Erasmus in Barcelona: Gaudí´s garden

Antoni Gaudí probably is the first name coming to your mind when you think of famous characters of Barcelona. Ok, maybe the first after...Lionel Messi, who seems to be omnipresent and almighty here in Barcelona and who usually is the first example when it comes to VIPs in Barcelona. Unfortunately, although this city has so much more to offer. Sad, but true...

But back to Gaudí. One of his achievements is the Parc Güell, that was built by Gaudí during the beginning of the 20th century on behalf of Eusebi Güell. Alongside his residence, which he inhabited until his death 1926, there are only two more buildings in the park: the tenement of Güell family and a building of one of Gaudí´s architecture friends. The second one is still inhabited today (seeing mainly tourists walking through the park all day has to be very exhausting :-) )

View over Barcelona from Parc Güell

View from La Plaça to the (still inhabited) tenement

Gaudí's residence

Besides that there is a huge garden on the hillside, garnished with beautiful gimmicks and structures made of stone. Also Parc Güell is famous for its music culture. Everywhere you find - more or less skillful - "musicians", who provide entertainment to everybody. When I went there to a picnic place with some Erasmus friends, a guy suddenly started to play latin music on a guitar, which cause an unbelievably chilly atmosphere, but maybe was the reason why most of us did´t really want to go on with the trip anymore :-)

Maybe the most famous musician there, who plays at Parc Güell on a daily basis, can the seen down here:

Most fancy "musician" at Parc Güell

Every day he places himself next to the "summit cross", i.e. the highest spot of the park, wearing his leopard pants and his porn glasses, playing his guitar with loose strings and he will sing about, how much he likes to eat pizza. And this while having the most toothy grin i´ve ever seen. I don´t know what pills he takes, but I need the same!!!

In the center of the park there is La Plaça, a huge platform which offers a perfect view on entire Barcelona. Unfortunately the access to this area of the park is not for free, but even from the outside you can see the fancy things Gaudí created. If Gaudí knew, people have to pay to access his creations, he would definitly be pissed. He himself refused to take support from the Spanish government and he only used materials that he basically found himself. His only goal was to better the landscape and people´s life with his work.