the country belongs to one of Western Europe's poorest. Pulling up a population that has been held tightly in poverty and "ignorance" is quite demanding and although Portugal experienced an economic recovery upon accession to the EU, it has unfortunately failed to maintain it.

The old trams are part of the charm of Lisbon, but the public transport system - and here I am not thinking of the metro - is no longer up-to-date and adequate, and that is because the trams are primarily occupied by tourists. When I started coming to Lisbon in the 90's, it was still possible for the city's senior citizens to use these means of transport - And should there be a shortage of seats, one naturally got up and offered one's place as the most natural thing in the world, but now they can not even get on the trams for all the tourists push themselves forward in the queue to secure the available seats. Attempts have been made to solve this problem by offering red trams to tourists, but since they are neither original nor equally cheap, it is no wonder that tourists prefer the originals to a much greater extent.

The cabelcar from Praca dos Restauradores to Bairro Alto - Elevador da Bica - Winter 2008

Something quite unique - now we are at trams - are the so-called inclined ones, which are quite special to the city. There are three - Elevador da Bica, Elevador do Lavra and probably the most famous, Elevador da Gloria. They drag themselves up and down on three of the seven hills Lisbon is built around.

Of course, mass tourism has also left its mark on Lisbon, as in all other European cities, where in the high season (and it is long in Lisbon) it is almost impossible for the citizens to use public transport except the metro, as they almost all is "seized" by tourists driving around in the city. Especially the trams - inclined as well as straight - are constantly crowded. In addition to us easily recognizable pale tourists, there are also approx. a small mio. or 1/3 of the population, descended from the former colonies, which fill up the cityscape.

Lissabon er bl.a. kendt for sine tre skæve sporvogne som dagligt kører op og ned ad nogle af de stejle høje i indre by. Turene varer ikke længe og den længste rute er vel heller ikke meget mere end et par hundrede meter, men om sommeren er det virkelig en lettelse, at skulle slippe for at slæbe sig op i den brændende sol. Desværre er en del af byens ungdom begyndt at dekorere de skæve sporvogne lige lovlig meget. Efter sigende har man hyret en pædagog til at appelere til de unge mennesker om, at nøjes med de af kommunen udvalgte steder, men enten har han ikke haft den store gennemslagskraft eller også har han ikke været hele vejen rundt, for visse steder, er det virkelig voldsomt og under ingen omstændigheder særligt tryghedsskabende. Det skal dog retfærdigvis siges, at kriminaliteten i byen er meget lav.