MUHBA Turó de la Rovira MUHBA Turó de la Rovira

By Ali, Jing, Kazi, Lisette & Tong

By Ali, Jing, Kazi, Lisette & Tong

The mobility week was a nice intercultural exchange and opportunity for our group to learn more about our fellows and the culture in Barcelona. In order to indulge into the regional culture, we visited several sights in Barcelona and discussed our different perceptions and experiences. In this short report, we want to share our insights and experiences that we gained while visiting the Basilica la Sagrada Família, Park Guéll and MUHBA Turó de la Rovira.

Sagrada Familía

On Tuesday our group visited the probably most famous church in Barcelona, the Basilica la Sagrada Família. For most of us it was the first time visiting Spain and, therefore, Sagrada Familia. Hence, we were equally impressed by the extensive design of the building. Sagrada Familia was first designed in the year 1882 by Francisco de Paula del Villar and then taken over by Antoni Gaudí in the following year. Keep building it until today by a few designers throughout the progress. It was named Unesco world heritage in the year 2005 even though it hasn't been completed until today. There is a saying that Sagrada Familia will be ready in the year 2026. However, according to our guide, this is very unlikely to happen since Corona caused some delays. Currently, the third side of the church is under construction, and the main tower. After finishing the tower, Sagrada Familia will be the highest building in Barcelona as well as the highest church in the world. However, this height still aligns with key principles of catholic beliefs because the constructors pay attention to not building it too high and offending god in this way.

This is not the only way in which the church and rituals within the church respect the catholic religion. Hence, the church included many key numbers from the bible in the construction and amount of ornaments. Almost everything you saw in and on the church had its roots in the bible like the number of pillars, the height of specific ornaments as well as the church depicting Jesus' whole life. It was very impressive for us to see how much thought Gaudi put into these details and constructions. Furthermore, it was very interesting to see how proud our guide and the people in Barcelona are of Sagrada Familia and Gaudi in general. Hence, we realized that the people identify themselves with his artful buildings and style and that the Christian religion is deeply rooted in Barcelona.

We visited Sagrada Familia on a rainy day because we thought that we would spend most of the time inside the temple. However, when we reached there, it was so windy and raining cats and dogs. We insisted on the visit as it was the most important attraction that we must visit for our week. (We bought our ticket in the rain as they sell it only online). After a short briefing inside the building, the tour guide brought us out of the building. Under the rain, she explained to us the stories behind the design of the building by Antoni Gaudi. She was holding an umbrella but all of us were without one. It was a very funny situation where she had to finish her job no matter what and we had to finish listening to her explanation as we all paid for it. I supposed if it was free, no one would stay under the rain for the tour. I think we spent about 30 minutes in the rain. Furthermore, our tour guide took care of an older woman that participated in the tour. It was really interesting to see how much she cared about her, kept her under her umbrella, and kept her close. At this moment, I realized that taking care of and respecting older people is a value of the Barcelonian culture.

After the audio tour, we stayed for quite some time inside Sagrada Familia and toured the building by ourselves. When we were about to leave it was still raining and some of us put our caps on in the church. However, it only took the staff in the church some seconds to come over to us and explain to us that we are not allowed to wear caps in the church. This rule was also explained to us by the tour guide. However, it was really surprising to us how seriously the people in Barcelona took this rule, particularly, considering the rain.

Park Guéll

What is the first thing that pops-up in your mind when mentioning Antonio Gaudí? Let me guess, it’s probably the world renowned La Sagrada Família. While the marvelous still-underconstruction church is Gaudí’s magnum opus, it is hard to miss Parc Güell when browsing Gaudí’s oeuvre. This unique work was one of the projects which the industrialist Eusebi Güell commissioned Gaudí to build. Gaudí was tasked to build a residential area on top of the Carmel Hill, not far from the city center. The construction of the suburban utopia commenced in 1900 and was meant to house 60 of Barcelona’s elite. Alas, the project was a failure as the no buyers were found for the two built houses. It is then that Gaudí decided to move into one of the houses (now a museum) residing there till 1925. While the project was rounded in 1914, the park only opened its doors to the public in 1922. Aside from being a national monument, the park gained a world heritage status in 1984.

The psychedelic, colorful, fairytale-like, yet abstract construction, is an example of an artist taking freedom of self-expression to the next level. The park is an architectural burst of free jazz full magical symbols and hidden meanings. An engravement of Gaudí’s patriotism and religious devotion including elements of Catalonia’s past through integrating Roman, Morish and Gothic elements alongside the Catholic symbolism; a fuse of the east and west. A maze of paths and bridges intertwining at different levels and stretching across acres of floral gardens and wild woodlands. The tiniest details planned by integrating bird nests into the viaducts. The serpentine-like mosaic bench weaved around the esplanade offers a panoramic view of the city, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and offering a view of La Sagrada Família allowing visitors to take a break from the hectic city life. It is by visiting Parc Güell that one feels as if they transcendence into an earthly heaven borrowed from a fantasy world built by one of the pioneering architects of the 20th century.

The weather forecast was reporting about the sun the day we were going to Park Guell. But it was not long before we experienced a few raindrops. Luckily it was only a little and did not last long. Trying to navigate the so-called map of the park was harder than we thought, and we ended up going in circles a few times. A better map was greatly missed. But when we finally found the first place we wanted to see, the Private House, it was easier to navigate. Most of the time in the park was spent taking pictures because it was beautiful and we wanted the memories. Not easy, when other people are trying to do the same.

Some parts of the park gave off a little “Game of Thrones” vibe, which was very cool. Some spots were more popular than others to take photos, and we ended up standing in a queue a few times for the best spots. Even though the weather was not the best, luckily we had dressed for the occasion. We spent so much time taking pictures that we actually missed two parts of the Park because we were so preoccupied, and only noticed when it was too late. It was not natural to go there, so that was why we missed it. Be sure to check the map, to ensure you don’t miss a spot if you ever go there. And, the longest queue is at Gaudi's house at the end of the park. Some people thought it took so much time that they ended up leaving the queue.

We were also people from three different nationalities, and we met for the first time on this trip! So, we would say we got the most of an intercultural experience. Spending some time discussing differences and similarities. It was fun getting to know each other and experiencing Park Guell together.