Monday, December 17, 2007
Portugal – A Legacy of Explorers
Lisbon is certainly one of the most beautiful cities we have ever seen. We think that everybody should go and visit it at least once in his life! The city is enchanting, modern yet monumental, big, clean, and wonderfully diverse. Last time I was here is more than 10 years ago and it seems many things have changed. Mostly for the better, still I was sad that there seem less of those cool small trolley lines leading through the city. The best way to explore town is to simply buy a ticket, hop on one of those trolleys (the old ones, not the new version!) and look out of the window. We promise you won't regret it!
We're staying in a downtown guesthouse; beautifully restored but with a super-small bathroom and equally small beds. I'm lying diagonally across two beds and keep wondering what Jan Henseleit would do. Rent two rooms?
Some people have asked why Portugal should be one of the most important stops. What makes it so special? Well, think about its place in history and about the monument we chose. So which part of the WSF film do you think we shot here?! B-) Ironically it was the last stop of the consecutive WSF trip.
Talking about history, Portugal has been known by the Phoenicians already and later on by the Romans. Its history is incredibly rich and equally complex. In the 8th century the Moors came and controlled both Spain and Portugal for centuries – an important part of European history because they brought back lots of knowledge which had been lost during the dark age of European migrations.
The 15th and 16th century was the time of the great explorers; Portugal became a world empire and established colonies in Brazil, Africa, India, China and Arabian countries. However, nothing lasts forever, and Portugal later on became dependent on Spain, then Britain, and in 1807 Frenchman Napoleon came along. A couple of years later (the French had left) Portugal became a republic – and not much later a dictatorship!
In 1960 the colonial wars started, and once the military had realized it was impossible to win they overthrew the dictatorial government in order to prevent the country from financial ruin. The colonies became independent in 1974 while Portugal was proclaimed a republic. Against this historic background it is not surprising that the country currently is – apart from the new eastern states – the weakest member of the European Union.
With the Lisbon flights being a big success, is the WSF tour over now?!
The good news is: No, it is not! And the bad news: No, it is not. (Think about it for a minute, it makes sense!) :-)
So what's next? First of all, don't forget there's targets left on our map (see HG website). Another ***BIG*** issue is the composition of a matching piece of music for the final movie! Furthermore, a number of interesting questions regarding some WSF secrets will be answered within the next posts.
And finally, we'll have to find a new work after returning home (that's the downside of the WSF only few people have realized). :-(
We would like to close for today by thanking our partners (see links in menu on left). These are not just any five companies – it is well-established brands on the market with outstanding products! And even more important: The people behind the scenes are devoted to model sports, just like you and us. Their vision and foresight are greatly appreciated as well as their constant belief in HeliGraphix and our larger-than-life projects like the "World Scenic Flights". Thank you very much!
Special thanks go to our Swiss Unit around Nicolas Kaiser – without their non-stop support it wouldn't have been possible to handle the logistics.
Thanks also to Marc Endres – he spent countless hours translating this blog on-the-fly into German and thus making the WSF project available for a wider audience.
There are a whole number of people behind the scenes who have contributed significantly to the success of this WSF trip – many thanks also to you! We will not forget to credit everyone of you in the final video (it's just a little bit long of a list for the moment).
And finally – thanks to you! It was both fun and a pleasure to have you aboard and to interact with you throughout the mission. You may not realize it, but this is a vital part of any of our projects. It motivates us, and together we are a strong community! We hope that you, too, enjoyed being part of this once-in-a-lifetime project!
We'll be landing tomorrow afternoon in Munich/Germany. And once again: Stay tuned for more news! :-)
Labels: Lisbon, Portugal, trolley, WSF end, WSF start
# posted by hg/tuw @ 23:06 
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Yes, Willkommen Zuhause :-) Ich habe ehrlichgesagt nicht gedacht, dass ihr das überlebt ;-) Ne Spass beiseite... Ich freue mich RIIIEESSSSIG auf das Video... :-)
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# posted by 
: December 19, 2007 at 12:52:00 PM GMT+1
: December 19, 2007 at 12:52:00 PM GMT+1 
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