Catalan Culture 2004 Class Blog

jueves, diciembre 04, 2003

[ jue dic 04, 01:52:38 PM | Randy Karssemakers | edit ]
Hi Graham,

Question: why is it not possible to post pictures on the blogger together with your assignment? I tried it several times but is doesn´t work.

Randy
[ jue dic 04, 01:50:29 PM | Randy Karssemakers | edit ]
Assignment 3: The Montjuïc Castle



Barcelona has got several places where you can enjoy of splendid views of the city and where beautiful observation posts are situated. After the observation post on top of the Tibidabo mountain my favourite spot is located on the roof of the Montjuïc Castle. Especially by night you have a marvelous view of the city with all the lights on one side. On the other side of the Castle you can see the coastline and the sea and when you go there around the sunsetting and the sky is clear you might see magnificant colourful sights.
Inside the castle there is the Military Museum. That is only for those who are interested in history, weapons, waging war and army stuff. You can admire big tanks, all sorts of guns, flags, swords and other military requierments. It will cost you 1 euro at the entrance and than you have acces to the whole castle included the museum. But the mean reason of my visit was the attendence of the nice views. Be aware that the castle is closing at seven!
The Montjuïc Castle is also a place of historical importance and a location with beautiful green surroundings and splendid views that it is a must for you when to go there when you are staying in Barcelona for a while. As a said the castle has got a great history. During your stay you can listen to descriptions and important information about the castle and its past. You can choose if you want to hear the explanations in Catalan, Spanish, Italian, English, French, German and last but not least in Dutch! We pushed on the ?Dutch? button and a nice friendly Dutch voice told us that Philip V was one of the most important Kings who lived there and the castle has been very important in many wars in the past. Even the troops of Napoleon occupied one day the castle and turned it into a prison. After several restorations the castle nowadays has the function of one of the biggest tourist attractions of Montjuïc.

Written by Randy Karssemakers

[ jue dic 04, 01:32:51 PM | Randy Karssemakers | edit ]
Assignment 2: What makes Catalunya different than the rest of Spain

Without any doubts the period of the Francodictatorship has left his traces behind. The Catalan people had to deal with the fact that they weren´t aloud to talk, write or publish in Catalan, to celebrate the Catalan holidays and preserve their Catalan traditions. It´s still very obvious that it effected the Catalan people. Nowadays they are aloud the live their Catalan way of life and most of the Catalan want to show that to the outside world. According to my sources and my own perceptions and interpretations, the Catalan are a very nationalistic nation, more than the Spanish wile the Catalan are saying that it is the other way around. Catalan people are hard workers, a lot of people say. I´m following a course in Catalan with almost only Catalan people and they were all sharing this opinion. We work harder, we are more ambitious and we are more aware of the situation where we are living in and the possibilities in life we have. And we have to take them and make the best of it because we know how it is to be retsricted.
Besides that you can say that Spanish people are more open to other people, more open minded and friendly and helpful than the Catalan. Next to that off course the language is different and it seems that Catalan people are more economical with money.
But?in the end I have to mention that these are stereotypes and prejudices said by Catalan or Spanish about Catalan people and Spanish people. Anyway, every person is different but it´s defenitely true that there exist a few clear differences between the Catalan nation and the Spanish nation.

Written by Randy Karssemakers

[ jue dic 04, 01:32:21 PM | Randy Karssemakers | edit ]
Assignment 1

My story is about Vall de Nuria. A beautiful picturesque little village in the Spanish Pyrenees. I went there one day with by buddy Jop and we really had a great time.
The Vall de Núria, on the southern slopes of the western Pyrenees of Catalonia, in the municipality of Queralbs, constitutes the highest and most mountainous part of the Ribes Valley. It is surrounded by an imposing circle of crests, mountain passes and peaks, all of them close to 3,000 metres altitude. The highest point is Puigmal, at 2,913 metres.

When we left Nuria in the morning, after having pizza as breakfast, the whole village was covered under a blanket of clouds and only two hours later we reached the top of the Puigmal. The weather at the top was fortunetely much better than down in the village and the views were amazing. There were several little windscreens built of rocks where we could relax and enjoy of the sun. There we were, at almost 3.000 meters high, sitting in the sun with no top on. After a we made a few pictures and ate some mueslibars to get some energy again (because the last part was very thug) we returned back to the Nuria.

Some recommendations:
· There is a special train going to Nuria if you don´t like to walk but just want to enjoy the amazing views at the top. But it´s very expensive.
· To find a comfortable place to sleep in Nuria is not very easy if you´re a poor student. There are tree posssibilities. One, the hotel, will cost you 40 euros a night. Two, the youth hostel, but it wasn´t open when we visited Nuria. Tree, network around, talk to some locals and ask if you can sleep at their place. That´s the way we did it.

Written by Randy Karssemakers



When we left Nuria in the morning, after having pizza as breakfast, the whole village was covered under a blanket of clouds and only two hours later we reached the top of the Puigmal. The weather at the top was fortunetely much better than down in the village and the views were amazing. There were several little windscreens built of rocks where we could relax and enjoy of the sun. There we were, at almost 3.000 meters high, sitting in the sun with no top on. After a we made a few pictures and ate some mueslibars to get some energy again (because the last part was very thug) we returned back to the Nuria.
Some recommendations:
· There is a special train going to Nuria if you don´t like to walk but just want to enjoy the amazing views at the top. But it´s very expensive.
· To find a comfortable place to sleep in Nuria is not very easy if you´re a poor student. There are tree posssibilities. One, the hotel, will cost you 40 euros a night. Two, the youth hostel, but it wasn´t open when we visited Nuria. Tree, network around, talk to some locals and ask if you can sleep at their place. That´s the way we did it.

Written by Randy Karssemakers

posted by Anónimo  [2:23 p. m.]

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