From Tourist Destination to Tabernacle

Abstract

The author describes her personal experience and insights on Portugal as a German artist who has lived and worked worldwide. She observes the changes from her first arrival during the European Football Championship in 2004, the experience of the WebSummit and various exhibitions in Portuguese Museums, up to the COVID-19 confinement and reopening in 2022. She tells the story of 18 years of development of the country, its tourism and economy, the spiritual path, and also the “zen exercises” the community has and had to offer: getting lost in Lisbon, finding faith in Fatima, sanctuaries in Santarem, and tabernacles in Tomar, as Portugal became her literal port of the grail (Port-u-gal). From children to education, poetry, prose, science, food, art, and religion, she paints a picture from the view of a foreigner mingling with the Portuguese and the ex-pat community. Isolated in the countryside during COVID-19, she connected online with Portuguese artists and created new alliances.