Barcelona - la Vida Plena
Barcelona, the vivid capital of Catalonia, is beautifully situated between the shores and beaches of the Mediterranean Sea and bordered by mountains that reach the outskirts of the town. I love to explore and experience a city on foot, and so even Barcelona, early this October. Because of this place’s variety I feel so comfortable there: to take part in the dynamic energy of the city, meet with the finest collection of medieval culture and at the same time of modernism, or just simply let oneself go.
Barcelona’s old town
The Catalan capital calls one of the largest and best-preserved medieval quarters of Europe its own. Especially in the 14th and 15th century Barcelona grew rapidly. Today the Barri Gòtic (Gotic quarter) reminds of this period of development.
Around the central cathedral you find buildings with picturesque facades and romantic inner courtyards.
An even beautiful scenery is the neo-Gothic stone bridge in the Carrer (alley) del Bisbe which connects the Cases dels Canonges and the Palau (palace) de la Generalitat.
An even beautiful scenery is the neo-Gothic stone bridge in the Carrer (alley) del Bisbe which connects the Cases dels Canonges and the Palau (palace) de la Generalitat.
‘Get-togethers’
The promenade La Rambla with its around one kilometer runs from the Plaça Catalunya through the old town to the harbor. The pedestrian zone, all flanked by trees, offers a variety of attractions: street musicians, cartoonists, spray-painted living statues. Even flower stands are traditional elements of La Rambla; at certain times of the year also the surrounding builidings are decorated with flowers.
The promenade La Rambla with its around one kilometer runs from the Plaça Catalunya through the old town to the harbor. The pedestrian zone, all flanked by trees, offers a variety of attractions: street musicians, cartoonists, spray-painted living statues. Even flower stands are traditional elements of La Rambla; at certain times of the year also the surrounding builidings are decorated with flowers.
Right on the Rambla lies the famous food market Mercat de la Boqueriá. Colorful and lively, there are around hundred market stands offering fresh products: fruits, vegetables, cheese, fresh baked goods, meat and of course fish.
Right on the Rambla lies the famous food market Mercat de la Boqueriá. Colorful and lively, there are around hundred market stands offering fresh products: fruits, vegetables, cheese, fresh baked goods, meat and of course fish.
Classicist building from the middle of the 19th century characterize the flair and old European charm of the Plaça Reial in the heart of the district Barri Gòtic. The restaurants in the arcades lining the square invite you to linger.
Classicist building from the middle of the 19th century characterize the flair and old European charm of the Plaça Reial in the heart of the district Barri Gòtic. The restaurants in the arcades lining the square invite you to linger.
In the side streets of this vivid place, stylish tapas bars and lovingly designed cafes wait to be discovered.
In the side streets of this vivid place, stylish tapas bars and lovingly designed cafes wait to be discovered.
The city’s port
At the end of La Rambla and the center there lies the city port Port Vell, a former main industrial part of the town. With it, Barcelona is home to one of the EU’s largest ports.
On the occasion of the Olympic Games of 1992 many structural changes took place here and the port was completely restored. Europe’s largest aquarium is also located here.
At the end of La Rambla and the center there lies the city port Port Vell, a former main industrial part of the town. With it, Barcelona is home to one of the EU’s largest ports.
On the occasion of the Olympic Games of 1992 many structural changes took place here and the port was completely restored. Europe’s largest aquarium is also located here.
The floating wooden pier Rambla del Mar allows you to walk just about the water and leads the visitor to a shopping center.
The floating wooden pier Rambla del Mar allows you to walk just about the water and leads the visitor to a shopping center.
From Port Vell the path continues to the Barceloneta and the Port Olimpic: From there on both sides of the coast, of a total length of 4.5 kilometers, extend Barcelona’s city beaches.
The places are very popular with the city’s residents, they attract people in the turbulent summer months but also in the quieter seasons.
Antoni Gaudí’s Barcelona
I believe no artist has shaped the architectural image of a city as much as the artist Antoni Gaudí did that of Barcelona, so I will concentrate on presenting the richness of the exterior architecture of the individual buildings.
Gaudí’s masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, is the true emblem of the city. Its architectural style means the epitome of modernism. The artist dedicated his life to building the church he designed. Gaudí was able to complete 12 of the 18 planned towers which rise imposingly high, mosaics and gargoyles decorate the roofs. Huge lizards, snails and snakes highlight the apse, the first part of the church he completed. The facade, which depicts the suffering of Christ, he was unable to design any more; it was created by Josep Maria Subirach, the strict style forms a strong contrast to the complexity of the works of Gaudí.
The impressively created house Casa Milà (La Pedrera) on the Passeig Gràcia is unmistakably one of Antoni Gaudí’s works. The wave-shaped facade has artistic ornaments made from wrought iron, the roof is adorned with numerous bizarrely formed stone chimneys.
Also located on the Passeig the Gràcia is the colorfully arranged Casa Batiló. The design is said to be based on the legend of Saint George, the roof supposed to represent a dragon’s back, the balcones shaped like carneval masks the skulls of his victims.
In the former working-class district El Raval which has now become hip with the emergence of noble art galleries and chic shops, you can find the palace Palau Güell, one of Gaudí’s earliest works. And again decorative chimneys.
When count Eusebi Güell discovered the young man’s talent, his artistic direction changed. This is how the Parc Güell at the foot of the Tibidabo, a part of Barcelona’s hilly upper town, became another creation of Antoni Gaudí. The now public park and a UNESCO world heritage site was designed as a garden city between 1900 and 1914. And Gaudí let his imagination run wild as playfulness and symbolism infiltrate each detail: Mosaics adorn mythical creatures, the so-called market hall, paths and houses. The use of stone was taken over for the arrangement of the extensive park, viaducts and pillars lead the visitor to beautiful viewing areas. What creativity!
Sagrada Familia
Casa Milà
Casa Batiló
Palau Güell
Parc Güell
The artist Joan Miró
Even particularly fascinating to me was the Fundació Joan Miró. As an exception during my complex walk through Barcelona I would like to introduce the foundation from the outside as well as from the inside.
The museum presents the most important collection of the oeuvre of the artist Joan Miró who was born in Catalonia in 1893. The paintings, sculptures and other works shown span 60 years of his artistic life, many of them were donated by Miró himself.
They display his development from the influences of cubism and fauvism to his surrealistic and dadaistic phase to his status of one of the world’s most popular masters of the 20th century.The light-flooded building with its high halls was designed in the modernism style by the architect Josep Lluis Sert who was friends with Joan Miró. From the curved roofs and the terrace garden with sculptures of the artist you have a breathtaking view over the city.
Miró always desired to get to the essence of human life, for him linked to two principles, his affinity with Catalan land and culture, and his need to constantly undergo revision through a permanent dialogue with the avant-gardes. Based on this the artist’s works manifested themselves, many of them exhibited. Beside his impressive paintings and his works with wood, stone, metal or burnt canvas, to me the most imposing work with textiles presented, and which Miró created in collaboration with others, means the huge Tapis (tapestry) of the foundation. It convinces with its kind of weave and the characteristic color intensity!
In the basement, the so-called department ‘Espai 13’, young artists exhibit their experimental works, with reference to the style(s) of Joan Miró.
Places of idyll
Starting from the Arc de Triomf (triumph arche), made of red bricks in the neo-Moorish style and built on the occasion of the world exhibition of 1988 as its main entrance, you can follow a relaxing walk to one of the most beautiful green places in the city.
Along the Passeig de Lluis Compants and its palm arrangements you reach the Parc de la Ciutadella.
Along the Passeig de Lluis Compants and its palm arrangements you reach the Parc de la Ciutadella.
It is Barcelona’s largest landscape park and allows some rest away from the hustle and bustle in the streets and alleys. My personal highlights there include the magnificient fountain Font de la Cascade, co-designed by Gaudí, and a lake in the middle of the park where you can row.
As a true green place of calm and idyll I see the Parc and Jardins (gardens) de Montjuic, the ‘Jewish mountain’, called after the Jewish cemetery that was here in the Middle Ages.
Beautifully landscaped stone cascades lead through the park down the mountain. Paths under plant trellises and to small flowering areas invite you to stroll.
All these different inspiring facets the Catalan capital allows us to experience and enjoy – simply the full life.
