La Mercè is the festival in honor of Barcelona’s patron saint, the Virgin of la Mercè. My experience was centered on the traditions (gegants, castellers, correfoc, and Piromusical), but the entire weekend is jam packed with art and photo exhibitions, concerts by emerging and established artists (including the BAM, a concert series with a life of its own), and dance and musical groups from around the world, like a series of events about Istanbul & Turkey.
The English language guide to events gives a better idea of both the history and the key events. You can pick this up from Palau de la Virreina (Rambla Sant Josep, 99) on Las Ramblas; while you’re there, I’d suggest to get the Catalan version as well, to have a complete listing of events (you’ll at least be able to figure out the locations and timings of specific events with it). To see the agenda online (effectively Catalan only), check out http://www.bcn.cat/merce/, the official website of the festival, and click the “Dia a Dia” link. For a listing of the BAM concerts, see http://bcn.cat/bam/2009/ .
Also, especially if you plan to partake in multiple events during the day, it will be very handy to have a metro pass to get around. If you don’t have the T-Jove (the best bet for students), you’re probably best off buying T-10 (10 ride) tickets.
The holiday Día de la Mercè is officially on a Thursday (Sept 24 this year), but the celebrations this year began the weekend before (the 19th). The main events kicked off on Wednesday with the Toc d’Inici (Opening Procession). The English guide says to go to Plaza Sant Jaume, where you’re likely to get the best view, but if you want to see the procession through the streets, this one starts at Palau de la Virreina, goes down Las Ramblas, turns left onto Carrer de Ferran, and follows this to Plaza Sant Jaume.
After the procession arrives at Plaza Sant Jaume, there is a speech (I think by city government officials) telecasted in the plaza, and then the procession reenters the plaza and each beast and pair of giants does its own dance. Throughout the festival you’ll see some of the giants and beasts a few times, but the ones in this procession are the main ones of the festival; the rest are all associated to various neighborhoods within Barcelona.
The next day, at around 12.30 they had a competition of castellers, teams of people that literally stand on top of one another to make human towers. The objective is to assemble and disassemble the tower a) without any mistakes (falling people), and b) as fast as possible. The photos below are only of the initial presentation of each of the teams, where the visible tower (not the multi-man base, which was obscured by the crowd) consisted of one kid atop one woman atop one man. My camera battery died before the main event began, but the towers constructed in the competition were impressive – configurations included the cinc de set (5 by 7) and quatre de vuit (4 by 8), and at least one point a team built a tower with a pillar in the middle, which is distinguished by an amb l’agulla at the end of the name. The website of the Castellers de Barcelona provides a much more detailed explanation of the tradition, as well as photos of some of the structures. The Wikipedia page about Castellers also has good explanations, and a Google image search of “castellers” brings up plenty of cool pictures. For me, the best part about the towers was watching the kid that would scamper all the way to the top to form the folre (cover), and pump a fist. It is a little dangerous, especially for the kids at the top, but at least while I was watching, when a kid fell he was well cushioned by the tower and the base.
That evening, in the Plaza Sant Jaume, there was the parade of all the gegants (giants) of the various neighborhoods of Barcelona – which one is your favorite?
On Friday, I went to the 29th Mostra de Vins I Caves de Catalunya (Show of Catalonian Wines and Cavas). 7 euros get you a tasting glass to keep and 10 tasting tickets – each wine and cava costs 2, 3, or 4 tickets to taste, and there are booths for wineries and cava-makers from all over Catalunya. Be sure to try at least one cava while there; it’s the Catalonian cousin of champagne. They also offer food tickets for tasting fine cheeses and gourmet foods. The event takes place on the Moll de la Fusta, right by the Columbus statue and by the harbor, and makes for a peaceful, refined way to spend an afternoon.
That evening, there was a parade near Las Ramblas of all the beasts of the neighborhoods of Barcelona, so that they could be appreciated by those who didn’t want to brave the correfoc.
The last few photos in the above album are from the correfoc, which took place Saturday night. What’s the correfoc, you ask? The English translation would roughly be “fire run”, but that doesn’t do it justice. After a fiend-like ceremony near the start point, the beasts parade through the streets once more, but this time with sparklers that soak the entire street like sprinklers. They are accompanied by various waves of drummers, and by “devils”, men and women in fireproof suits that wield similar sparklers by means of tridents. Your objective, if you accept it, is to dance with the “devils” beneath the sparks. Besides keeping your head down as you enter, you’ll need to observe a bit of a dress code – loose cotton clothes (no synthetics), a hoodie or a cap & neckerchief, pants and closed shoes. Also, the sparklers go out with the loud pop, and the event on the whole is fairly raucous, so earplugs may be desirable.
On Sunday night, Plaza Espanya and Av. de la Reina Maria Cristina fill completely for the closing spectacle known as the Piromusical. It combines excellent fireworks with a solid musical selection and a synchronized water and light show with the fountain of Montjuic. The video below gives you an idea.
I’ve had and will have many fun times in Barcelona, but I’ll always remember the traditions, modernity, and the spirit of Barcelona that manifested themselves in this festival.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sept 19-20: Als Pirineus! - To the Pyreenes!
CEA had organized a few trips for us so we could experience Catalunya and Spain. The first of these was to the Pyreenes. Riding by bus en route to the town of Taüll, we stopped at the town of Pont del Suert (Catalan for “Lucky Point”) for lunch. My friends and I found a place called Bar Pepito that served tacos (see album), and feeling deprived of Mexican food, we decided to give it a whirl. The chicken tacos seemed a bit caro (castellano for “pricey”), but well worth it – the combination of spices and other ingredients created a really unique taste, and I almost ordered a second one. They were also reasonably filling, which was refreshing to see in the context of Europe’s infatuation with natural-serving-size meals (read: snacks).
We arrived in Taüll later in the afternoon, and the view into the Boí Valley was absolutely gorgeous. Besides the location, the town is famous for its two churches, the Church of Santa Maria and the Church of Sant Climent, the latter of which is a World Heritage site.
We still had plenty of time before dinner, so a few friends and I hiked up a trail leading up the hillside. We had no idea where it ended, until it abruptly opened into a large field. I enjoyed the hike for the mountain stream and the surprise we saw on the way down: a herd of sheep!
That evening, CEA bused us down to the neighboring town of Boí for dinner. The fun part here was dessert – one of the options was “melón.” A few of the others ordered it, and received a huge slice of cantaloupe cut the long way; yum! At night, there was an FC Barça game, and we watched it at Bar Sedona, a place run by a man from Arizona. The TV was nice, the ambience cozy, and the owner is more than happy to see fellow Americans.
The next day, after breakfast at the hotel, we went to the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. “Aigüestortes” means “winding waters” in Catalan, and “estany” is “lake” in this context. To get there, we took our bus to the entrance and rode up to the trailhead in jeeps, which are worth it considering the distance and altitude of the route. Both of our guides were very experienced, but what struck me most was their Spanish. Natives of Barcelona switch fluidly between castellano and Catalan, although they prefer Catalan; residents of the Pyreenes (and other rural parts of Catalunya), however, make castellano’s “second language” status more noticeable, as they have less occasion and need for speaking it. One of the guides was more comfortable with French than castellano, which makes sense given the geographic and linguistic closeness of the Catalan Pyrenees to France. The trail through the valley was enchanting, a seemingly endless sequence of beautiful landscapes, wildlife, and flora.
We arrived in Taüll later in the afternoon, and the view into the Boí Valley was absolutely gorgeous. Besides the location, the town is famous for its two churches, the Church of Santa Maria and the Church of Sant Climent, the latter of which is a World Heritage site.
We still had plenty of time before dinner, so a few friends and I hiked up a trail leading up the hillside. We had no idea where it ended, until it abruptly opened into a large field. I enjoyed the hike for the mountain stream and the surprise we saw on the way down: a herd of sheep!
That evening, CEA bused us down to the neighboring town of Boí for dinner. The fun part here was dessert – one of the options was “melón.” A few of the others ordered it, and received a huge slice of cantaloupe cut the long way; yum! At night, there was an FC Barça game, and we watched it at Bar Sedona, a place run by a man from Arizona. The TV was nice, the ambience cozy, and the owner is more than happy to see fellow Americans.
The next day, after breakfast at the hotel, we went to the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. “Aigüestortes” means “winding waters” in Catalan, and “estany” is “lake” in this context. To get there, we took our bus to the entrance and rode up to the trailhead in jeeps, which are worth it considering the distance and altitude of the route. Both of our guides were very experienced, but what struck me most was their Spanish. Natives of Barcelona switch fluidly between castellano and Catalan, although they prefer Catalan; residents of the Pyreenes (and other rural parts of Catalunya), however, make castellano’s “second language” status more noticeable, as they have less occasion and need for speaking it. One of the guides was more comfortable with French than castellano, which makes sense given the geographic and linguistic closeness of the Catalan Pyrenees to France. The trail through the valley was enchanting, a seemingly endless sequence of beautiful landscapes, wildlife, and flora.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
un munt de fotos - lots of photos
While I compose my next blog posts, I've decided to post albums from all the places I've visited since my last update. Enjoy!
Day trip to Dalí Museum/Figueres and Girona
Dalí Museum and Figueres
Girona
Berlin Trip
East Side Gallery
Berlin
La Sagrada Familia, revisited
Outing to Collserola Park and Tibidabo
Day trip to Torres winery and Tarragona
Torres winery "Mas La Plana", in the famous Catalonian wine-making region of Penedès
Tarragona
Outing to Colònia Güell
Day trip to Dalí Museum/Figueres and Girona
Dalí Museum and Figueres
Girona
Berlin Trip
East Side Gallery
Berlin
La Sagrada Familia, revisited
Outing to Collserola Park and Tibidabo
Day trip to Torres winery and Tarragona
Torres winery "Mas La Plana", in the famous Catalonian wine-making region of Penedès
Tarragona
Outing to Colònia Güell
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Visita a Montjuic, 18 de setembre: Estadi Olímpic i Poble Espanyol – Visit to Montjuic, Sept 18: Olympic Stadium and Poble Espanyol
Friday the 18th was a sunny day, so my friends and I agreed to visit Montjuic, an area of Barcelona famous for the Castell de Montjuic, Plaça Espanya, the Olympic facilities from the ’92 Summer games, and more. We walked down Av. de la Reina Maria Cristina, up past the fountain and around the Palau Nacional (home of the Museu Nacional de Arte de Catalunya), and started our visit at the Olympic stadium and surrounding facilities:
Then, we meandered our way down the hill over to the Poble Espanyol, a “theme park” with zero rides but clones of buildings from all over Spain. We only had a few hours, but to take full advantage of the [high] price of admission, I’d recommend allotting a half or even full day for it. The complex was gigantic, and included art expositions, restaurants, shops, and a sculpture garden. With your ticket, they give you a schedule of the day’s events, most of which cost an obligatory drink at minimum: that day there were 2 art exhibitions, a treasure hunt, flamenco shows, and a musical performance.
Buildings each had unique crests, and some had cool doors, as the photo album below catalogs. But, I mostly didn’t enjoy it because the weather was souring and it became saturating to see tens of (in my view) mildly special buildings in quick succession:
The saving grace of our visit to Poble Espanyol, though, was seeing the work of Esteban Conesa, who was present at his own exhibition and patiently talked to us in Spanish about his technique, the unique features of each of his “etchings,” his expansive background in various disciplines that enable him to do what he does, and motivations for taking this up. I can’t call Esteban’s works carvings or paintings because they are technically neither – he makes them by using a special torch (a “firebrush”) to burn wood; by adjusting temperature and pressure he teases out images that are actually 3D, with individual hairs etched as separate ridges, carved wrinkles, faces actually popping out from the background, and other neat effects. The result includes a beautiful monochrome color scheme, and a background that is as determined by Esteban’s torch as by the particular piece of wood, a sort of synergy of natural and manmade art. He allowed me to photograph one of his etchings, which you can see below. He is the only artist of his kind in the whole world, and I was honored and inspired to meet this pirogravat (“one who “records” using fire”). More of his works, and his contact information (in case you want a painting yourself) are available from his ArteInformado profile.
Then, we meandered our way down the hill over to the Poble Espanyol, a “theme park” with zero rides but clones of buildings from all over Spain. We only had a few hours, but to take full advantage of the [high] price of admission, I’d recommend allotting a half or even full day for it. The complex was gigantic, and included art expositions, restaurants, shops, and a sculpture garden. With your ticket, they give you a schedule of the day’s events, most of which cost an obligatory drink at minimum: that day there were 2 art exhibitions, a treasure hunt, flamenco shows, and a musical performance.
Buildings each had unique crests, and some had cool doors, as the photo album below catalogs. But, I mostly didn’t enjoy it because the weather was souring and it became saturating to see tens of (in my view) mildly special buildings in quick succession:
The saving grace of our visit to Poble Espanyol, though, was seeing the work of Esteban Conesa, who was present at his own exhibition and patiently talked to us in Spanish about his technique, the unique features of each of his “etchings,” his expansive background in various disciplines that enable him to do what he does, and motivations for taking this up. I can’t call Esteban’s works carvings or paintings because they are technically neither – he makes them by using a special torch (a “firebrush”) to burn wood; by adjusting temperature and pressure he teases out images that are actually 3D, with individual hairs etched as separate ridges, carved wrinkles, faces actually popping out from the background, and other neat effects. The result includes a beautiful monochrome color scheme, and a background that is as determined by Esteban’s torch as by the particular piece of wood, a sort of synergy of natural and manmade art. He allowed me to photograph one of his etchings, which you can see below. He is the only artist of his kind in the whole world, and I was honored and inspired to meet this pirogravat (“one who “records” using fire”). More of his works, and his contact information (in case you want a painting yourself) are available from his ArteInformado profile.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
el born, 15 de setembre: museu barbier-mueller d'art precolombí, basilica de santa maria del mar
The title of this post is long, so I only wrote the Catalan. The English translation would be: “El Born, Sept 15: Barbier-Mueller Pre-Columbian Art Museum, Saint Mary’s Basilica of the Sea”.
Tuesday the 15th was a rainy day, which to my “I want to explore Barcelona” mood translated into “Go see a museum!” I went to the neighborhood of “El Born” with a few friends, intending to go to the Museu de la Xocolata (Chocolate Museum), but it was closed on Tuesdays. Wandering down the famous Carrer de Montcada (Montcada Street), we ran into the Picasso Museum, but the line to enter was too long to tolerate given the weather. Luckily, we found the Museu Barbier-Mueller d'Art Precolombí (Barbier-Mueller Pre-Columbian Art Museum) across the street, and with admission at just 1.5 euros for students we figured it was worth a look around. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but here's a shot of the museum entrance:
The museum has sculptures, ceramics, fabrics and ritual objects from the pre-Columbian civilizations that inhabited the Meso-America, Central America, Andean America, and the Amazon regions, though the collection was far more extensive in its coverage of the first two regions. It was fascinating: casual objects like jugs, axes, and pots were intricately crafted from stone, ceramics, and other materials, and I found the craftsmanship to be downright inspiring. The museum also does a good job of providing context, with signs in each room detailing generally the civilizations from which the works were drawn from. Ever heard of a “censer”? I thought the museum was incorrectly translating the Spanish “incensor” to English, but as we inferred from observing the various censers displayed, it’s a vessel for burning incense. The censers were some of my favorites from the collection; at first glance they seem more like medium-sized sculptures, and only later do you notice the subtly placed holes. Given the low admission fee, short time to cover the whole museum (about 1 hour), and uniqueness of the collection, I’d definitely recommend this museum.
Afterwards, my friends had to go but I continued to venture through El Born on my own. My guidebook showed me that the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar was nearby, so I went to check it out. This Basilica is one of the most famous churches in Barcelona, right up there with Cathedral La Seu and La Sagrada Familia, and according to the Spanish government’s Barcelona tourism site, it is the only perfectly-finished Catalan Gothic church, a style distinct from European Gothic. The 2006 book “La catedral del mar”, by Ildefonso Falcones, is set in the context of the church’s construction in the 14th century, at the height of the Inquisition. Can you believe it was built in just 55 years? As I hope my photos reflect, the church is a marvelous work of art and architecture:
Next, I saw the Fossar de les Moreres, a plaza that memorializes the defenders of Barcelona during the siege of 1714 and was built over their cemetery.
The Catalans have been at strife with the Castillians for much of the history of the two regions, but perhaps the most decisive blow against Catalan independence was struck during the War for Spanish succession, which pitted the Castillians & Philip V of Spain (allied with the French) against the Catalans & Archduke Charles of Austria (allied with the British and Dutch). September 11, 1714 marked the end of the siege of Barcelona and of the war, and the beginning of centuries of suppression of Catalan autonomy that did not truly end until the death of Franco in 1975. The end of the war also marked Spain’s evolution from a loose alliance between kingdoms with a shared monarch into one centralized state. The date is commemorated in Catalunya as “La Diada”, the National Day of Catalunya, in honor of the Catalan national identity and in memory of the glories of the past. At the memorial, there were many flowers and other adorning tokens, but only now, writing this, do I realize that they had been placed there on La Diada itself, which had passed only 4 days ago while I was in San Sebastián.
The text of this plaque is also written in much larger font along the red wall you see in the earlier picture; I translate it as:
“In honor of the Martyrs of 1714. In the Fossar de les Moreres there is not buried any traitor: until [the day] we lose our flags it will be the urn of honor.”
Discussing it with a Catalan speaker using Spanish as an intermediary, we agreed that one could interpret the metaphor thusly:
“No one buried in the Fossar de les Moreres considers him/herself a traitor. Until Catalunya ceases to exist (in any form, not just as an independent state), this will be a sacred place.”
Solemn, powerful words.
I continued to wander around El Born, then went to the area around the Arc de Triomf to enjoy the statues and buildings nearby. The Mercat del Born is the historic market of the Born neighborhood, but apparently has been closed for renovations for quite a while, as the banners in the subsequent pictures denounce.
The statue that follows is in honor of Francesc Rius i Taulet, a mayor of Barcelona who did many great things for the city, which are summarized by the engravings. If you can understand Spanish, the Wikipedia article about Rius i Taulet does a good job of summarizing his achievements.
Tuesday the 15th was a rainy day, which to my “I want to explore Barcelona” mood translated into “Go see a museum!” I went to the neighborhood of “El Born” with a few friends, intending to go to the Museu de la Xocolata (Chocolate Museum), but it was closed on Tuesdays. Wandering down the famous Carrer de Montcada (Montcada Street), we ran into the Picasso Museum, but the line to enter was too long to tolerate given the weather. Luckily, we found the Museu Barbier-Mueller d'Art Precolombí (Barbier-Mueller Pre-Columbian Art Museum) across the street, and with admission at just 1.5 euros for students we figured it was worth a look around. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but here's a shot of the museum entrance:
The museum has sculptures, ceramics, fabrics and ritual objects from the pre-Columbian civilizations that inhabited the Meso-America, Central America, Andean America, and the Amazon regions, though the collection was far more extensive in its coverage of the first two regions. It was fascinating: casual objects like jugs, axes, and pots were intricately crafted from stone, ceramics, and other materials, and I found the craftsmanship to be downright inspiring. The museum also does a good job of providing context, with signs in each room detailing generally the civilizations from which the works were drawn from. Ever heard of a “censer”? I thought the museum was incorrectly translating the Spanish “incensor” to English, but as we inferred from observing the various censers displayed, it’s a vessel for burning incense. The censers were some of my favorites from the collection; at first glance they seem more like medium-sized sculptures, and only later do you notice the subtly placed holes. Given the low admission fee, short time to cover the whole museum (about 1 hour), and uniqueness of the collection, I’d definitely recommend this museum.
Afterwards, my friends had to go but I continued to venture through El Born on my own. My guidebook showed me that the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar was nearby, so I went to check it out. This Basilica is one of the most famous churches in Barcelona, right up there with Cathedral La Seu and La Sagrada Familia, and according to the Spanish government’s Barcelona tourism site, it is the only perfectly-finished Catalan Gothic church, a style distinct from European Gothic. The 2006 book “La catedral del mar”, by Ildefonso Falcones, is set in the context of the church’s construction in the 14th century, at the height of the Inquisition. Can you believe it was built in just 55 years? As I hope my photos reflect, the church is a marvelous work of art and architecture:
Next, I saw the Fossar de les Moreres, a plaza that memorializes the defenders of Barcelona during the siege of 1714 and was built over their cemetery.
The Catalans have been at strife with the Castillians for much of the history of the two regions, but perhaps the most decisive blow against Catalan independence was struck during the War for Spanish succession, which pitted the Castillians & Philip V of Spain (allied with the French) against the Catalans & Archduke Charles of Austria (allied with the British and Dutch). September 11, 1714 marked the end of the siege of Barcelona and of the war, and the beginning of centuries of suppression of Catalan autonomy that did not truly end until the death of Franco in 1975. The end of the war also marked Spain’s evolution from a loose alliance between kingdoms with a shared monarch into one centralized state. The date is commemorated in Catalunya as “La Diada”, the National Day of Catalunya, in honor of the Catalan national identity and in memory of the glories of the past. At the memorial, there were many flowers and other adorning tokens, but only now, writing this, do I realize that they had been placed there on La Diada itself, which had passed only 4 days ago while I was in San Sebastián.
The text of this plaque is also written in much larger font along the red wall you see in the earlier picture; I translate it as:
“In honor of the Martyrs of 1714. In the Fossar de les Moreres there is not buried any traitor: until [the day] we lose our flags it will be the urn of honor.”
Discussing it with a Catalan speaker using Spanish as an intermediary, we agreed that one could interpret the metaphor thusly:
“No one buried in the Fossar de les Moreres considers him/herself a traitor. Until Catalunya ceases to exist (in any form, not just as an independent state), this will be a sacred place.”
Solemn, powerful words.
I continued to wander around El Born, then went to the area around the Arc de Triomf to enjoy the statues and buildings nearby. The Mercat del Born is the historic market of the Born neighborhood, but apparently has been closed for renovations for quite a while, as the banners in the subsequent pictures denounce.
The statue that follows is in honor of Francesc Rius i Taulet, a mayor of Barcelona who did many great things for the city, which are summarized by the engravings. If you can understand Spanish, the Wikipedia article about Rius i Taulet does a good job of summarizing his achievements.
Friday, September 18, 2009
viatge a Sant Sebastià 2 - trip to San Sebastián 2
After being drained by traveling and walking around all morning, it was time to hit the refresh button. A 3-hour siesta did the trick; not only were we rested, but the sun graced us with its presence. Starving, we wandered around old town trying to find pintxos, the snack-sized dishes that the Basque country is famous for (the “tx” combination in Euskera is said like a “ch”; i.e. “Chicago” would become “Txicago”). We finally found some, and the pricing was reasonable; the pintxos tend to be 1.5-2 euros each, and we had 3 for 5 euros. One could think of pintxos like a smaller version of tapas – oftentimes they’re held together by a small skewer (the namesake of the cuisine), and may be served on bread slices. During the course of the weekend, some of the ones I had were octopus with olive, chorizo, and seafood pastries. At that restaurant, there were all sorts of pintxos available on platters, which could be eaten as is or heated up upon request (almost everything is better hot). But, a local at the bar told me that the best pintxos are the ones that you have to order from the kitchen – having ordered one that evening, I concur.
The next few hours were spent at the Zurriola beach. Despite being the “surfer” beach, it was pretty solid for sunbathers too. Only gripe is that the water was full of seaweed, perhaps because of the tide and because it’s directly exposed to the Bay of Biscay; La Concha and Ondaretta are both somewhat shielded by the harbor. That evening, we walked along the main beachfront (La Concha + Ondaretta) to try to go up the funicular and get a cool view of the city, but it was closed by the time we got there. We did make it to the far edge of the harbor, though, and the eclectic sculptures placed along the rocks there compensated somewhat for our troubles. That night, our group split into smaller groups to do dinner. Mine wanted to get pintxos, which was perfect because the street our hostel was on (Fermin Calbeton) was full of great and inexpensive jatetxeas, (Euskara for “restaurant”). We wandered from one to another, getting a pintxo at each one. To anyone who visits San Sebastián (if you’re studying in Spain you MUST make it there for a weekend), be sure to stay in the “Old Town” – the streets are all intended for pedestrians and it’s full of restaurants, stores, and culture.
Saturday was mostly uneventful, but the main thing we did was visit the park “Monte Urgull”, which was atop the other main hill in San Sebastián, and featured the Castillo de la Mota (a large castle) and the statue of Jesus. Entrance to the complex is free; they have a nice museum built into the castle and there are plenty of areas where one could picnic if desired. The best part about it was the view from next to the statue – note that to get to the same level as the base of the statue, you need to go into the museum and up its stairs; there are no stairs up from the outside. One could see not only all of San Sebastián, but also many nearby small towns; the photo of me below gives you an idea of the view:
On the way back, we ran into a performance of what one of the musicians described to me as the “Seven Saints Dance” – people dressed in big-headed, folksy costumes did a circle dance to a repeating song played by a band of percussionists and pipe players (it might have been a txistu ensemble, as suggested by the photo in the Wikipedia article on Basque music), and at the end of each chorus they would jump once, then twice, etc. all the way until 7 times. There were also four giant statues posted. The dancers were all carrying strangely shaped balloons made from some sort of organic material (perhaps some part of a pig), and after the dance was done they walked into the crowd, whacking certain people with the balloons. For whatever reason they made a beeline for our group and each of us received a good helping. Apparently the practice is not condoned because locals around us told the dancers to desist, because we weren’t from San Sebastián.
This weekend was also in the middle of the Euskal Jaiak festival, an annual festival that falls in the middle of September and celebrates Basque culture with dances like the one we saw, outdoor concerts, and a famous regatta. In this particular regatta, the eight top teams (as established by the results of other regattas) compete to see who is truly the best. Because of the festival, the streets were brimming even more than usual with tourists and – starting on Saturday – with fans of the various regatta teams. Each team has an associated color, and so walking through the streets we would see groups of people wearing a particular team’s uniform.
One part of the revelry seemed to be jumping off the port into the harbor; a few people from our group did it and had a blast. While we waited at the port for our divers to return in bathing suits, my roommate and I each bought a paper cone full of fresh shrimp – they were a bit small and of course salty, but a good snack nonetheless. The most interesting part of waiting for them, though, was that there was a group of kids treading water in the port, asking bystanders to throw them coins to dive for. It seemed like they weren’t making much from it, but one kid who came back to street level had quite a haul.
Sunday was the day of the regatta, and though the guys missed most of it because we insisted on getting lunch first, we caught the tail end of it and most importantly, the atmosphere. Monte Urgell, La Concha beach, and the port were all packed with spectators, and we wished we could have stayed in San Sebastián one more night because the whole town was going to be celebrating:
After a brief lazing on La Concha beach, we packed up and took the bus back to Barcelona. This weekend was such a good time some of us were wondering if we should come back…but despite how awesome this weekend in a contender for “European Capital of Culture” was, we realized that much of Spain (and Europe) remain to be explored. These next few weekends are already tied up with other trips – this weekend I’ll be in the Pyrenees thanks to CEA, the following one will be the celebration of the festival of La Mercé in Barcelona, and the first weekend in October I’ll be visiting my parents in Berlin. Beyond these, CEA will also be taking us to Girona and Figueres (home of Dalí and the museum in his honor), Tarragona and the Torres winery, and Seville, and I want to try to go to Marrakech, Lisbon, Florence or Rome, and Granada. If every trip is even half as good as San Sebastián was, then these next few months are going to be phenomenal.
The next few hours were spent at the Zurriola beach. Despite being the “surfer” beach, it was pretty solid for sunbathers too. Only gripe is that the water was full of seaweed, perhaps because of the tide and because it’s directly exposed to the Bay of Biscay; La Concha and Ondaretta are both somewhat shielded by the harbor. That evening, we walked along the main beachfront (La Concha + Ondaretta) to try to go up the funicular and get a cool view of the city, but it was closed by the time we got there. We did make it to the far edge of the harbor, though, and the eclectic sculptures placed along the rocks there compensated somewhat for our troubles. That night, our group split into smaller groups to do dinner. Mine wanted to get pintxos, which was perfect because the street our hostel was on (Fermin Calbeton) was full of great and inexpensive jatetxeas, (Euskara for “restaurant”). We wandered from one to another, getting a pintxo at each one. To anyone who visits San Sebastián (if you’re studying in Spain you MUST make it there for a weekend), be sure to stay in the “Old Town” – the streets are all intended for pedestrians and it’s full of restaurants, stores, and culture.
Saturday was mostly uneventful, but the main thing we did was visit the park “Monte Urgull”, which was atop the other main hill in San Sebastián, and featured the Castillo de la Mota (a large castle) and the statue of Jesus. Entrance to the complex is free; they have a nice museum built into the castle and there are plenty of areas where one could picnic if desired. The best part about it was the view from next to the statue – note that to get to the same level as the base of the statue, you need to go into the museum and up its stairs; there are no stairs up from the outside. One could see not only all of San Sebastián, but also many nearby small towns; the photo of me below gives you an idea of the view:
On the way back, we ran into a performance of what one of the musicians described to me as the “Seven Saints Dance” – people dressed in big-headed, folksy costumes did a circle dance to a repeating song played by a band of percussionists and pipe players (it might have been a txistu ensemble, as suggested by the photo in the Wikipedia article on Basque music), and at the end of each chorus they would jump once, then twice, etc. all the way until 7 times. There were also four giant statues posted. The dancers were all carrying strangely shaped balloons made from some sort of organic material (perhaps some part of a pig), and after the dance was done they walked into the crowd, whacking certain people with the balloons. For whatever reason they made a beeline for our group and each of us received a good helping. Apparently the practice is not condoned because locals around us told the dancers to desist, because we weren’t from San Sebastián.
This weekend was also in the middle of the Euskal Jaiak festival, an annual festival that falls in the middle of September and celebrates Basque culture with dances like the one we saw, outdoor concerts, and a famous regatta. In this particular regatta, the eight top teams (as established by the results of other regattas) compete to see who is truly the best. Because of the festival, the streets were brimming even more than usual with tourists and – starting on Saturday – with fans of the various regatta teams. Each team has an associated color, and so walking through the streets we would see groups of people wearing a particular team’s uniform.
One part of the revelry seemed to be jumping off the port into the harbor; a few people from our group did it and had a blast. While we waited at the port for our divers to return in bathing suits, my roommate and I each bought a paper cone full of fresh shrimp – they were a bit small and of course salty, but a good snack nonetheless. The most interesting part of waiting for them, though, was that there was a group of kids treading water in the port, asking bystanders to throw them coins to dive for. It seemed like they weren’t making much from it, but one kid who came back to street level had quite a haul.
Sunday was the day of the regatta, and though the guys missed most of it because we insisted on getting lunch first, we caught the tail end of it and most importantly, the atmosphere. Monte Urgell, La Concha beach, and the port were all packed with spectators, and we wished we could have stayed in San Sebastián one more night because the whole town was going to be celebrating:
After a brief lazing on La Concha beach, we packed up and took the bus back to Barcelona. This weekend was such a good time some of us were wondering if we should come back…but despite how awesome this weekend in a contender for “European Capital of Culture” was, we realized that much of Spain (and Europe) remain to be explored. These next few weekends are already tied up with other trips – this weekend I’ll be in the Pyrenees thanks to CEA, the following one will be the celebration of the festival of La Mercé in Barcelona, and the first weekend in October I’ll be visiting my parents in Berlin. Beyond these, CEA will also be taking us to Girona and Figueres (home of Dalí and the museum in his honor), Tarragona and the Torres winery, and Seville, and I want to try to go to Marrakech, Lisbon, Florence or Rome, and Granada. If every trip is even half as good as San Sebastián was, then these next few months are going to be phenomenal.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
viatge a Sant Sebastià 1 - trip to San Sebastián 1
This past weekend, I went with friends to San Sebastián , a coastal city in País Vasco (the Basque region of Spain). It was a great first trip and an amazing city to visit; the weather was nice, there were 3 beaches to cater to surfers and sunbathers alike, and it was quite cultural. Here's how it went down:
Thursday, September 10 (DAY 0) - We bought tickets for the 11.10pm bus on Thursday night, so we could arrive at a dreary 6.40am Friday morning in San Sebastián and have a full day ahead of us. Taking the bus from Barcelona to San Sebastián should have been extremely simple; we had already bought our round trip bus tickets with the company Vibasa and the Barcelona Nord bus station is practically next door to our residence (Residencia Onix). Vibasa had 3 buses leaving at the same time that would all stop in San Sebastián at some point; one was an express and the other two would finish in other cities. Now, a modern computer system should be able to recognize that some people are headed to San Sebastián, others to other cities, and seat them in the appropriate bus at the appropriate fare. But that night, something was amiss with the booking process, because some seat reservations were double booked (i.e. my roommate and another guy were both assigned Bus 2, Seat 5)!
The night got off to a good start when the bus drivers insisted on directing us to the wrong bus, until finally I realized that they were looking at the bus number on our return ticket instead of the outbound one. After shuffling between buses for 10ish minutes, we finally settled down in the right one. When more people boarded at Barcelona Sants station, though, there was a problem. Vibasa had 3 buses leaving at the same time that would all stop in San Sebastián at some point; one was an express and the other two would finish in other cities, and we were taking one of the non-express buses. Now, a modern computer system should be able to recognize that some people are headed to San Sebastián, others to other cities, and seat them in the appropriate bus at the appropriate fare. But that night, something was amiss with the booking process, because some seat reservations were double booked (i.e. my roommate and another guy were both assigned Bus 2, Seat 5)! So, some of our group had to switch to the other non-express bus to make things work.
After 7.5 hours in a cramped bus, we arrive in San Sebastián, still before sunrise. We gathered our group together in a park before moving on. The park was my first encounter with Euskara, the language of the Basques. As these signs show, it’s much more separated from Spanish than Catalan is:
The Wikipedia article on Euskara suggests that it’s not even of the Indo-European family, but the last pre-Indo-European language that is around in Western Europe, a linguistic isolate with no family members. The only reason for faint resemblance to Romance languages is because Euskara adopted a fair number of Romance words through contact with Latin, then Gascon, Spanish, and Aragonese (words like the Euskara “Parkea” for Spanish “Parque” and Euskara “Kalea” for Spanish “Calle”). Any reputable website one searches will agree that the true origins of Euskara are unknown; as an example, one can consult this page from the University of Nevada, Reno’s Center for Basque Studies. Signage tended to be in both Euskara and Spanish, and just like in Catalunya (with Catalan and Spanish), people spoke both languages. Some Catalans may aspire to have an independent Catalunya one day, but the Basques could be regarded as more fervent in their desires for independence, considering the existence of the terrorist group the ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, which translates to “Basque Homeland and Freedom”) and demonstrations of solidarity with other autonomy/independence movements like the one in Tibet (see photo in the post about Saturday). The clash of identities is even present in the town’s official name, “Donostia-San Sebastián” – “Donostia” is the Euskara name for the town and “San Sebastián” the Spanish one; residents are called donostiarras in both languages, NOT san sebastinos.
That morning we walked to our hostel, in the “Old Town” area, dropped off our bags since it was too early to check in, and walked around. San Sebastián has a lot of neat buildings, and even in the dreary cloudiness of that morning (the only extended cloudy period that weekend; the rest was all sun!) they looked pretty cool.
It also has 3 beaches - Ondaretta and La Concha for tanning/swimming/etc. and Zurriola for surfers. Trying to find a bite to eat, we headed over to the area by Zurriola beach, and found this exhibition of sculptures by Manolo Valdés that was sponsored by La Caixa:
Bored by the cloudiness and needing to kill 2 hours before check-in, the guys in our group went to see the Aquarium, recommended by www.sansebastianspain.info as one of the top ten things to do in San Sebastián. Entry was pricey (8 euros for students, 12 for adults), but the Aquarium was a jack-of-all-aquatic-trades: it included an extensive section on the naval history of San Sebastián; an aquarium with walk-through tunnel, tropical specimens, sharks, etc.; and an exhibition of mixed-media art by Alfred Bikondoa inspired by Paul Valéry’s poem “El Cementerio Marino”. The auditorium there is also one of the sites for the San Sebastián International Film Festival, the 57th edition of which runs from September 18-26 this year. The album below includes photos from all 3 sections of the Aquarium:
I continue describing this trip in the next post.
Thursday, September 10 (DAY 0) - We bought tickets for the 11.10pm bus on Thursday night, so we could arrive at a dreary 6.40am Friday morning in San Sebastián and have a full day ahead of us. Taking the bus from Barcelona to San Sebastián should have been extremely simple; we had already bought our round trip bus tickets with the company Vibasa and the Barcelona Nord bus station is practically next door to our residence (Residencia Onix). Vibasa had 3 buses leaving at the same time that would all stop in San Sebastián at some point; one was an express and the other two would finish in other cities. Now, a modern computer system should be able to recognize that some people are headed to San Sebastián, others to other cities, and seat them in the appropriate bus at the appropriate fare. But that night, something was amiss with the booking process, because some seat reservations were double booked (i.e. my roommate and another guy were both assigned Bus 2, Seat 5)!
The night got off to a good start when the bus drivers insisted on directing us to the wrong bus, until finally I realized that they were looking at the bus number on our return ticket instead of the outbound one. After shuffling between buses for 10ish minutes, we finally settled down in the right one. When more people boarded at Barcelona Sants station, though, there was a problem. Vibasa had 3 buses leaving at the same time that would all stop in San Sebastián at some point; one was an express and the other two would finish in other cities, and we were taking one of the non-express buses. Now, a modern computer system should be able to recognize that some people are headed to San Sebastián, others to other cities, and seat them in the appropriate bus at the appropriate fare. But that night, something was amiss with the booking process, because some seat reservations were double booked (i.e. my roommate and another guy were both assigned Bus 2, Seat 5)! So, some of our group had to switch to the other non-express bus to make things work.
After 7.5 hours in a cramped bus, we arrive in San Sebastián, still before sunrise. We gathered our group together in a park before moving on. The park was my first encounter with Euskara, the language of the Basques. As these signs show, it’s much more separated from Spanish than Catalan is:
The Wikipedia article on Euskara suggests that it’s not even of the Indo-European family, but the last pre-Indo-European language that is around in Western Europe, a linguistic isolate with no family members. The only reason for faint resemblance to Romance languages is because Euskara adopted a fair number of Romance words through contact with Latin, then Gascon, Spanish, and Aragonese (words like the Euskara “Parkea” for Spanish “Parque” and Euskara “Kalea” for Spanish “Calle”). Any reputable website one searches will agree that the true origins of Euskara are unknown; as an example, one can consult this page from the University of Nevada, Reno’s Center for Basque Studies. Signage tended to be in both Euskara and Spanish, and just like in Catalunya (with Catalan and Spanish), people spoke both languages. Some Catalans may aspire to have an independent Catalunya one day, but the Basques could be regarded as more fervent in their desires for independence, considering the existence of the terrorist group the ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, which translates to “Basque Homeland and Freedom”) and demonstrations of solidarity with other autonomy/independence movements like the one in Tibet (see photo in the post about Saturday). The clash of identities is even present in the town’s official name, “Donostia-San Sebastián” – “Donostia” is the Euskara name for the town and “San Sebastián” the Spanish one; residents are called donostiarras in both languages, NOT san sebastinos.
That morning we walked to our hostel, in the “Old Town” area, dropped off our bags since it was too early to check in, and walked around. San Sebastián has a lot of neat buildings, and even in the dreary cloudiness of that morning (the only extended cloudy period that weekend; the rest was all sun!) they looked pretty cool.
It also has 3 beaches - Ondaretta and La Concha for tanning/swimming/etc. and Zurriola for surfers. Trying to find a bite to eat, we headed over to the area by Zurriola beach, and found this exhibition of sculptures by Manolo Valdés that was sponsored by La Caixa:
Bored by the cloudiness and needing to kill 2 hours before check-in, the guys in our group went to see the Aquarium, recommended by www.sansebastianspain.info as one of the top ten things to do in San Sebastián. Entry was pricey (8 euros for students, 12 for adults), but the Aquarium was a jack-of-all-aquatic-trades: it included an extensive section on the naval history of San Sebastián; an aquarium with walk-through tunnel, tropical specimens, sharks, etc.; and an exhibition of mixed-media art by Alfred Bikondoa inspired by Paul Valéry’s poem “El Cementerio Marino”. The auditorium there is also one of the sites for the San Sebastián International Film Festival, the 57th edition of which runs from September 18-26 this year. The album below includes photos from all 3 sections of the Aquarium:
I continue describing this trip in the next post.
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