Barcelona

these trains can really fly

 After a late night I had to get up early the following morning to catch a train to Barcelona. I didn’t want to sleep in too much since that would mean less time for sightseeing. Plus I could sleep on the train anyway. Thanks to high speed rail, I was in Barcelona by early afternoon (we often traveled at speeds above 300 km an hour – or 186+ mph!). Karoline had given me the address of the hostel where she was staying, and I had decided to book a bed there as well.

 The hostel was a little off the beaten tourist track, which was nice, but when I got off the subway the area seemed like a ghost town. I eventually realized that it was because of the time of day – early afternoon is when Spaniards take their siesta, or afternoon nap. I was surprised that the practice was still prevalent. To my amazement, many stores were closed up and the streets were quiet.

I should try getting on the siesta schedule!

I checked in to the hostel, dropped off my bags, and then headed towards the downtown waterfront to meet Karoline. She had decided to take advantage of the warm, sunny weather by making a visit to the beach. Karoline was used to the beach near her hometown of Saõ Paulo and had been missing out while in Germany. It was super crowded but nice to try and work off some of those bad tan lines from sightseeing for hours in the sun with a t-shirt and shorts.

beach in Barcelona

I’ve been amazed at how much has come back to me as I write about the trip, but I can’t recall all that went happened during the next few stops before Bonn. I’ll give you a rundown of what I can remember though.

I spent the first two nights at the same hostel as Karoline, and we did a lot of sightseeing together. The most memorable points of interest were the Sagrada Familia, a large church designed by the architect Antoni Gaudi (although still not complete), a park overlooking the city which is also the work of Gaudi, the famous shopping strip on La Rambla, and the Arc de Triomf, built in the late 19^th century. I also turned 21 while I was in Barcelona (on July 23)!

 It was kind of anti-climatic, considering it is such a big birthday back in the states, but not of much significance in Europe. But when I stopped and thought about it there weren’t many other places I would rather have been! After the second night in Barcelona Karoline left for Lisbon via Ryanair, so I was on my own again. It was sad to see her leave, but with so much more to do during my trip I was more preoccupied with how I would eventually get to Bonn.

entrance to the Gaudi-inspired park in Barcelona

Gaudi's Sagada Familia

The famous La Ramble shopping avenue in Barcelona

Arc de Triomphe, Barcelona

I wanted to spend my last night in Barcelona at the same hostel, but unfortunately they were all booked. I searched online and finally found a place with an opening further outside of the city center. By the time I found the place (which took me awhile) checked in it was already getting late. I tried to find a restaurant for dinner, but many of the places were closed. Eventually I stumbled upon a tienda (small convenience store) that was still open. The selection was limited; I had to settle on lunch meat and crackers, but it was better than nothing. I made my way back to the hostel, which seemed pretty deserted.

This guy is using terrible
technique, don't take your
tips from him!

Fortunately I came across a few fellow travelers when I was eating in the lounge. Two of the guys were Brits traveling across continental Europe by car. They had some beer and another guy brought liquor, so we chilled and had a few drinks. Chilled might not be the right word, because the two Englishmen were kinda nuts. For some reason the hostel didn’t allow alcohol on the premises.

I guess the two of them had already annoyed the owner before over the drinking issue, and they did their best to piss him off again. It probably didn’t help that I showed them how to shotgun a beer – they had never heard of it! Being their first time, of course they sprayed beer all over the floor. We tried to mop it up with paper towels, and then we decided to head out to the bars. I hadn’t anticipated going out, but I didn’t want to pass up on a chance to see what these guys would get themselves into.

Unfortunately the ending to the story is not as entertaining as the build-up. We went down to the waterfront in search of a bar or club, but there weren’t too many big party spots. After grabbing a few beers at a tienda the search continued. We eventually found a spot with a few bars, but it was more low-key then the Brits had wanted. By this time it was already around one am though, so we stopped in for drinks. It was a fun place, with a mix of tourists and locals and a surprisingly good variety of beers on tap. We met a couple of British guys who were in Barcelona for a bachelor party and supposedly hadn’t slept in two days (those Brits know how to party!).

For more on British party-goers' crazy ways click here for an article about students on holiday in Spain who caused "chaos" at a holiday resort.

All of a sudden we realized that in a few minutes the subway would be making its last rounds of the night, so we had to run back to the stop to catch it. We were making good time before one of the guys had to stop at a food stand for an empanada or something, and for awhile I thought we would miss the metro. The two Brits had a subway pass but it only had enough credit for one ride left, so they decided to run through the door one right behind the other. The second one through got caught in the sliding glass doors –they were the little doors that come together from both sides of the gate, leaving a small gap in the middle. It looked like he would be able to squeeze his way though, but at the last second one of the glass panels completely cracked! I thought it was going to shatter, but it stayed in one piece (albeit completely destroyed). He finally got though and we caught to the tracks as the train was approaching!