Sunny Barcelona, the City of Gaudi

Easter weekend is a four-day holiday here (with Friday and Monday off) and therefore, a good reason to take our first trip out of Germany and an even better reason to escape the rain and cold and head for.... sunny Spain! Barcelona to be exact!

(Der Hund also had a little holiday, her post to follow...)

Instead of a typical hotel, I wanted a more authentic experience and rented a holiday apartment in the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter) in the center of the old city of Barcelona. There are a lot of holiday apartments in Barcelona and many that are even cheaper than hostels/hotels. (but because I didn't get any pictures, so unlike me I know, here is where we stayed: http://www.cocoonbarcelona.com/en/apartment.php?appart_ID=782)

So even though we visited during Easter, it turns out that all of the museums had special openings, everything that was normally closed was open. Turns out also that we were not the only ones to find out... the city was packed with tourists!

The Barri Gotic also turned out to be a wonderful central location. It is the oldest part of Barcelona that dates back to when it was an ancient Roman village called Barcino that grew over centuries to what you see now with many of the buildings dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. We took such pleasure getting lost in its maze of cobbled streets and alleyways and taking in the bustling and vibrant city life.... restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and of course people!

Placa Reial ("Royal Plaza"), Barri Gotic

Lovely square but teeming with tourists at night!  We had drinks at one of the restaurants outside and watched the street performers and the other tourists and then left to find dinner someplace a little less touristy!

Catedral- Barri Gotic
Mostly built from 1298 to 1450 but not completed until the early 20th century!

We started with a very ambitious list of things that we wanted to do and see. As Barcelona is also called, the City of Gaudi, the many works of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi were predominant on our list.  However, as we learned, you definitely need more than a weekend to see all of Gaudi's works. I think we made a pretty respectable effort...

1) Casa Battlo

Built by Gaudi in 1904-6 for the textile industrialist Josep Batllo, At that time, the Passeig de Gracia, the street where Casa Batllo is located was the most fashionable street in Barcelona.  Josep Batllo wanted to stand out from his neighbors and to showcase his success and wealth and thus commissioned Gaudi to build this house. Gaudi was given free reign to design as he pleased.  Gaudi took inspiration from marine life and nature in his architecture.  The local name for the house is Casa dels Ossos (House of Bones) as the exterior looks as if it were made with giant bones. The facade is also covered with a mosaic of glass and ceramic to create a fluid moving effect as it reflects light.  The roof resembles a dragon's scales and is said to be a symbol for the dragon that St. Jordi, the Patron Saint of Barcelona slayed to save the city from destruction. There are no right angles anywhere in the house, everything is designed with curves - the walls, the ceilings, windows.   I thought it was so fascinating. I really enjoyed this house. 

 

Casa Batllo Exterior

Listening to the audiotour and taking photo

taking a pic of the interior

Another pic of me listening to the audio with my camera ready (der Junge's new favorite pic is to take a picture of people taking pictures)

Interior well

Gaudi designed 2 interior "wells" inside the house which open to the roof to allow light and airflow into the interior rooms. The wells are tiled with blue mosaic which is lighter toward the ground floors and becomes darker as you climb to the roof. So when you are looking up, you see light. Gaudi designed a system to cool the interior based on the gills of a fish so all of the windows have vertical slats that you can operate to adjust the cooling. As Der Junge stated, it was like being in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.

"dragon scale" roof, peeking through a window

2) Casa Mila

Casa Mila

Another Gaudi building. Ok, so we actually did not go in because of lack of time but we did see the exterior and did a little research into the history. This building has many similarities in style to Casa Batllo. It was built for the married couple, Roser Segimon and Pere Milà. Roser Segimon was the wealthy widow of Josep Guardiola, an "Indiano," a term applied locally to the Catalans returning from the American colonies with tremendous wealth. Her second husband, Pere Milà, was a developer who was criticized for his flamboyant lifestyle and ridiculed by the contemporary residents of Barcelona, when they joked about his love of money and opulence, wondering if he was more interested in "the widow’s guardiola" (piggy bank), than in "Guardiola’s widow".  

This was a very controversial building as it did not follow conventional building styles.  Critics called it La Pedrera (the Quarry) because the exterior looked like a rubble of rock as in a quarry. At the time, neighbors complained that the "genius" of Gaudi would bring down the value of the land in the area. Gaudi and Roser Segimon also disagreed with the construction and decoration of the house.  Like Casa Battlo,  all of the walls are curved.  It is reported that she complained there was no straight wall straight to place her Steinway piano and Gaudi answered, "so play the violin."  Also interesting to note, Gaudi wanted the people who lived in the flats to all know each other and placed lifts on every second floor so people had to communicate with one another on different floors.

3) Palau Guell

This palace was built for Count Guell and was Gaudi's first major work in 1889.  Count Guell was Gaudi's famous patron who also commissioned the Parc Guell, see below. The Palau Guell was just re-opened last year after a 7 year restoration.  My favorite part was the roof with its famous "Gaudi" chimneys, each one unique with different mosaic tiles.

Chimneys on the roof of Gaudi's Palau Guell

Again, courtesy of der Junge, a pic of me taking a pic!

4) Parc Guell

A park designed by Gaudi as commissioned by Count Guell for a luxury housing development that never happened as Count Guell ran out of money.  Only two houses were built and one was intended as a show house. When completed in 1904, no buyers came forward so Gaudi bought the house with his savings.  Gaudi, his family, and father lived there from 1906 to 1926.  The houses are now the Gaudi Museum.

Parc Guell

It was a beautiful day and very crowded when we visited. We grabbed sandwiches at a cafe in the park and sat along one of the pathways to watch the people and enjoy the sun. 

main terrace of the park, kids playing soccer

covered pathway under the road

5) Sagrada Familia

(this is not actually my picture, but there were so many obstacles- people, tour buses, construction things, that I could not get a decent picture. It's ok- the internet is great!) 

Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) is Gaudi's most famous work, begun in 1882.  The Sagrada Familia is still being built and is projected to be finished by 2026, at the centennial of Gaudi's death.  When Gaudi died in 1926, the basilica was only between 15-25% complete. While I am inclined to agree with George Orwell who is reported to have called it one of the most hideous buildings in the world, it is  still quite an amazing experience to be inside.  The interior has huge columns which resemble a forest of palm trees and while there are so many columns and density, the sheer height and multitude of windows make it very light.  While maybe not beautiful, certainly awe-inspiring.

the old and new parts of the cathedral

inside view

So that concludes our tour of Gaudi sites... Here are some of the other places we saw...

Palau de la Musica

Palau de la Musica interior
(Again not my picture because 
they do not allow photography inside!)

This was a  beautiful light-filled concert hall built in 1908 by Domenech Montaner (as the guide joked, not Gaudi!). The hall is the only one in Europe to be illuminated by natural light during the day. The most impressive aspect is the inverted stained glass skylight that is a representation of the sun.  It is surrounded by a choir of women to represent the first all-female choir that was founded in Barcelona.

Montjuic and cable car to Castell de Montjuic

A windy but fun cable car ride overlooking the city speeds up the trek up Montjuic (the Jewish Mountain- named after an important Jewish cemetery that stood there in the Middle Ages, where did it go?) to see the Castell de Montjuic.  

Built in the 18th century with a sordid past- the castle served as a military prison and torture center during the Franco dictatorship. At the end of the Spanish Civil War, 4,000 Catalan nationalists and republicans were shot in the nearby fields.  Montjuic and the Castell fell into decline for years afterward.  The Barcelona Olympics in 1992 helped to give the place a face-lift and the Castell now has a better purpose as an international peace center and will soon be turned into a museum that explains the building's history.

The view from the castle bastions overlooking the city and the port is wonderful and the surrounding parks of Montjuic are lovely with landscaped gardens. 

Font Magica (Magic Fountain)

Font Magica is at the base of Montjuic and in front of the Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, designed for the International Exhibition of 1929 by Charles Buigas, jets of water are choreographed to music, it attracted a huge crowd who applauded at the finale!

At the Castell bastions

Castell, overlooking the port

der Junge at the Castell

La Barceloneta

We strolled over to La Barceloneta district for lunch along the Passeig Joan de Borbo with a view of the Mediterranean Sea!

Barceloneta beach

But unfortunately it was not THAT warm to be in swimsuits and get in the water. Those people are crazy! They must be German... oops, I mean...  just kidding!

The weekend went by so quickly, but we can't completely cross Barcelona off the list. This city has too many draws and most definitely warrants a repeat visit... or more. Per der Junge, that is really the best way to end a vacation... wanting more. Well, I do want more... more Barcelona, por favor!