No one knows exactly when the latest lockdown began or when it will end, but three things are clear – the pandemic is not going away, #stayathome is very much a thing of decades past, and Lisbon is officially nutty. The weather is all sorts of crazy and people are wearing red lipstick because elections; Glovo and Uber employees wander about to and fro on every corner like wayward, disoriented, smartphone-wielding astronauts, while the streets, parks, and largos are more lively than ever before. Plus everybody suddenly has a dog or has started jogging. Strange, strange times…
And, yet, while the lockdown seems a mere abstract idea for the time being, schools, museums, art galleries, bars, restaurants, clubs, cinemas, cultural centers, etc. – these things are very much empty until further notice.
So here’s some stuff you can do for the next few weeks if you do happen to find yourself indoors for some reason (with working internet).
VIRTUAL EXHIBIT:
Use your personal robot to dive into the online exhibit Deep Down Portugal Is the Sea, a video installation based on images provided by the Portuguese Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf (EMEPC) that’s comprised of videos captured by divers and a remote-controlled robot that descends to six thousand meters deep. Since its closing last year due to you know what, the exhibit has gone online, which is not bad at all.
VIRTUAL TOURS:
Citywalks gives you and your friends the opportunity to walk around Lisbon, Tokyo, Moscow, Krakow, Hamburg, Milan, Rome, Hong Kong, NYC, Barcelona, Paris… cities you may have never heard of, and even Wuhan, COVID-free, from home, and free of charge.
MUSEUMS:
Most of the world-famous Calouste Gulbenkian Collection has gone virtual in light of the pandemic, and you can browse the museum’s many walls at any time, without leaving the confines of your own, for free, for the foreseeable future.
And the monster that is Google Arts and Culture has Lisbon’s National Azulejo Museum ready for your 2D inspection too, free of charge, and probably forever, as well as a bunch of other interesting gems worldwide. Just click around, and hail Google.
FILM FESTIVAL:
Finally, Netflix is pretty great because it’s been there for most of us through thick and thin, especially this last year. But sometimes enough is enough. So if you’re still looking for something new to watch this week, then the Goethe-Institut Portugal presents KINO, a week-long festival of kino (German for “film”), online, free of charge, until Jan 27, which is gut.
NOTE: Most of the stuff that doesn’t say “ONLINE’ in our full events calendar is on hold indefinitely, but you should still check it out to see what the organizers might have in store for you as alternatives.
Maintain, and stay sane y’all.
