Our Barcelona apartment sits at the base of Montjuic, a 700 foot tall hill overlooking the city. Obviously, this required some exploration. Not only are the "Magic Fountain" and the National Museum of Art Catalunya (both of which were mentioned in a previous posting) located on this hill, but there are also the Olympic Park, Botanical Gardens, and the Castle Montjuric. While getting to the Olympic Park level only required us to negotiate a couple of hundred stairs, getting to the Castle necessitated a "death defying" cable car ride. I suppose we could have opted to walk safely up the motor vehicle access road, without having to take our lives in our hands on the funicular, but then, that would not have been as interesting to write about. The views of Barcelona and its harbor from the top were spectacular. Despite feeling that my will needed updating on the trip upwards, this was a fun experience.
The National Museum of Art Catalunya sits at the halfway mark up Montjuic hill.
Greeting us at the Olympic Park level is this Torch bearer statue.
The Barcelona Olympic stadium was originally built in 1929 and was intended to hold anti-fascist alternative Olympics to the upcoming games scheduled for Berlin. However, these plans were scraped because of the Spanish Civil War.
Barcelona finally secured the Olympic Games in 1992. The "space needle" structure in the foreground
is actually a telecommunications tower and its design was considered unique for its time. The dome shaped building on the right was used for indoor events such as gymnastics.
is actually a telecommunications tower and its design was considered unique for its time. The dome shaped building on the right was used for indoor events such as gymnastics.
The 65,000 seat stadium is still in use. The day before our visit, a Monster Jam concert was held here.
Next to the stadium is a museum dedicated to the history and evolution of the Olympics, as well as to all the sports ever competed during the games.
A very important part of every Olympics is the Oath taken by participants and officials to insure fairness.
The "infamous " cable car ride with Barcelona in the background. In fairness, this was not all that bad...once I started breathing again.
The drawbridge entrance to Castle Montjuic. The current fort configuration was begun in 1751.
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