Barcelona!

 

 

Our weekend in Barcelona began early on Friday morning. We awoke bright and early at 5:00 and got one of the first buses to the train station. At the station however, we soon discovered that the stereotype of German 'Pünktlichkeit' or punctuality, is actually a big, fat lie. People seem surprised when we've told them how impressed we have been with Deutsche Bahn so far. Despite the stereotype that the Germans are always punctual, Deutsche Bahn apparently is pretty unreliable. But like I said, this hasn't affected us at all - until now. And this time we had a flight to catch - Typical. We had given ourselves plenty of time, so as we got to the station and realised our train was delayed by 5 minutes, we didn't worry. As the display changed to 10 minutes we sighed, but still nothing really to worry about. As the time gradually increased we began to get very edgy and nervous. Since we still had to get a bus AFTER our train journey in order to reach the airport, we started to feel nervous. The display now read 20 minutes and as the 20 minute mark approached, and with no sign of the train, we got pretty flustered. We both had visions of a weekend stuck in Regensburg after missing our flight. As the train rolled in 25 minutes later, I glared into the drivers cabin in such a way as to make our feelings about this delay well known, and at this point it all became clear. The driver was a woman. Typical! (hehe). The train journey wasn't very pleasant as we were now cutting it a bit fine, considering we had also missed our connecting bus to the airport due to the delay. As we waited for our later bus, we really didn't know if we would get there in time. As we pulled up to the terminal, we leapt off the bus and did that sort of run / walk thing that can often be seen in airports and train stations and frantically tried to find our gate. We found it and luckily it was still open. We had made it! With our bags dropped off, we proceeded through to departures, where the flight had just began boarding - perfect timing as it so happened. We didn't have to wait around and kill time like most people at airports and we got on the aircraft straight away. Our flight was with Lufthansa and this was the first time either of us have flown with them, and boy were we impressed. For a start, you have considerably more leg space than on lots of other flights. Secondly the service is particularly good. And thirdly, you get food! We weren't expecting our little breakfast package but it was a lovely surprise. Fortunately this journey was on time and relieved that we had actually made it, we arrived in Barcelona at our expected time. The sun was shining, it was warmer than Germany and we were really excited to spend a weekend there.

 

Frühstück über den Wolken - Breakfast above the clouds

After just about working out the ticketing system for the transport network, as well as the transport network itself, we soon found ourselves in the city, trying to find our hotel. I made a complete fool of myself as I tried to ask for directions and pronounced the street that we were looking for in totally the wrong way - but we eventually found our hotel. It was a cute little hostel, very close to the centre but a slight walk from the metro station. Nevertheless for what we paid, it was perfect and it was brand new! Eager to explore, we dumped our bags and set out again. It was 14:00 and we had all afternoon to explore. The weather was positively tropical in comparison to the cold we had left behind in Germany, and I cant tell you how good it felt not to have to wear a big, thick, heavy coat. It really did feel like we were on our summer holidays as we wandered down the palm tree lined streets, as mopeds whizzed around, and tourists in sunglasses gasped at the funky architecture. It was such a good feeling. We strolled around the bustling streets, past posh, boutique shops, through fountain filled squares, past beautiful buildings, took in the sights of the vibrant market selling huge arrays of delicious fruits and meats and made our way all the way down to the beach. I'm sure you can see from the pictures, but the weather was just spot on and it was very easy to forget that it was actually the beginning of February. Lois kept asking me why we hadn't studied Spanish at university, since after a Year Abroad in sunny Spain, we would definitely be coming home with a good tan!

 

 
 

In the very centre is a long boulevard called 'Las Ramblas', filled with outdoor restaurants and places to sit and drink. Yes, it is very touristy and you're often approached and persuaded to take a seat, but the area is indeed really nice and the atmosphere is very friendly and relaxed. We hadn't been in Spain long, but we had already decided that it was time for Sangria and a Spanish beer, so we took a seat at one of the outdoor seating areas, bought a drink each and relaxed in the sun and people watched. It was just perfect and again, we had to keep pinching ourselves to remind ourselves that we weren't on our two week jollies and it wasn't the middle of August! As the sun was slowly setting and we were comfortably 'rehydrated', we made our way to the famous 'Magic Fountain'. This is a large fountain and on a Friday and Saturday evening, once the sun has set, you can watch a water show accompanied with lights and music. The fountain spurts water in different patterns and lights make the water appear coloured. It really was a fantastic sight and the music just completed the show. I can't compare it to anything I've seen before and it was certainly a highlight of the trip. A trip back to Las Ramblas saw us enjoying some more typical Spanish cuisine in the form of Paella and you've guessed it - more Sangria. The Paella was a little disappointing, but we felt it had to be done. We went back to our hotel to rest in preparation for another day of exploring on the Saturday.

Saturday began with another early start. We made our way to the Sagrada Familia, one of the most famous icons of Barcelona. We had heard that if you hadn't booked, you could find yourself queuing for hours. With this in mind we arrived before the opening time of 9:00, and sure enough there was already a queue. We reserved a slot for later in the afternoon and made our way to one of the many parks the city has to offer. A bit like Central Park in New York, there are several parks in the centre of Barcelona. A patch of greenery in a sea of urbanisation, if you like. It was very tranquil walking amongst green open space and flowerbeds, yet still being in the centre of a major city. We came across the Arc De Triomf, which if you hadn't guessed by the spelling, is not the one in France. The one in Barcelona is based on its French brother, but a little smaller and not quite as majestic. Nevertheless, it's an impressive sight. We returned to the city centre but this time via the Gothic area of the city. This was perhaps our favourite part of the whole city. The Gothic quarter is a maze of tiny little streets, densely packed with high rise flats and unique shops. It's a very old part of the city, and there really is so much to see. There are several points where you can go right, left or straight on and each street offers a huge variety of shops which in turn offer many culinary delights, traditional Spanish gifts, unique fashion styles and everything in between. It really is a lovely part of the city and it's so difficult to see it all. It's certainly one of these places where you can go back and see something different each time. We recommend any visit to Barcelona to include at least an afternoon meandering through the maze of streets in the Gothic quarter.

A trip to Barcelona wouldn't be complete without going to the beach and seeing the sea now would it!? I never thought I would be seeing the sea on my Year Abroad but here we were gazing out at it. People were surfing and the promenade was full of joggers, cyclists and other tourists. It's such a cool city, as the golden beach is only a short distance from the sights and sounds of the bustling city. We enjoyed our first ice cream of the year (in February!) and made our way back to the Sagrada Familia for our reserved time. The Sagrada Famila is a huge church, built by Gaudi, a famous Spanish architect, and is actually not yet finished. Gaudi was largely influenced by nature and these signs can be seen everywhere, from the spiral staircases which represent the spiralling of falling leaves to the large supporting pillars which give the illusion of being in a forest. It's a spectacular building and unlike anything else I've experienced - and that's something considering some of the Cathedrals here in Germany! It was a such a calming experience as we wandered around the building and took in the atmosphere. The beautiful stained glass windows gave the interior an amazing array of colour. We then took the lift up one of the towers, following a recommendation from a friend. As we stepped out and looked out over the entire city, we both gasped. The view was incredible, but not in the usual sense. Barcelona isn't a particularly pretty city to view from above. The colours of the buildings aren't really very attractive and the skyline is a little flat. The typical Spanish image of dirty balconies with washing hanging out can be seen everywhere, yet the view is still incredible. You can see so much and you really get an idea of the density of the city. The sea can be seen in the distance and it makes you realise just how big Barcelona is. We enjoyed the view, but looking down gave me wobbly knees, so we soon began our dodgy descent down a long, spiral staircase. At the bottom we returned to the main church and took a seat to soak up the calming atmosphere before leaving and going back to our room for a quick rest. The walking had really taken it out of us, so the rest was very much needed.

Feeling a little more energised we made our way out for our last evening in Barcelona. We found a very, very well priced Sangria bar and enjoyed maybe one too many jugs of deliciously fruity Sangria before making our way back to the Gothic quarter where we enjoyed some typical Spanish tapas. We tried some Spanish ham, Spanish potatoes and we even had some octopus! We were sat outside and it was a lovely final meal out. There was just enough time to sample the Spanish delicacy of hot churros and chocolate as dessert before heading back to the hotel for a much needed sleep! We were exhausted after a very busy few days, but we're so glad we did what we did, as we really feel we made the most of it.

Barcelona should definitely be on everybodys 'places to visit' list. There is so much so see and it's a beautiful city. We've both said that it has been one of the best places we've ever visited. Ok, it's quite expensive, and some parts are a little too touristy, but the city itself has a wonderful atmosphere and we hope to return one day.

 

But for now it's a return to cold, snowy Germany!

 

 

Until next time,

Tschüß!