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Looking Back: Portugal

Last July and August, we went on our first vacation abroad as a couple. We wanted to travel to a warm country (Else loves the heat!), not too far away (Ilse fears flying and didn't have a passport until recently). We also wanted to go somewhere we both hadn't been to before. In the end, we decided to go to Portugal: a few days to Lisbon and, from there, a few days to Porto.

As a very religious, Catholic country, we did some research before we traveled to Portugal and our first stop, Lisbon. We were surprised that queer rights in Portugal are said to be among the best in the world (!), but we also learned that queer people tend to be discreet in public—even though Lisbon and Porto celebrate pride parades.

So, before we arrived in Lisbon (Ilse luckily survived the flight!), we had planned to be a bit more discreet. But: we suck at being discreet. Also: nobody seemed to care. We stayed at our hotels without being judged. We took the train from Lisbon to Porto without being judged. We explored Lisbon and Porto without being judged. We held hands without being judged. We kissed without being judged. Maybe, tourists are seen differently. Maybe, people choose to be discreet. In any case, we didn't feel like we had to hide away. We enjoyed our vacation as the persons that we are.

In Lisbon, we ended up in a bar and had our best night in Portugal! We drank too much sangria, met local women (straight), and danced through the night—right next to the gay bars which were empty. They asked the DJ to play Nena, a German singer-songwriter—probably to make us feel comfortable. And we danced the night away to the sound of 99 Red Balloons (go by ...).

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