We recently escaped the Vaterland - travelling south for a little more sunshine (given the German summer was almost non-existent) to the stunning city of Barcelona. Hubertus attended the ERS (European Respiratory Society) conference at Fira Europa (it was supposed to be at Fira Espanol but they changed location without telling the 39,000 delegates....) and the girls and I explored the magnificent city.
On the surface, Barcelona looks pretty unattractive. The standard family lives in small apartments in buildings which look distinctly run-down - most wiring is external, pinned to the crumbly walls with large rusty nails; the paint work is usually peeling; laundry is dried on external lines under everyones' windows (if something drops it's history); the footsteps and voices of your immediate neighbours are always audible; there are four traffic peak hours at 9am; 12pm; 3pm and 8pm - due to the 3 hour semester enjoyed by everyone; and unless you have both double glazing and roller shutters on your windows the noise from the traffic and tourists will keep you awake to well past midnight most evenings (I think Monday was the only quiet night, then the noise slowly escalated daily to Saturday!). There are also many pickpockets just waiting for you to absentmindedly open your backpack or place your camera down for just a second. And everyone in Barcelona seems to smoke - it's revolting. Apparently they introduced optional legislation to prohibit smoking in restaurants and pubs, but those that adopted it lost so many customers they decided to revert back to old ways rapidly. Also can you believe that if you work for the Govt or a post office you need only turn up between 10 and 12:30pm Mon to Sat!!! Coor blimey! There are 1.6million residents in Barcelona and up to 5 million tourists - over the span of a year!!
However, scratch the surface and you will discover the most beautiful ancient streets reserved for pedestrians, winding through medieval buildings, churches; under archways and occasionally opening up to reveal a scrumptious market packed with local delicacies. The food is fresh and fast - we even managed to get the girls to try squid-ink paella - and they loved it! The place is riddled with museums of famous artists (Miro, Picasso) or architects (Gaudi); there are zillions of fabulous Spanish designer boutiques for jewellery and fashion; and the buskers on Las Rambla are truly amazing!
Although the standard tourist sites such a La Sagrada Familia; Casa Bastlle; Miro Museum; Picasso Museum; Las Rambla; the harbour; Parc Guell; FCBarcelona Stadium; The Olympic Stadium; etc etc are essential places to visit - the best discoveries were off the beaten trail (such as their amazing Science Museum and Planetarium - we spent 6 hours there and still did not see all of it. And a local ballet for children). It was some much needed sanity, to escape the tourist throng and witness the local traditions and customs.
Despite having no Spanish or Catalan it is quiet easy to interpret written text (interpreting the spoken word was totally impossible) - Catalan is esp close to French. Only the locals employed in heavily visited tourist sites could speak English - but leave these places and suddenly no-one can speak a word of English. Nor could anyone we came across speak German and when I told them I was trying to learn it they all shook their heads in sympathy!! ;) Most amusing of all are their English translations at the tourist sites - see photo above!
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