I missed a day of writing, and you haven't seen any new pictures, either. I had quite a day yesterday (Tuesday), and I'll explain in due course. The last time I wrote, on Monday night, I was just beginning to appreciate Barcelona after a somewhat mixed first impression. I had thoroughly enjoyed visiting several Gaudi edifices and getting lost in the city's Gothic quarter on Monday. I felt like I was beginning to understand what people love so much about Barcelona.
Then, yesterday morning I toured the Palau Musica Catalana, and I have never seen such an amazing building interior: it absolutely floored me. The building is privately owned and they don't allow pictures, so you've got to take a look at pictures of it online. It's wild. In the middle of the hall, above the audience, hangs a massive stained glass teardrop that represents the sun. Stained glass windows shine in from almost every direction. More than 2000 large clay roses adorn the ceiling, 18 relief sculptures of muses play music and dance along the stage, and the chandeliers along the sides of the orchestra seating tilt toward the stained glass teardrop in the middle of the room like flowers reach for the sun. A massive bust of Beethoven watches over the stage, and on the ceiling above Ludwig ride some of Wagner's Valkyries. Almost every surface in the building expresses some idea or recalls some event or person. I wish I could do justice describing it with words but I can't. Just trust that these Catalan architects don't do anything by halves, and whatever is the most ostentatious, nutty design you can dream up is probably raised by an order of magnitude in the execution of this building. Daring doesn't begin to describe it. Bravo. I cannot imagine what a delight it must be to hear music from that stage.
I walked (almost staggered) away in wonder. It sounds silly, but it's true. These buildings are so original, and so unlike anything I've ever seen before, that it's like discovering a whole new art form. Like seeing a brand new color you didn't know existed. In the current architecture where I live, economy seems to be the only value considered or practiced. I understand why that's the case, but what a treat to walk into a building where the sole value is to express an artistic vision, regardless of the expense or the complexity. I was so glad to be walking these streets and enjoying the immense privilege of being able to travel and see things like this that change my thinking and my perspective.
I was on a roll for the first time on this trip, with a list of places to visit next, plus a list of the hours the places were open and the times of the English language guided tours. I was organized and prepared, and I had hit my stride! I was starting to understand what people see in this city! This was going to be the best day yet!
If I hear that voice inside my head again, it'll be a good reminder to gird myself for disaster. I passed by the Picasso Museum, the next destination on my itinerary for the day, and it was mobbed. I don't do well with crowds. I'm not afraid of them; I just don't have a lot of patience with them. So I decided to postpone the museum and head in the general direction of La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece basilica which has been under construction for a hundred years and which isn't scheduled to be finished until sometime around 2026 or 2030. I thought I'd either visit the basilica or find something else nearby.
I came upon a beautiful park, Parc de la Ciutadella, and figured I'd take a quick look. Yet another pleasant surprise! It's the grounds of the Catalan parliament and home to the city's natural history museum and some lovely public gardens. It's around 3 pm, beautiful and sunny, there are people walking their dogs and tour buses disgorging hordes of people, but it's such a big park that there's plenty of room for everybody. I pass some people walking their dogs, tourists fighting, and American couple giggling and taking pictures of themselves posing with a statue of a nude Greek god (stay classy!). Parents are there with their kids feeding the birds, families are floating by in paddle boats on the pond, and then I see the a gorgeous fountain, called the Cascade.
La Cascada is shaped like a horseshoe, about three stories high in the center, gently sloping to the ground on either side. A waterfall spills from the top in the center into the pond below, and it's full of a couple of dozen statues of Greek or Roman warriors, horses, animals, plants, and so forth. Another stunning find, and it's not crowded! I'm standing below a tree taking a couple of pictures when I feel a plop on my head.
I was hoping it was a leaf, but it wasn't.
I spent a great couple of minutes trying to get bird poop out of my hair with my fingers. Good times. I'm not exactly a germ phobe, but I am sort of a compulsive hand washer, and I'm really scroobed out at the thought of all the diseases that birds carry. But I'm determined to carry on.
I walk up through the Cascade, shooting a few pictures, and when I got down near the bottom of the other side, two teenaged boys mugged me. In broad daylight. With other people around. I knew something was off about them as soon as I saw them coming toward me, quickly and aggressively, carrying clipboards and saying something about how they want to take a survey. I am a personal space girl, and I try to move away from them and tell them I'm not interested. They keep talking and then they're on either side of me, one grabbing my upper arm, and the other reaching into my pocket for my iPhone. I start yelling "Give me back my phone, you #$&*^%$!!!" and sink my fingernails into the other guy's arm while starting to move quickly toward the one who took my phone. The other one tried to get my bag but I was holding on tight and it was over my neck as well as my shoulder.
I think I scared them when I fought back. They fled, and I chased them, but they were too fast. They were kids and they were unarmed, otherwise I probably would have just handed everything over without a fight. There were other people nearby, staring, but they were too far away to help. I asked for help from one guy jogging by and he said, "They only got your phone?"
The thing is, I wish they had taken money or my credit cards instead. Those I can easily replace. It's impossible for me to replace the iPhone from here. I was using the camera all the time because I could upload pictures so easily. It has GPS so that I could check my whereabouts on a map. I don't even wear a watch anymore because I always have my phone with me. It was hooked up to my email, it had all my contacts in it, and I used it constantly. They got the one absolutely indispensable item I'm carrying on this trip, and ironically the resale for it will probably be negligible for them. The value to me is tremendous, especially taking into account the possibility of identity theft. I'm generally a non-violent kind of person, but I really wish I could find these little jerks.
As bad as the loss of the phone was, though, the worst part has been my total inability to feel safe anywhere in this city now. If I had lost my phone because I accidentally set it down somewhere, or if I were walking alone at night, or if I had been someplace I knew was prone to this kind of event, I would at least be able to rationalize that I had been taking an unreasonable risk and bad things happen in those circumstances. And I definitely would be taking this a lot less hard if it had just been the cash value of the phone. The inconvenience factor and the risk of ID theft has turned this into a constant reminder and a nagging worry that I am finding hard to let go.
What conclusion am I supposed to draw from getting robbed in broad daylight, around other people? The only one I can possibly draw is that nothing is safe here. Nothing. After the mugging, I returned to my hostel, practically hugging my bag to my chest and most certainly sending black looks to everyone in my path, unfairly though it may have been. I had to spend the rest of the day changing passwords, canceling my phone service, and trying to figure out replacement logistics and where my data security vulnerabilities might be. Not fun at all, and in the case of replacing the phone, apparently impossible.
This morning, after sleeping in late and dragging my feet about it, I hauled myself to the police station to file a report. They were sympathetic, especially about the bruise and small cut from where the kid's fingernails dug into my arm (although I know I did worse to him). Of course they aren't going to do anything about it--I hadn't expected them to. A Barcelona tour guide doing an interview on a Rick Steves podcast said that part of the problem with pickpocketing in this town is that if a perpetrator is under 18, there are no consequences if he's caught. None.
While it might not be fair to ascribe the bad acts of a minority to an entire city, I do think it's fair to hold a city accountable for not dealing with this problem appropriately. From what I gather, adult career criminals run syndicates of teenagers to commit these crimes. If that's the situation, then I feel totally justified in concluding that Barcelona and its police and its people really don't care that much about this situation and aren't interested in solving the problem. If they were, they would change the incentives. They have chosen not to. I was on the verge of falling in love with this city, and now I cannot leave it soon enough. I will not be returning.
After more foot dragging, I went to see La Sagrada Familia this afternoon. What can one say about it? Like so many other things here, it was awe-inspiring. There are no words. But even though I enjoyed it, I couldn't lose myself in it.
On the walk there and back, I gave everybody in my path about a six foot berth, with a death grip on my bag. I went straight there and straight home, with no sense of security, even though it was daylight and there were people around. Later on in the evening, I walked three blocks to a restaurant, with no bag and nothing in my zippered hidden pockets except for one bank note to pay for the meal. Walking home a little after dark, I stayed in the middle of the street (there were no cars) so that I wouldn't pass close to anyone and I'd stay in the light from the street lamps.
Tomorrow I will not travel away from the crowds. I will not explore. I will not shop. In fact, I will not spend a cent more than is absolutely necessary. And on Friday morning, I will leave and not return. This city has lived up to the worst of its reputation. I have absolutely no sense of personal security here.
But, once I leave this stinking urban cesspool behind me, I'm up for adventure again. This is a purely localized reaction. Once back in Madrid, I will be back to my usual adventurous self. :)
I've been thinking about whether I'd make this trip to Barcelona again, knowing what I know now. I've had my car stolen several times over the years, and that was a hassle, but since I wasn't in the car it never disrupted my sense of safety. Here, I've seen some amazing things, but at a cost of my sense of autonomy and security--not just my physical security, but my long-term identity security. The honest answer to my question is no. I've seen some of the most affecting, wonderful things here, but Barcelona has taken away more than it gave me. This will worry me for a long time, and the damage could be tremendous and difficult to repair. From now on, I will pay closer attention when my first impression of a place is bad. Maybe there's a good reason.
Then, yesterday morning I toured the Palau Musica Catalana, and I have never seen such an amazing building interior: it absolutely floored me. The building is privately owned and they don't allow pictures, so you've got to take a look at pictures of it online. It's wild. In the middle of the hall, above the audience, hangs a massive stained glass teardrop that represents the sun. Stained glass windows shine in from almost every direction. More than 2000 large clay roses adorn the ceiling, 18 relief sculptures of muses play music and dance along the stage, and the chandeliers along the sides of the orchestra seating tilt toward the stained glass teardrop in the middle of the room like flowers reach for the sun. A massive bust of Beethoven watches over the stage, and on the ceiling above Ludwig ride some of Wagner's Valkyries. Almost every surface in the building expresses some idea or recalls some event or person. I wish I could do justice describing it with words but I can't. Just trust that these Catalan architects don't do anything by halves, and whatever is the most ostentatious, nutty design you can dream up is probably raised by an order of magnitude in the execution of this building. Daring doesn't begin to describe it. Bravo. I cannot imagine what a delight it must be to hear music from that stage.
I walked (almost staggered) away in wonder. It sounds silly, but it's true. These buildings are so original, and so unlike anything I've ever seen before, that it's like discovering a whole new art form. Like seeing a brand new color you didn't know existed. In the current architecture where I live, economy seems to be the only value considered or practiced. I understand why that's the case, but what a treat to walk into a building where the sole value is to express an artistic vision, regardless of the expense or the complexity. I was so glad to be walking these streets and enjoying the immense privilege of being able to travel and see things like this that change my thinking and my perspective.
I was on a roll for the first time on this trip, with a list of places to visit next, plus a list of the hours the places were open and the times of the English language guided tours. I was organized and prepared, and I had hit my stride! I was starting to understand what people see in this city! This was going to be the best day yet!
If I hear that voice inside my head again, it'll be a good reminder to gird myself for disaster. I passed by the Picasso Museum, the next destination on my itinerary for the day, and it was mobbed. I don't do well with crowds. I'm not afraid of them; I just don't have a lot of patience with them. So I decided to postpone the museum and head in the general direction of La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece basilica which has been under construction for a hundred years and which isn't scheduled to be finished until sometime around 2026 or 2030. I thought I'd either visit the basilica or find something else nearby.
I came upon a beautiful park, Parc de la Ciutadella, and figured I'd take a quick look. Yet another pleasant surprise! It's the grounds of the Catalan parliament and home to the city's natural history museum and some lovely public gardens. It's around 3 pm, beautiful and sunny, there are people walking their dogs and tour buses disgorging hordes of people, but it's such a big park that there's plenty of room for everybody. I pass some people walking their dogs, tourists fighting, and American couple giggling and taking pictures of themselves posing with a statue of a nude Greek god (stay classy!). Parents are there with their kids feeding the birds, families are floating by in paddle boats on the pond, and then I see the a gorgeous fountain, called the Cascade.
La Cascada is shaped like a horseshoe, about three stories high in the center, gently sloping to the ground on either side. A waterfall spills from the top in the center into the pond below, and it's full of a couple of dozen statues of Greek or Roman warriors, horses, animals, plants, and so forth. Another stunning find, and it's not crowded! I'm standing below a tree taking a couple of pictures when I feel a plop on my head.
I was hoping it was a leaf, but it wasn't.
I spent a great couple of minutes trying to get bird poop out of my hair with my fingers. Good times. I'm not exactly a germ phobe, but I am sort of a compulsive hand washer, and I'm really scroobed out at the thought of all the diseases that birds carry. But I'm determined to carry on.
I walk up through the Cascade, shooting a few pictures, and when I got down near the bottom of the other side, two teenaged boys mugged me. In broad daylight. With other people around. I knew something was off about them as soon as I saw them coming toward me, quickly and aggressively, carrying clipboards and saying something about how they want to take a survey. I am a personal space girl, and I try to move away from them and tell them I'm not interested. They keep talking and then they're on either side of me, one grabbing my upper arm, and the other reaching into my pocket for my iPhone. I start yelling "Give me back my phone, you #$&*^%$!!!" and sink my fingernails into the other guy's arm while starting to move quickly toward the one who took my phone. The other one tried to get my bag but I was holding on tight and it was over my neck as well as my shoulder.
I think I scared them when I fought back. They fled, and I chased them, but they were too fast. They were kids and they were unarmed, otherwise I probably would have just handed everything over without a fight. There were other people nearby, staring, but they were too far away to help. I asked for help from one guy jogging by and he said, "They only got your phone?"
The thing is, I wish they had taken money or my credit cards instead. Those I can easily replace. It's impossible for me to replace the iPhone from here. I was using the camera all the time because I could upload pictures so easily. It has GPS so that I could check my whereabouts on a map. I don't even wear a watch anymore because I always have my phone with me. It was hooked up to my email, it had all my contacts in it, and I used it constantly. They got the one absolutely indispensable item I'm carrying on this trip, and ironically the resale for it will probably be negligible for them. The value to me is tremendous, especially taking into account the possibility of identity theft. I'm generally a non-violent kind of person, but I really wish I could find these little jerks.
As bad as the loss of the phone was, though, the worst part has been my total inability to feel safe anywhere in this city now. If I had lost my phone because I accidentally set it down somewhere, or if I were walking alone at night, or if I had been someplace I knew was prone to this kind of event, I would at least be able to rationalize that I had been taking an unreasonable risk and bad things happen in those circumstances. And I definitely would be taking this a lot less hard if it had just been the cash value of the phone. The inconvenience factor and the risk of ID theft has turned this into a constant reminder and a nagging worry that I am finding hard to let go.
What conclusion am I supposed to draw from getting robbed in broad daylight, around other people? The only one I can possibly draw is that nothing is safe here. Nothing. After the mugging, I returned to my hostel, practically hugging my bag to my chest and most certainly sending black looks to everyone in my path, unfairly though it may have been. I had to spend the rest of the day changing passwords, canceling my phone service, and trying to figure out replacement logistics and where my data security vulnerabilities might be. Not fun at all, and in the case of replacing the phone, apparently impossible.
This morning, after sleeping in late and dragging my feet about it, I hauled myself to the police station to file a report. They were sympathetic, especially about the bruise and small cut from where the kid's fingernails dug into my arm (although I know I did worse to him). Of course they aren't going to do anything about it--I hadn't expected them to. A Barcelona tour guide doing an interview on a Rick Steves podcast said that part of the problem with pickpocketing in this town is that if a perpetrator is under 18, there are no consequences if he's caught. None.
While it might not be fair to ascribe the bad acts of a minority to an entire city, I do think it's fair to hold a city accountable for not dealing with this problem appropriately. From what I gather, adult career criminals run syndicates of teenagers to commit these crimes. If that's the situation, then I feel totally justified in concluding that Barcelona and its police and its people really don't care that much about this situation and aren't interested in solving the problem. If they were, they would change the incentives. They have chosen not to. I was on the verge of falling in love with this city, and now I cannot leave it soon enough. I will not be returning.
After more foot dragging, I went to see La Sagrada Familia this afternoon. What can one say about it? Like so many other things here, it was awe-inspiring. There are no words. But even though I enjoyed it, I couldn't lose myself in it.
On the walk there and back, I gave everybody in my path about a six foot berth, with a death grip on my bag. I went straight there and straight home, with no sense of security, even though it was daylight and there were people around. Later on in the evening, I walked three blocks to a restaurant, with no bag and nothing in my zippered hidden pockets except for one bank note to pay for the meal. Walking home a little after dark, I stayed in the middle of the street (there were no cars) so that I wouldn't pass close to anyone and I'd stay in the light from the street lamps.
Tomorrow I will not travel away from the crowds. I will not explore. I will not shop. In fact, I will not spend a cent more than is absolutely necessary. And on Friday morning, I will leave and not return. This city has lived up to the worst of its reputation. I have absolutely no sense of personal security here.
But, once I leave this stinking urban cesspool behind me, I'm up for adventure again. This is a purely localized reaction. Once back in Madrid, I will be back to my usual adventurous self. :)
I've been thinking about whether I'd make this trip to Barcelona again, knowing what I know now. I've had my car stolen several times over the years, and that was a hassle, but since I wasn't in the car it never disrupted my sense of safety. Here, I've seen some amazing things, but at a cost of my sense of autonomy and security--not just my physical security, but my long-term identity security. The honest answer to my question is no. I've seen some of the most affecting, wonderful things here, but Barcelona has taken away more than it gave me. This will worry me for a long time, and the damage could be tremendous and difficult to repair. From now on, I will pay closer attention when my first impression of a place is bad. Maybe there's a good reason.
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