#40 Barcelona and the Temple of Light

December 12-13, 2021: Barcelona (#40)

J. In Barcelona, you could spend several weeks, but we only spent two days in this city for now. We parked on the outskirts of the city in an industrial area and took the train into the city. We had been here three years ago and recognized some things. Furthermore, we had some recommendations from Anne and Elena.

First, we walked through the cactus park in Barcelona, where we could not only admire various cacti but also had a wonderful view of the harbor. The cactus park is located on the slopes of Barcelona's house mountain, Montjuïc. At the top of the mountain is Montjuïc Castle, which used to serve as a defense for Barcelona. Now it is a tourist attraction. Admission is free after 3 pm, but we were too early for that. The 5 euros admission fee was still worth it. In addition to a small exhibition about a former amusement park here on the mountain, there was a breathtaking view over Barcelona.

Afterwards, we walked through the city, along the street "La Rambla", past Plaça Reial, and through the trendy district of "El Born". We spent the afternoon in Parc de la Ciutadella and watched the many people in the park. There was an acrobatic group, a group balancing on incredibly long slacklines, a juggling group, and various music groups. In between, individuals sat reading or learning, small groups enjoyed the sun and the relaxed Sunday afternoon, and there was even a pretty large discussion group.

In the evening, we had tapas and strolled along the illuminated promenade, with a Christmas market. Alternating between opera music and Christmas pop songs played from the speakers, and the many colorful LEDs danced to the beat of the music.

Because we had other things on our list for Barcelona, especially the Sagrada Família, we simply came back the next day. We went straight to the famous church, Sagrada Família, which was designed by Gaudí and has been under construction for almost 150 years. It still isn't completely finished, with one of the three facades and the five central towers still missing. However, compared to three years ago when we were here last, we could see significant progress. Just this month, the second highest tower, the Tower of Mary, was completed with a huge glass star on top.

Last time we were here, it was summer and the line in front of the church was endless. We wanted to take advantage of the current off-season and short line to take a look inside the church. However, there was no ticket office. The only way to buy a ticket was online, and there was a huge QR code printed on the fence and free Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, we could only pay with a Visa card, and our secure Visa online payment wasn't working at first. We tried everything, and just when I was about to give up, Florian managed to make it work after almost an hour, and we had our tickets. Then we just had to download the app and the audio file for the audio guide, and we were good to go. I wondered several times what people without smartphones do, and in the church, I helped a slightly disappointed older couple who didn't understand the Catalan, Spanish, and few English signs. They had already downloaded the app on their smartphone but hadn't found the German audio guide yet. There was even a guide in sign language and a description of the church for the blind, so the app is definitely advantageous.

The church was absolutely impressive.

Unlike other churches, there are no sculptures or figures inside. They are all on the outside. The church is supposed to have three facades (to the east, south, and west) depicting the three most important events in Jesus' life. The facade of Christ's birth is rich in detail, with many figures of Mary and Joseph, as well as Jesus in his childhood and youth. Additionally, there are many figures from nature representing local animal and plant life. The opposite facade depicts the last days of Jesus' life and is depicted as stark and brutal. People look angular, and even the columns resemble bones, tense muscles, or tendons. The third facade, the resurrection facade, is not yet finished.

Gaudí wanted his church to be different from other churches in the past, not dark and threatening, but open, bright, and inviting for inner reflection. He wanted his church to be a temple of light, and he succeeded. The church is flooded with colorful light. The huge stained glass windows do not depict biblical stories but are simply colorful patterns, with warm colors on one side and cold colors on the other side of the church. When the sun shines, which probably happens frequently here in Barcelona, it looks heavenly in the church. And as long as the sun moves across the sky, the light in the church constantly changes. The windows also bear the names of saints from around the world. Gaudí wanted his church to be cosmopolitan and open to all. That is why the main entrance gate (in the facade that is not yet finished) says "Give us this day our daily bread" in 50 different languages. The columns are not just round, they look like trees that split into branches at the top to support the roof and the many towers (a total of 18). The 18 towers also each have a meaning: they represent the 12 apostles, the 4 evangelists, Mary, and Jesus, and they increase in height according to their importance. However, Gaudí made sure that even the tallest tower would never surpass the house mountain of Barcelona because human-made should never surpass God-made, according to Gaudí's belief.

As you can see, I was very impressed by this church. It was worth the effort to get a ticket, and I would recommend anyone who is in Barcelona to visit this church.

Underneath the church is a museum about the construction of the church and Gaudí, where you can also see models of the parts of the church that are still missing. We spent a total of 3.5 hours in the church and the museum because there is so much to see.

Afterwards, we went to Bunker del Carmel. A beautiful viewpoint with a view over the entire city.

The two days in Barcelona were wonderful, and we could spend many more days here. Now we're going to the beach for some relaxation, but we'll be back.

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