Barcelona Diaries

After months of slogging with your work, one definitely needs a vacation. It was July and summer just knocked on our door. What followed was weeks of over 30 degree temperatures in Munich and it was hard to sit in your desk and look at the warm sun outside. It was time I took a break. 

And what better than the Mediterranean? Me and a friend of mine decided to go to Barcelona, the Catalan capital. A city adorned with the artworks of Antoni Goudi. A warm humid air graced my skin the moment I got out of the airport. For the first time I was experiencing a Mediterranean climate and it did not disappoint me. We took an airport shuttle bus which drops you right at the center of the city. After a nice shower at the hostel and a bit of rest, we set out to explore this city. 

Barcelona does not have an old city like the cities I have seen in Germany. The attractions are rather spread around, though in most of the cases, you always end up at Passeig de Gracia, a long street with a few Goudi buildings, numerous cafes and museums and one of the prime inter-change stations for the underground metro. Most of the cafes here serve fresh orange juice, something you do not usually get in Germany. Although the streets are well organized in Barcelona, I do not have the same opinion about the metro. And Passeig de Gracia is just the example. To change from one line to the other, you literally have to walk for ages and change a number of stairs. Somehow, most of our energy went into these changes at most of the stops. 

Casa Batllo in Passeig de Gracia

It is hard to miss Gaudi architechture in Barcelona

Passeig de Gracia could impress anyone with its beautiful buildings running along its length

The street ends in Placa de Catalunya, a giant open space with fountains and numerous statues. Most of the important streets in Barcelona meet in this square. And one of those is the very famous La Rambla. It is basically a long stretch of street market. As a person coming from India, I did not find this much exotic. Street markets are a common thing in India, but for Europe this seemed to be a big deal. Nevertheless there was an amazing display of "Human Statues" at the end of this street. I have seen such statues in Munich as well, but people here in Barcelona just take it to an another level. They were more creative and I was amazed at the effort they put in this show. 

Fountains and sculptures adorn the central square, Placa de Catalunya

A rainbow appears over Placa de catalunya

One of the amazing displays of Human statue at La Rambla (Credit: +Shruti Patel )

The old touristic town of Barcelona is very close to La Rambla. A complex web of small streets filled with shopping stores and restaurants. It reminded me of Italy a lot. One of the main attractions here is the Barcelona Cathedral. This beautiful Gothic style cathedral was made in the 14th Century. The main hall has an exit to an open atrium with a fountain, home to a bunch of geese.

Like in other European cities, this was an entertainment for kids in the old town of Barcelona

The old town is full of architectural gems 

Coming across this old door in one of the squares in the old city, it was a very relaxing and quite area with very few tourists. It served as a nice spot to take a small nap ;-)

The facade of the Barcelona Cathedral

Numerous chandeliers and stained glass windows inside the Cathedral

Gothic architecture of Barcelona Cathedral 

The atrium outside the cathedral hall

After walking the entire afternoon in the old city and exploring every corner, we left for Arc de Triomf, a gateway made for 1888 exhibition here. People are more familiar with Arc de Triomple in Paris which is very similar to this. The arch is situated at one end of Parc de la Ciutadella, a great spot to relax and enjoy the recreations of the garden. To our surprise, a man was selling samosas and he insisted us to buy some because we looked like Indians. Both of us were very tempted but let it go as a warm weather like that demanded ice creams more than spicy, yet delicious samosas.

Arc de Triomf

If you come to Barcelona, there are two main Gaudi attractions: La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, both of which require booking the entrance tickets in advance as they are completely booked. La Sagrada Familia is under construction for the past 133 years and it is still incomplete. The entrance money is used for the construction of the remaining part of the cathedral. The Nativity facade (one of the three facades) is adorned by a set of sculptures depicting the life story of Jesus. There is a fusion of modern architecture and natural elements when it comes to Gaudi artwork. The columns supporting the main structure of the cathedral is in the form of a tree with branches coming out at the top. The colors of the windows signified the different elements of nature : Fire, water, forest etc.. In all, an amazing piece of architecture and a style I have never seen before.

Nativity facade at La Sagrada Familia

The support columns of the cathedral designed in the form of a tree trunk

A bright cathedral from the colorful stained glass windows on all directions

Parc Guell is another such work by Gaudi. One gets a beautiful view of the city of Barcelona and the coastline from one of the viewpoints in the park. Its entrance has two buildings which house an exhibition of the history of Barcelona. Gaudi often used broken tile pieces in his art work. The roof of these buildings, the salamander at the front steps and numerous other locations are decorated with such broken tiles. Apart from the artwork, it provides nice recreations.

Parc Guell

A view of Barcelona from Parc Guell

The Mananers: One of the bands we loved to listen to. These guys really put a lot of effort in entertaining their audience. And they definitely enjoy their job. Their tag line: "High Everyday"

Red clouds blanket the skies over Parc Guell. Yes, it rained a lot that day

The Pavilion at the entrance of the park overlooking the city of Barcelona

And of course, there's a beach in Barcelona and we had to go there. As a child who was born literally 500 m from a beach, I miss it a lot in Munich. Though the beach in this city is not that pretty, it is still something and a lot better than the city beaches in India. Walking along the shore, feeling the waves splash against my feet, the waves which just erased our footprints on the wet sand, staring at the ships at the horizon until they disappear, feeling nostalgic looking at kids trying to make sandcastles and in the end brushing off sand from various places once you are back to the hostel.

Barcelona was a treat we were waiting for. Until the next time when I am back to the Mediterranean. 

Hiking in Bavaria: Week 4

Barmsee

Grubsee

As the hike continues across different places in Bavaria, this week we went on a very gentle "stroll" near the beautiful town of Garmisch. Yes, this is the same place where the G7 conference took place recently. 

We got down at Klais. The height difference was hardly 200 m this time as we walked between 3 lakes -- Grubsee, Barmsee & Tensee, all of them located in between the beautiful alps. It hardly takes 3 hours to complete the entire walk and is definitely meant for people who do not want to do a hardcore hike but a gentle walk in a beautiful landscape. 

Chile Diaries: Puerto Varas & Volcano Osorno

Puerto Varas is one of the popular tourist destinations in south Chile apart from Punta Arenas, the southernmost major city. It is an amazing destination in the months of November-March if you want to escape the chilly conditions in some parts of the northern hemisphere. 

I had the chance to visit this place for about two week in mid-march and was definitely worth it. This was the first time I visited southern hemisphere and was really looking forward to experience a different culture and language. 

However, to some extent I was in for a bit of surprise. Puerto Varas was colonized by Germans in the 19th Century and much of architecture and  the local cuisine is similar to Germany. In the local bakeries and restaurants, one can get "Kuchen" and "Pommes", one of the most common things in Germany. Some of the fire trucks still have "Feurwehr" written on them and they even have a German club in the center of the town. However, most of the locals do not know German and Spanish is the dominant language.

The town itself is quite small with a population of nearly 42,000 people. It is situated on the banks of lake Llanquihue, the second largest lake in Chile. Local people often fish in the these waters in the evening. Most of the restaurants and bars serve pizzas and burgers, though there are a few places where one can have just the local food.

The view of Puerto Varas from the balcony in my room

Lake Llanquihue with Volcano Osorno in the distance

Lake Llanquihue with Puerto Varas city central behind

Volcano Osorno from one of the viewpoints outside of Puerto Varas

A nice view of the city during sunset

Sunrise

One of the prettiest views from Puerto Varas is that of volcano Osorno. The last time this volcano erupted was somewhere around 1835 when Charles Darwin was exploring the Flora and Fauna in South America. The volcano is unique due to its conical shaped snow capped peak. It is just about an hour ride from the town. During summer, one has the possibility to hike up until the snow line and during winters, this is a popular destination for skiing. There is an amazing view of the lake from the top of this mountain and it is really worth admiring the size of this lake which is not apparent from the town itself.

Volcano Calbuco (which erupted just recently in April 2015) as viewed from the top of volcano Osorno

Vincente Perez Rosale National park as viewed from the top of volcano Osorno

Volcano Osorno (up close).

Puerto Varas has quite a few museums. But museo Pable Fierro catches everyone's attention while taking a walk along the lake shore just a few minutes from the town center. It has all the "vintage" style collections of literally everything. The house has a lot of old pictures, typewriters, bikes, cars, tempos, coke bottles from decades back, piano, cuckoo clocks and many other things. Pictures will tell the rest of the story but it is worth visiting this museum.

Museo Pable Fierro

Museo

Museo

Museo

All in all, living in Puerto Varas was a nice experience. It is one of the best spots to take a break if you are travelling around South America.

Hiking in bavaria: Week 3

View of Neuschwanstein Castle during the hike up.

Paragliders at Tegelberg

End of the hike with a beautiful view of the castle from Marienbrucke

Hiking in the bavarian alps continued for the third time after a week's rest and this time we went to Tegelberg and Branderschrofen. This place is amazing for paragliding and there were dozens of people launching from this peak. It is very close to Neuschwanstein caslte and hence, we took a route which would end up near the castle bridge itself. 

One needs to get to the town of Fussen by the German railway network and then a bus (78) to Tegelbergbahn which is the starting point of hike. The skies were clear and it was in fact very warm that day with temperatures reaching nearly 29 degrees C. Such conditions meant more water and light backpacks. 

We started from an elevation of 800 m and our final peak (Branderschrofen) was at an altitude of 1880 m. The initial part of the hike, which was just to get to the peak, was very steep and took us about 3 hours to reach Tegelberg and another 30 minutes to reach Branderschrofen.

On the way to Tegelberg, one gets really beautiful views of the Neuschwanstein castle and the lakes in the midst of lush green Alps. The paragliders launched every minute from the top. 

After reaching Tegelberg, the way to Branderschrofen is quite difficult and requires a bit of climbing with the help of ropes attached. It is highly not recommended for people with conditions like vertigo. But it is definitely worth the effort and the view from the top is really amazing. One can see the crop fields on one side and just mountains on the other. At this altitude, the sun felt really strong. 

We got down and made a stop at one of the restaurants at Tegelberg. On the way down, we took a long route with a gradual descent. The route ended at Marienbrucke with an amazing view of Neuschwanstein castle.