Barcelona: Some contrasts

26 April 2009


Barcelona continues to impress as a most livable city. Today, we visited Montjuïc, a 173 m high mainly (entirely?) public "mountain" of parks, gardens, and other attractions several km to the west of the city center. We traveled by metro: about one euro per ride (including transfers) and the trip, with waits and a transfer, only took about 20 minutes. We visited three sites today, all on Montjuïc: the castle (fort, really) of Montjuïc, which embodies an oppressive history for Barcelona, at the top of Montjuïc; the Olympic Ring, near a main stadium for the 1992 summer games); and an exhibit of Sorolla's early 20th century mural-sized paintings of "The Vision of Spain." Each was terrific. The public spaces here and elsewhere that we visited are clean, beautifully designed, and well maintained.

In reflecting on our short time here, I was musing about some strong contrasts that we've encountered.

(1) Crowds. I wrote on my first entry about the wide, uncrowded sidewalks near the Arc de Triumf. I've now experienced the polar opposite: Las Ramblas and the adjacent Bari Gotic. See photo below.
(2) Patience. On Saturday, we began with a visit to Gaudi's La Familia Sagrada and ended with a visit to the Picasso Museum. Gaudi worked for 40 years on the architectural design of a grand temple that is still under construction, nearly a century after his death. Picasso's every scribble is treated as a piece of art.
(3) Isolationism and community. Guidebooks point to a strong pendulum swing during past decades from the closed Spanish society under Franco (and particular oppression of nationalistic Catalans in Barcelona) to the open community today. Icons of these periods are juxtaposed in the Castell (fortress) at the top of Montjuïc and the Olympic Village on its flank.

The photos:
Top: Olympic Ring
Middle two: Castell at the top of Montjuïc
Bottom: Saturday afternoon street traffic near Las Ramblas

Four days was too short! I hope to have a chance to return to Barcelona in the future and learn more about this interesting and wonderful city.