Simplicity

"- Do you love me?"
"- Yes."
"- Then, I have everything that I need."

Missing You...

Viana do Castelo is the most important city on the coastline of the province of Minho, in Northern Portugal, and a good spot for discovering more about the region, as well as being well worth a detailed visit itself. Built on an almost perfect rectangular plan, the small town was founded by Afonso III and granted a charter and privileges for settlers, in 1258. The original centre has remained much the same with its two main streets that were set within an oval-shaped wall. A church, gothic in line, was built in the central part of the walls, though the façade, marked by two towers, has the look of a medieval fort so confirming its Romanesque origins. High up on the towers there is an intriguing ensemble of stone corbels decorated with figures playing musical instruments, or grotesques keeping an eye on what is happening below. By 1500, Viana had already extended beyond its walls, which gradually became obsolete and were largely demolished, so little remains other than the gentle curve in the main square, Praça da República. This square that formed the entrance to the main gateway of the walled town was the natural site for a number of major building projects that included the crenellated Town Hall, again looking rather like a mediaeval tower, with its windows decorated with heraldic elements that include the famous sailing vessel – the caravela, which was to become the symbol of the city. Also depicted is the coat of arms of Portugal and a royal device, an armillary sphere. A monumental fountain was erected facing the building. The charitable institution and hospital, the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, was also erected here in 1580 and remains one of the most enigmatic edifices to be found in Portuguese architecture. It shows is a miscellany of influences, some from Italy and others from Northern Europe, which have resulted in a fascinating, quite unique building with an arcade supporting two verandas, which are set on 12 sculpted caryatids, columns in the shape of human torsos that culminate in a classical front. Viana had an important part to play in the era of the Portuguese Maritime Discoveries. Ships were built there and it also provided many experienced navigators who set sail to discover new lands and peoples. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the city developed thriving trade relations with Brazil, largely based on the import of sugar. This was a time of considerable economic wealth, as it is reflected in the lovely town houses and churches. These included the houses of the powerful Távora, the Alpuim, and Malheiro Reimão families. The chapel of the last named is set like a stage at the top of a small street; equally dramatic are the churches of N. S. da Agonia and the Misericórdia. The strong links with the sea accounts for the water spout built in the second half of the 18th century where Viana is represented symbolically as a woman, holding a caravela in her right hand and an armillary sphere in her left. She is surrounded by four figures representing the four corners of the world. The Viana Museum houses a collection of decorative arts that recall the meeting of cultures brought about by the history of the port and the feats of navigation of its mariners. One example is the Indo-Portuguese furniture that was made in India to European taste, combining something of each culture. There are also examples of furniture made from Brazil wood. In the Room of the Four Continents, the walls are covered with 18th century azulejos – glazed tiles painted with allegories representing Africa, America, Europe and Asia. The 19th century also saw the bustling port taking city status and changing its name to Viana do Castelo, in celebration of heroic feats that took place in the castle during the liberal struggles. Two other signs of change are the modern, metallic bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel, which brought the railway to the city, and also the elegant Italian style theatre. Today, the city is undergoing further renovation and is reinventing its heritage with buildings designed by the best architects of the present day, perhaps the best example being the library, the work of the internationally recognised Álvaro Siza Vieira. A final suggestion for full appreciation of Viana do Castelo is a climb up Monte de Santa Luzia, from which there is a superb view over the small city, the port, river and coastline.

Plans for the weekend

Tours, de France

I just arrived from a quick trip to France. I have been in Tours, to give a speech and present the European Youth Forum’s positions on the issue of the mobility of young people, at a Conference organised by the “Centre” Regional Council, in the framework of the European Year of Workers’ Mobility. It was the first time I was in Tours, a city on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic Coast, with a population of around 135,000. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, but I didn’t have the opportunity to taste them. As it happens often, I didn’t have too much time to visit the city, but still had the chance to go for a small walk and visit the Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Gatien. It’s a very impressive building, begun in 1170 and completed only in the 15th century, in a Gothic style. Tours is known as “the garden of France”, because of the many parks located within the city, and, near the Cathedral, there is a cedar tree said to have been planted by Napoleon himself. Tours and the Loire valley are definitely worth coming back, and I certainly plan to do it as soon as possible.

Summer is over

I’ve been spending some days of holidays in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, with A, I and my son F. It’s been very nice. Very relaxing in one way but very tiring as well… Running the whole day after an energetic almost-3-years-old kid isn’t exactly a piece of cake! And I guess I lack some practice… but A has been amazing and I start to be convinced that she is a kind of wonder-girl, who works hard during the day and still manages to be patient with the kids at the same time that she takes care of the house! She has been really helpful and I have to thank her for that! Viana is a really nice place and its surroundings are very beautiful. The weather has been quite nice and warm, except for today. Maybe to celebrate the end of summer, the Portuguese western coast suffered early morning the effects of what some people claim to be the remains of Hurricane Gordon… I don’t know if that can be true, but it is undeniable that we had very strong winds and lots of rain at dawn. The main effect is that, for the first time this week, I and F couldn’t go for a walk on the beach and had to stay home most of the time, which is a bit boring… I will stay in Portugal until Sunday, my son’s birthday. We will have lunch together with his mother in Coimbra and, then, I will run to the airport in Porto to catch my flight back to Brussels. Before that, we will spend some time with my parents in Guimarães. It’s a bit weird to be in Portugal and not to stay either in Lisbon or Guimarães… but Viana will become more and more my home, as A becomes more and more important to me and I wish to spend more and more time with her. It’s nice to love and be loved!

New Toy

Isn't it beautiful?

Part Seven: The Folk Costumes

It was along this stretch of coastline that the most striking of Portuguese folk costumes, the Vianesa, was created. The creativity and originality with which the countrywomen wove coloured and embroidered skirts, waistcoats, aprons, shirts and even mules, resulted in exuberant outfits. The costumes have subtle differences that indicate which village the wearer comes from, and other changes depend on the taste as each girl is free to choose her costume according to it. This general outfit was soon adopted as a symbol of the region, particularly at the Viana do Castelo festival in honour of Nossa Senhora d’Agonia, and later became a national symbol. Nowadays, at international events (such as Expo 98 or the UEFA Euro 2004) it is not unusual to see girls dressed “à vianesa” at the ceremonies, symbolising the whole of Portugal. Many of these fascinating outfits can be seen in the Museu do Traje (The Folk Costume Museum) in Viana. These are just some of the things that make this northern coastline a very special place, for such are the intrinsic ties between land and sea that perhaps only on an island would be possible to find another such perfect example. (The End)

Vojvodina

As I said, I was in Vojvodina for some days. I went there for a seminar of YEN – Youth of European Nationalities, one of the Member Organisations of the European Youth Forum, and a network of 30 youth organisations representing the European ethnic, linguistic and national minorities. This particular seminar was organised by YEN together with two of its member organisations: the youth associations of the Hungarian and Croat minorities in Vojvodina. And this Serbian region was the perfect spot to hold this event, as Vojvodina is ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse, with more than 20 different ethnic groups (Serbs, Hungarians, Slovaks, Croats, Montenegrins, Romanians, Roma, Bunjevci, Rusyns, Macedonians, etc.) and six official languages (Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian and Rusyn)! It is located in the northern part of Serbia, in the Pannonian plain, and its capital and largest city is Novi Sad and the second largest is Subotica. I’ve been in both. The main reason for this ethnic diversity is, as it is often the case in the Balkans, the fact that, throughout history, this territory has been part of different states: the Roman Empire, the Hun Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Frankish Kingdom, the Great Moravia, the Bulgarian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and, now, only Serbia…

Subotica, the first city I visited, it is located about 10 km from the border with Hungary. Hungarians are the majority here (35%), followed by Serbs (26%) and Croats (10%), which is a god example of the above mentioned diversity. Palic, 8 km away from Subotica, is where I stayed. The town has a beautiful lake near a gorgeous park, with lots of hotels, restaurants and beaches. There is also a Zoo. Sombor is a quite big city with Serbian majority, famous for its beautiful city centre, with important cultural institutions as the National Theatre. Finally, Novi Sad, on the banks of the Danube River, is the capital of the Vojvodina region. I visited the municipality of Petrovaradin, which features a majestic fortress known as the “Gibraltar of the Danube”.

Apart from the places, I will keep good memories of the people I met, their joy and their songs. And, of course, of rakija…

Part Six: Praia de Paçô

There are many lovely beaches in the North, but one like Praia de Paçô, framed by the green of the corn fields that almost encroach on the sand, would not be easy to find. The beach itself stretches into the distance, identical to dozens of others in tourist brochures, but it is possible to walk from one end to the other and, on the way, rest on granite rocks and gaze at the ocean. There is also a 18th century fort, its garrison long departed and its walls in ruins, but it still manages to impart a tranquil sense of security. The sea here is not still. It is open with the ocean almost swallowing the sand at high tide, at once, returning it at low tide. It gives off a constant, swishing murmur to show it is alive and, as the waves splash and swirl the seaweed, a salt tang hangs on the air and this small world is ours…

Countries I have visited - another update

I'm approaching 50!

Trains

Last Friday I took a train from Budapest to Subotica, in Vojvodina, Serbia. This train trip reminded me of the first time I went to Hungary, in 1992, as part of my Inter-Rail tour. The trains haven’t changed much, the landscape is basically the same, the dry heat combined with the lack of air conditioning and the strange languages spoken by many of the passengers, brought memories of these days, fourteen years ago, when, together with a group of five friends whom I don’t even see for many years, I not only visited many different places, but also found out how much I enjoy travelling. I don’t travel much by train nowadays. The speed of planes and the flexibility of having one’s own car make it difficult for trains to even be considered as an option when I plan my travels. But there’s something magical about trains! Maybe the fact that the wagons have something of a house: a house that travels, together with other houses. A train is like an entire neighbourhood travelling together and, during the travel, you can even visit your neighbours! But it’s also the fact that the train stops from time to time. It gives me a sense of continuity: opposite to the planes, in which you travel from a point to another, in a train you travel along a line, with intermediate references which allow passengers to locate themselves. And then, it’s the windows. The windows of the planes are something completely useless; the windows of the trains, on the other hand, are like screens in which you can watch the movie of the trip, frame by frame. I am not sure if I am able to give at least an impression of what makes me like travelling by train so much, but the truth is that last Friday’s journey reminded me of this small pleasure and, even though the train was slow, dirty, uncomfortable, completely packed and hot as hell, and the arrival in Subotica was delayed for almost one hour, I really enjoyed my trip!

Part Five: The Watermill and the Lighthouse

In an area where the lush greens are fed by abundant rain, the countryside is dotted with water mills and mills where corn is ground into the flour that is used to make the delicious local bread – broa. There are fewer watermills, but the one on the Montedor promontory seems to have inspired the Portuguese writer Raul Brandão, when he said that “the watermill is a captivating device, with something of a ship and something of a children’s toy about it”, a spot to watch the sails whirling round and imagine sailing ships or children’s games. For almost one hundred years, the Montedor lighthouse has ceaselessly provided a flash of light to illuminate the sea every nine and a half seconds. It shows vessels the way and the sails of the windmill seem at wave to them.

Part Four: The Manor Houses

The wealth that the Atlantic trade brought to the region in the 18th century encouraged the building of beautiful manor houses that also dot the countryside on high, dominating points. The Quinta da Boa Viagem, at Areosa, is linked to the period of the great maritime discoveries, for the very name (Good Voyage) recalls successful voyages to distant places. According to tradition, when vessels set sail from the port of Viana, they piously saluted the house and chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Good Voyage. In the baroque gardens there are two large lions of Fo, sculpted in granite that, according to Chinese tradition, protected the Emperor Fo-Hi and now mount guard at a fountain where the reclining figure of a woman represents idleness. The lions recall times when even trade relations brought about cultural exchanges. Nowadays, the quinta provides rural tourism accommodation as do many other lovely houses in the region such as Quinta dos Monteverde, Paço d’Anha, Quinta da Bouça d’Arques and Quinta do Ameal, where visitors from all over the world stay with the owner families and hear these and other stories.

Vian...den

While Diogo keeps revisiting his holidays and shares with all of us the enchants of the region around my hometown, Viana, I want to refer to one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to: Vianden.

Located on the north-east of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, on the border with Germany, this small town, taken out of a fairy tale is embedded in the magical landscape of the Ardennes.

It was during the middle Ages the capital of the powerful county of Vianden, an area as large as the present Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. At the time, it was a fortified city, tucked at the foot of the castle, which dominated and protected it.

And this magnificent castle, the biggest in the region, is an unavoidable part of the landscape and the town, giving it most of its charm, together with the narrow and paved lanes, the gothic churches, the ramparts, fortified towers of the small medieval town and the small river crossing it.

This same scenario has fascinated several visitors, one of them being Victor Hugo that even lived there for a short period (his house is now a museum). He referred that Vianden was not known enough and that he would strive to make it better known.

I have a more selfish approach. Let it remain as unknown and mysterious as it is… Just for me to get the same pleasure when I go there again!

Holidays

For the last two weeks I was on holidays, interrupted by some days of work, namely during the weekends for meetings.

Not only because of this particularity, these holidays were quite unique.

The main reason is that I had one of my best friends, M, here during the first week and my family on the next.

With M these holidays were different. Though it was not the first time we spent holidays together, this time we were the two alone, what is even more relevant considering that he is now divorcing.

I enjoyed a lot these days we spent, giving him a glance of my life in Brussels and introducing him to my old and new friends here but also travelling around. Highlights: my birthday party, where we had a great time (though I still missed some friends that were abroad on holidays) and the days in Amsterdam…

With my family, it was the first time we spent holidays all together abroad. I cannot express how happy I was to see them again, jointly with the fact of having them over my place and sharing this holiday experience. I was dead tired when they left but I had this bitter/sweet feeling of having enjoyed a lot these days but also of wishing they could have staid longer.

But the holidays were unique for another reason: Benelux.

Living in Brussels, having holidays around seemed a bit weird, especially considering that I already knew most of the places we went to.

But it was a most pleasant surprise. On the first place doing tourism in Brussels, like taking the tour in the sight-seeing busses or visiting monuments were I was never before. Besides that, going to cities I think I will not be tired of visiting, like Amsterdam (and even Bruges or Gent). And last but not least, visiting the small towns on the north of Amsterdam, by the dikes, or on the Ardennes, sunk in beautiful valleys.

All this combined, these holidays surpassed by far by best expectations. And though I’m not rested, I’m surely more relaxed and motivated to get back to the hard work…

Part Three: The Forts

There must be very few places in the world where, in the space of little more than twenty kilometres of coastline, one comes across six forts: the castle of Santiago da Barra, in Viana do Castelo, Castelo Velho, in Areosa, Forte de Paçô, in Carreço, Cão, in Gelfa, Lagarteira, in Âncora, and that of Ínsua, in Caminha. In times past, the forts protected the well-stocked settlements from pillage but, today, are mere sentinels that have lost their war-like purpose, but still play an evocative role in the landscape. The fort of Ínsua, situated on a small island in the sea, near the mouth of the River Minho, perhaps best represents this. Visiting the forts today activates the memory and imagination for their use is now often very different from their history.

Part Two: The Sargasso

For years, “sargasso” (seaweed) linked land and sea and enabled this rather sandy terrain to be cultivated, for farmers were also seamen, who harvested the natural fertilizer. In the summer seaweed was collected for drying and storing in “haystacks” that were scattered across the countryside like small Lilliputian villages made up of dozens of seaweed structures covered with small, straw roofs. The seaweed was then spread on the land at the beginning of the next period of cultivation. Nowadays, much less seaweed is collected apart from a selective choice made for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.

The decision is yours

I spent the whole weekend at the office, because of one more meeting of the Bureau of the European Youth Forum. If you remember well, at the last meeting, held in Vilnius in June, the Bureau invited me to think of prolonging my contract as Secretary General of the European Youth Forum for two more years. Now, it was time to give an answer… and I did. I have to say that I hesitated a lot, especially in view of my present “heart-condition”… but have decided to accept the challenge and the nomination for a second term. Now, it will be up to the Member Organisations of the European Youth Forum to decide if they want me to stay, and such decision will be taken next November, back in Vilnius. If they entrust me with this responsibility, I will stay in Brussels for two more years, until May 2009. I will keep missing my son, my relatives, my friends and A; but I know that they will all be there for me and that’s precisely what gives me the necessary strength to carry on. Thank you all and, especially, thank you A! You know why...