Before I went to Barcelona I didn’t really know who Antoni Gaudí was. I had seen pictures of the Sagrada Família church, but never thought about the architect of this spectacular building nor that there would be more buildings like that around Barcelona.
Gaudí started designing these unique, modernistic buildings in the 19th century and continued until his death. He never finished Sagrada Família and it’s still unfinished to this day. The estimated completion day is sometime around 2016, I believe.
Sagrada Família
I love everything weird and unique, everything from the artists Escher and Dalí to the architects Piet Blom and Hundertwasser. But I had never heard of Gaudí and didn’t know to look for his buildings. I discovered them by chance. Well, walking the streets of Barcelona, it was pretty difficult not to notice these buildings.
Casa Milà
Casa Batlló
After that I studied the map of Barcelona – I was hooked and wanted to find more of Gaudí’s work. So I found Park Güell, which incidentally was not that far from my hotel.
The entrance to Park Güell
The two wee houses at the entrance
The beautiful mosaic benches on the main terrace
Normally I research a destination before getting there. I’m a born planner, so I just can’t help it. But in Barcelona I hadn’t really looked much up, so I’m only happy that I discovered Gaudí’s Barcelona. I had no expectations and so the only reaction was pure amazement.
Gaudi is a fantastic architect and artist, I loved seeing these buildings too. I do not hope, that the economic crises in Spain will delay the church even more….
Posted by Truels | 14/06/2012, 23:08