love your city This is how it is written on a house wall in Cologne. I love my city, which is why Barcelona of course didn’t have a chance to win a battle against the most beautiful city on the Rhine. Nevertheless, I had to admit that the anticipation increased when we climbed into the Ave in the rainy Figueres early in the morning to go to Barcelona. Receiving bright sunshine, we entered a city filled with tourists – carrying the cameras in front of our stomachs and standing forever, so as not to miss a subject. As in Cologne.
The object of desire was also a church, the cathedral of Barcelona (La Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia), which towered reverently in front of us in the Gothic quarter in the sky. Although not built by Gaudí, she magically attracted us.
It continued via the Passeig de Gracia, the main shopping area in Barcelona, nowhere near comparable to the Kölsche Hohestraße or the Schildergasse, which in addition to H&M and Bershka also Prada, Boss, Chanel and much more. offer. Stop the wide, 4-lane street with a tree-lined avenue and many small benches, invited us to make the credit cards glow. In Barcelona, too, people are drifting across the street with the electricity, and it is not necessary to take their own step. I almost felt at home.
But far away from the hustle and bustle, through the Gothic Quarter and its small, playful streets, which included some alternative shops, we felt the charm of the 1.6 million city that reminded me of the Belgian quarter in Cologne: small balconies with Clothes lines and flowers or Spaniards that are talking about the alley, made me feel like they are also in Barcelona.
Such people who love their city. Who love to surrender to the hustle and bustle, to giggle over the eternally snapped tourists and immerse themselves in the anonymity of the big city. Who prefer to retire to their little Veedel – as it is so beautiful in Cologne – and enjoy the silence, meet with fellow sufferers, or look for a green spot to relax.
Whether Sagrada Familia or Cologne Cathedral, whether Plaza Catalunya or Domplatte, whether Spanish heat or German rain – both cities are characterized by the time when they came into being and comparing them would be like fire and water wanting to combine. But the feeling that you get through the strolling of both cities, namely a slight touch of hustle and bustle, an overwhelming array of architecture and a large selection of activities, is quite comparable. Love your city, be it Barcelona or Cologne.
More: Barcelona – 48 hours, Short break in Barcelona, 8 Hours for a Stroll through Barcelona’s Raval….
