Barcelona – Part 1

We arrived in Zagreb in no time, thanks to good music and some chit-chat, and the first thing that impressed us on Saturday was the Zagreb Airport. The modern structure of interesting shapes was named after Franjo Tuđman, the first president of Croatia, and is located about 10km SE from Zagreb. We flew with Vueling, a Spanish low-cost airline, in both directions. This was our youngest, twelve-year-old fellow traveller’s first flight, so the rest of us took the opportunity to relive our first flights with him and share our memories. In just a little over two hours we were in Catalonia, Spain, and its capital city of Barcelona. After all the formalities were done, we took a taxi to the city centre, to the Sant Antoni neighbourhood (which we simply called Saint Anthony), where our hotel was located.

The biggest and most modern market, designed by Antoni Rovira i Trias, Gaudi’s student, can be found in this neighbourhood. This market has everything you could ask for. Fresh fruit, fish, meat, clothes, souvenirs–you name it.

Saturday was the day of the football match which we were really looking forward to, so we slightly changed our plans and only visited the majestic and world-famous church, the Sagrada Família. Gaudi’s masterpiece certainly won’t leave anyone indifferent. After the death of the great Spanish artist, the building still wasn’t finished, but numerous master sculptors and architects have been constructing it and trying to follow the blueprints in order to complete this grandiose project by 2030.

We spent two days and a half in the city and mostly travelled around by metro. The metro lines connect all parts of the city and trains are very frequent, so getting from one part of the city to another by metro is quicker than using the bus or the tram. During that time, we managed to see all the major sights in Barcelona from the outside, but there was no time for anything else. This was one of the reasons I haven’t crossed Barcelona off my bucket list of cities I want to visit.

After a walk around the Sagrada Família area we took the metro to the Camp Nou Stadium, the home of Barcelona’s football club giant. I’ve been their fan since 1994 and as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to experience at least one football match in their stadium. Patience is a virtue, they say. I always say that every wish comes true when the time is right. As it turned out, my wish was meant to come true in 2019. There was a massive crowd at the stadium two hours before the match. There was no pushing and jostling, nor any riots in the crowd, not even when they started letting people into the stadium.

The construction of the stadium started in 1954 and finished three years later. The opening match was played between the national team and the Polish team from Warsaw. The national team earnt their first win in their stadium and the result was 4–2. The Camp Nou Stadium currently has a seating capacity of 98,772. It will be given a new look by 2021, since there are plans to renovate and upgrade the stadium and increase its capacity.

The football match ended exactly as it should have, even though it seemed the teams weren’t going to score any goals at first. Suárez and Messi completely annihilated our Jan, and the stadium literally exploded at each of the two scored goals. I can hardly find words that would describe the euphoria that swept through the spectators; you’re swept along by a spectacular experience into the happiness and delight of those around you. You simply go with the flow and are genuinely delighted with the achievement and the win at the end.

Even though we arrived at the hotel in the early morning hours, we started early on Sunday. We had to make good use of our time, especially since there was so much we wanted to see and experience. There were very few people on the streets in the “Saint Anthony” neighbourhood, but I was surprised to see that the famous pedestrian street, La Rambla, was still asleep as well. It was quiet and we didn’t encounter any more people until at the end of the famous street where an imposing statue of Christopher Columbus sits on top of a monument, looking towards the sea. The walk was a real treat for the soul and the market stalls were just opening and inviting passers-by.

After crossing the main street, we found ourselves by the Mediterranean Sea, in Port Vell. We continued our path through La Rambla de Mar, a wooden walkway over the sea, all the way to the Museum of the History of Catalonia and the Maritime Museum. When we got to the beaches, they were also empty. The beaches are sandy and stretch for four kilometres all the way to the Port Olímpic area. The water was very cold, so we only checked its temperature and salinity. Swimming will have to wait until summer.

Stay tuned for Part II to find out more about our adventures in Barcelona.