Preamble to the Spanish saga: Since I started taking Spanish in high school, I was always curious about Spain. Unlike most every other place I’m visiting this semester, this was somewhere I actually knew something about, and didn’t have to fumble around with directions quite so much because I could read the signs. I also had friends in Barcelona, Madrid, and all over this semester, so it was a great time to go.
Part 1: Barca
Between the desire to see the country, and the fact that Barcelona is probably the study abroad capital for American students, I knew this city would be on my must-see list while abroad. I stayed with my friend Chelsea, who I grew up with and went to high school with. She is at Penn State, but here for the semester. Anytime I can avoid a hostel is a win in my opinion.
I arrived in Barcelona Monday morning, and instantly knew that this was a party town for sure. Why? Maybe it was the atmosphere. Or maybe it was the fact they had a live band playing in the duty-free store in the airport. Hmm.
Chelsea gave me directions by bus and metro to her place, and with a bit of confusion I made it safely. They have a great metro system in place, as do most major European cities it seems. The buildings definitely looked different than other places I had seen so far, as more moderate weather will allow. I am traveling through Spain with my friend Jake, who is in Prague with me, just on a different program, and who is in my fraternity at Michigan. It is nice to have a good buddy to travel with.
Walking along Las Ramblas; Jake and I on a Lion next to the Columbus monument.
Upon arrival to her apartment just outside the center city, Jake and I dropped our stuff, met up with our friend Sam who was also studying in Barca, and headed to Las Ramblas to grab a bite to eat. Las Ramblas is the main tourist strip in Barca, and was filled with everything from normal tourist gift stands to stranger items such as pet birds and roosters, human statues, and other oddities. We got some great falafel, but I was happy to be headed out of there. Too many people.
Luckily, it was a gorgeous day, and Las Ramblas ends at the water and beach. So, we continued to stroll for an hour, enjoying the sun and the waves. It really felt like spring break. There were people out everywhere, as it was still the Easter holiday throughout Spain.
Spring Break!
That night, we went out to a place called Auto Zoots, or something like that. It was really fun, but it was also the most American thing I’ve seen abroad. Seriously, it was 100% American study abroad students from Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Arizona, Georgia, etc. But, having a good English-speaking experience every once in a while isn’t a bad thing at all.
We didn’t get up until pretty late the next day because of the previous night, but we did get some good touring in to see a lot of the Gaudi architecture. But, the big event of the day was the FC Barcelona soccer game, which I guess I’ll refer to as a football match from now on.
*Something you should know from here on out about my posts about Spain: Jake’s dad is a ticket broker, and has all the hook-ups for sporting events.
Getting the tickets, however, was not easy. We got them online, and thought we had to go to the stadium to pick them up. So, we walked to Camp Nou Estadio, the famous home of FC Barcelona. There was already a lot going on around the stadium, even though the game wasn’t for hours. From ticket scalpers to stands selling Barca gear, it was really fun.
Also, this was not just an ordinary football match. It was the quarterfinals for the UEFA Champions League, which is basically an all-star league for club teams in Europe (as opposed to national teams). Barca played Arsenal, an English team. They had tied in first match of the best-of-two series, so the winner of this match would advance to the semi-finals.
Through broken English and Spanish, we realized that we actually had to go downtown to a tourist/ ticket office to pick up our tickets. So, we picked up a couple Barca scarves and flagged down a cab (cabs are very reasonable in Barca, unlike most of them in Prague).
The cab ride was pretty interesting. The driver saw my Barca scarf, and through my pretty bad Spanish, we had a conversation. He was a Real Madrid fan (Barca’s arch-rival, more to come on that later, as they played Saturday in Madrid and we saw that as well), and disapproved of the scarf. I told him that I had bought it for my brother (which was true), and that we were going to the Barca vs. Real match on Saturday where I would buy a Real scarf for myself. He then mentioned that Barca did have a grand stadium, and I told him that Jake and I attended the University of Michigan in the United States, where we had a huge stadium for American football, and that soccer was not popular. This was all in Spanish, and he understood me! Then, he rattled off a bunch of things didn’t understand, but I nodded my head and said ‘Si’ and it seemed to work out all right.
A big thing I learned from this trip (or re-learned, as I had experienced in Prague): a little bit of knowledge about the native language goes a long way, and you instantly make people like you by attempting to use their language instead of assuming they know English.
We got the tickets just fine, and headed out to do a little sightseeing at La Sagrada Familia, a church in-construction in Barcelona. Though construction on the church began in the 1880s, it was not even close to being done, making it one of the coolest construction sites I’ve ever seen. By this point, I feel like I’ve seen a lot of European churches. So, the fact that a new church could surprise me would truly be something different.
Well, this church was awesome. It was like something out of a book, and completely different from any other building I had ever seen. I really want to come back in 20-100 years when the thing is completed. It is so hard to describe, so I’ll just let you look at a couple of the pictures and then visit the church for yourself.
After the church, we killed some time at Chelsea’s before the game, but it went quickly because we were so excited for the game. It started at 8:45, but we got there an hour early to enjoy the sites, sights, and sounds.
Quite simply, the whole thing was awesome. On the way to the stadium, there were people lining the streets, tailgating and singing. English fans and Barca fans were screaming at each other, not quite getting in fights but almost. It was a cool atmosphere.
The English/ Arsenal fans at Camp Nou Stadium.
Pre-game madness in the streets.
There could not have been a bad seat in the stadium, the seats were sloped so high up. We were in the upper deck, but had fine seats. To our right and above us were the English fans, separated by a 20-foot high net fence to their front and an empty section lined with security guards towards the rest of the upper deck. They were completed separately from the Barca fans because of safety reasons. Even after the game, they were not allowed to leave until the rest of the stadium emptied out.
The game never felt close, as Barca had the superior team from the beginning. The singing and the cheers were really cool, as the fans were way more into it than American fans usually are. Barca also has the best player in the world by most people’s judgment, the Argentinian Lionel Messi.
The Champions League Quarterfinal, FC Barcelona vs. Arsenal.
Now, I will admit, I did not appreciate soccer until I saw this special match in person. But, this guy was amazing. He did whatever he wanted with the ball, whenever he wanted. He scored three goals in the first half, and four for the game, with Barca winning 4-1 (the only goal they gave up was a fluke). It was an amazing experience, and it was also really fun to see a Champions League game. I tried to learn a couple of the Barca chants, but the singing was kind of hard to understand except the ending, which was simply yelling as loud as you can, "Barca, Barca, Barca!"
One theme that seemed to develop over the entire Spanish trip, first really seen at the Barca game, was the Catalunya vs. Spain sentiment. Catalunya (that’s Catalan; or Cataluna in Spanish) is a region in Spanish to the East, which has Barcelona as its capital. Through the years, differences in culture and mentality have resulted in many people there believing they should be a separate state, and some even wanted to revolt against Spain. Of course, this hasn’t happened yet, but the feeling is still there.
On the seats: "Mas Que Un Club," which resonates true with "More than a team."
Outside the Barca game people were giving out signs that read, “Catalunya is NOT Spain,” and throughout Barcelona I saw VERY FEW Spanish flags. I saw many Catalunian flags, and also very few European Union flags. The Barca vs. Real Madrid is not just a sports rivalry then; it is extremely political. Again, more on this later.
We were beat after the game, so went to bed relatively early but slept late again. The final day we were in Barca we took it pretty easy, looking at more cool buildings and going to Park Guell, a famous park in Barcelona with exotic trees and cacti and also some buildings and art designed by Gaudi. Like the church, it was so different, and so cool. We took pictures by the famous lizard fountains, and enjoyed the amazing and intricate designs. I’m a fan of Gaudi for sure.
Various pictures from the famous Park Guell.
Wednesday night, things worked out so well that my friend Lauren, who stayed in Prague with me, was visiting Barcelona as well for her 21st birthday and spring break. So, we all went out to dinner and got some nice Tapas and Potatas Bravas, a Catalunia dish with some sort of red sauce, some sort of mayonnaise, and potatoes, and Sagria. It was great to spend the night with her and I hopeful she had a fun birthday.
Overall, I did like Barcelona, but from the beginning I was looking more forward to Madrid as “real” Spanish culture and a city I had learned so much about. Barcelona was definitely fun, but it also had a lot of beach town elements to it. I know the people studying there love it, but I am still glad I am in Prague. There aren’t an overwhelming amount of “sights” to see, but the nightlife and people are awesome.
I’m writing this from a hostel in Madrid, and should probably go to sleep because I have to wake up in four hours for a flight back to Prague (even though I’m sure this won’t be posted until Monday because the internet connection sucks). Check back tomorrow (maybe) or Tuesday (for sure) with my first and or total installment of my Madrid adventures, which are extensive and include tons of famous sights, “El Clasico” football match, staying in a Spanish family’s home, a bullfight, and beautiful weather.
Hasta la Vista!
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