The Hillbilly Viking

We took a day off from fact finding and due diligence-ing and went in for some old fashioned, Rick Steves sanctioned, sight seeing. Since Viana do Castelo offers any number of scenic hotspots, we just went ahead and started at the top. Literally.

The Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an architecturally impressive church perched high atop Viana do Castelo on the Mount of St. Luzia. From anywhere down in town, you can look up and see the church staring down at you like a medieval gargoyle or a sexually repressed, junior high dance chaperone. It’s both inspiring and terrifying, much like the Catholic church in general.

We took a funicular up Mt. Luzia to get to the holy land. Back home, we call them incline trollies. We have an incline trolley in Chattanooga. Haven’t been. We’ve ridden ones in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Lake Como, Italy, though. Same concept. One car goes up the mountain while the other comes down. A cable connects them up and over a pulley like a pair of 1980’s Kabangers, but the “balls” are actually VW micro-busses packed with sweaty, unventilated tourists (mix that metaphor, and you get sweaty balls). Also, the connecting cord on the funicular is much rustier and more prone to snapping and putting out an eye out. Actually, I think funicular has a Latin etymology meaning “death plunge by way of corrosion,” but my Latin is rusty, too (rim shot).

Ultimately, the building was pretty amazing, and that’s from someone who vows to never tour another church every time he goes to Europe. That’s not anti-faith, mind you. It’s simply cathedral fatigue. If you’ve been sightseeing in Europe, you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, enough words. You’re here for the pictures, so let me get at it.