After indulging in their homemade tiramisu I took a long walk back to my hostel. The next morning, I enjoyed my Starbucks instant (Thank you Charlotte!) and took care of laundry, before heading over to La Sagrada Familia. This basilica was designed by Antonio Gaudí and is still under construction. Since it is still receiving funding for building, visitors like me who pay to tour the church are said to have a place in heaven. Good to know, just in case my two Compostellas are not enough. At first, this building seems too modern and eccentric, but once I understand Gaudi's geometrical mind and natures influence, it became much more beautiful and symbolic.
There are two facades completed and a third to be built. East is the Nativity, with nature and angels and the holy family celebrating new life. The stained glass windows here are blue and green to reflect new life and the rising sun.
West is the Passion, death and suffering, there is only hard stone and sorrow. The windows are red to symbolize blood and the sunset of life.
The use of geometrical shapes brings lots of natural light into the church and the columns designed as trees provide incredible support and a natural beauty to the incredibly high domed ceilings.
Although Gaudi died just after the first tower was finished, he left extensive 3D models for new generations of architects and builders to follow. The interior of the church is done, but there is still major work left for the exterior. To date eight towers are finished and ten more are under construction. The church is expected to be completed in 2026, 100 years after his death.
I had booked a tower tour as well and took in my first real sights of Barcelona from the top of its most famous architect's beloved project.
Since my time in Barcelona was so limited, I did the bus tour of all its famous sights. Gaudí designed quite a few buildings, homes and even a park that are must sees in this city. Unfortunately, the bus is never quite close enough to see them and the weather and time factor has left me wanting to see more of this incredible city.
Hopefully I'll have that opportunity on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning before I return to Germany. For now, it is time to eat my take home empanadas and share a bottle of Tempranillo, then pack and ready for the adventure to Montserrat.
Forty km west of Barcelona lies Montserrat, a saw-toothed outcrop left exposed to erosion when the inland sea that covered the area around 25 million years ago retreated.
The Black Virgin or La Moreneta, was supposedly hidden by St. Peter (the statue is actually a 12th century Byzantine carving) in a cave here. This holy treasure is responsible for the monastery's existence. Miracles have abounded and it became a pilgrimage center second only to Santiago de Compostella. It enjoyed great prosperity until Napolean devastated it in 1811. After being suppressed in1835 it has now become a national symbol for Catalans. The basilica is from 1560 and La Moreneta stands behind the altar.
There are several hiking trails on the mountain exploring various caves and hermitages as well as to the peak of St. Jerome at 1236 meters.
Goethe wrote: "nowhere but in his own Montserrat will man find happiness and peace." It is a peaceful mountain, at least it became so when the youth tour group left. The mountain was covered in light fog and it was very moist on the trails. As it was a bit late in the afternoon, only a few other people were out wandering. The Spanish use length of time for trails and this one was listed for 1:05 hrs to the peak. They must have used one of the mountain goats to measure that!
After spending my few hours out on the trails, I cleaned up at the hotel and made my way to the church to hear the Boy's Choir, it is one of the oldest in Europe. At first, it's only the priests and monks who sing, and I wondered if the "boys" had been there a bit too long as well. But then the true boys came to the altar and joined in, some looked as young as 6 or 7 and the eldest 12. After the elders left, the boys sang "Salve Regina" with the organ music. It was beautiful to both see and hear. Dinner in the 16th stone hall topped the tranquil day away from the big city.
Late breakfast and another hike in the morning before departure. Off to Santa Cova or the Holy Cave, where the original La Moreneta was found.The skies are mostly clear and sunny. Perfect weather for wandering!
Along the path are many works of art depicting the Mystery of the Rosary. This one depicting Christ's rising is by Gaudí.
Enough time to climb midway up my trail from yesterday and check out another hermitage/refuge, Sant Bernt. The place looked lived in and I heard a dog behind the door. A quick picnic looking towards those Pyrenees that I crossed over in June.
Time to descend the mountain via cable car and return to the bustling, sprawling city of Barcelona.
Arriving in Plaza España, I took the opportunity to walk the sights on my way to my hostel. I saw quite a bit along the route I had taken before with the tour bus.
After lugging my suitcase along for the hours stroll, I was happy to give it a home for the night. I ventured out again this time towards the Olympic Park by the Mediterranean Sea and the port.
I liked seeing the Olympic related sports complexes as they were held in 1992. A very special year!
Oh no! There was a Desiqual store right in my way!
Luckily my size is hard to find!
My feet were beginning to complain about all the time spent walking (including the few hours of hiking in Montserrat!), so I found a nice port side restaurant to relax in and enjoy some Barcelona Seafood Rice and a glass of Tempranillo wine. Had the added bonus of watching a magnificent sunset behind some mega luxury yachts. Getting a delicious gelato to go for dessert, I finished my mega wandering day by getting lost. My battery had died and without google maps, I had no idea which way to go. Flagging a taxi, I was delivered to my doorstep, costing me just 4 Euros. Yay! Thank you Guardian Angel! Another great adventure comes towards its end.
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