Quick access:

Go directly to content (Alt 1) Go directly to first-level navigation (Alt 2)
Claim Goethe Institut Claim Goethe Institut

Max Mueller Bhavan | India

For Everyday Heroes
 Barcelona

Alltagshelden In 2013, Calle Claus was a part of the ‘Comic Transfer’ programme organised by the Goethe-Institut and travelled from Hamburg to Barcelona. He felt most comfortable in the Catalonian capital when he was able to escape the hordes of tourists flooding the city.

 

Extracts from "Barcelona":

Calle Claus during his adventure in the Amfiteatro Barcelona Calle Claus during his adventure in the Amfiteatro | © Calle Claus

About the artist Calle Claus:

Calle Claus

Calle Claus, German cartoonist and text writer, illustrator and radio play author, also teaches at various universities and art schools as a lecturer for drawing, character design and storytelling.

Travelpedia: Barcelona

  • Sant Antoni Market, located near the metro station of the same name, is one of the most tradition-rich markets in Barcelona. During the week, the market is one of the best places in the city to buy fresh food, and on Sundays, it becomes a magnet for book lovers and fans of old postcards and nostalgic advertising posters. Over 100 stalls welcome visitors to browse around. © Calle Claus (Detail)
    Sant Antoni Market, located near the metro station of the same name, is one of the most tradition-rich markets in Barcelona. During the week, the market is one of the best places in the city to buy fresh food, and on Sundays, it becomes a magnet for book lovers and fans of old postcards and nostalgic advertising posters. Over 100 stalls welcome visitors to browse around.
  • It is both a bizarre and delightful hotspot that guards many macabre secrets: the spectacular Anatomical Amphitheater. This is housed in the neoclassical building of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Catalonia. It was used as a teaching facility for medical students in the 18th century and was intended to train surgeons. © Calle Claus (Detail)
    It is both a bizarre and delightful hotspot that guards many macabre secrets: the spectacular Anatomical Amphitheater. This is housed in the neoclassical building of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Catalonia. It was used as a teaching facility for medical students in the 18th century and was intended to train surgeons.
  • Camp Nou in Barcelona is Europe's largest soccer stadium (and the third largest in the world). A must-see for any soccer fan! Dedicated purely to soccer, it was inaugurated in 1957 and has been used by FC Barcelona as their home stadium ever since. 110,000 spectators can fit in the facility, and yet it is almost always fully booked. If you can't get tickets for a game, you should definitely book a tour. © Calle Claus (Detail)
    Camp Nou in Barcelona is Europe's largest soccer stadium (and the third largest in the world). A must-see for any soccer fan! Dedicated purely to soccer, it was inaugurated in 1957 and has been used by FC Barcelona as their home stadium ever since. 110,000 spectators can fit in the facility, and yet it is almost always fully booked. If you can't get tickets for a game, you should definitely book a tour.
  • FC Barcelona, or Barça for short, has significantly more supporters across Europe than its arch-enemy Real Madrid and is by far the club with the most fans. A total of 57.8 million. They are called Culers (Catalan cul = ass). The nickname comes from the time when Barça played its home games in the Camp del Carrer Indústria. There, they sat on a wall in the last row: passersby caught a glimpse of bottoms rowed together. © Calle Claus (Detail)
    FC Barcelona, or Barça for short, has significantly more supporters across Europe than its arch-enemy Real Madrid and is by far the club with the most fans. A total of 57.8 million. They are called Culers (Catalan cul = ass). The nickname comes from the time when Barça played its home games in the Camp del Carrer Indústria. There, they sat on a wall in the last row: passersby caught a glimpse of bottoms rowed together.
  • Sagrat Cor ( Sacred Heart), one of the highlights of any visit to Barcelona, is a church on the local mountain Tibidabo. The special features are the fantastic views and the 7.5 m high statue of Jesus on the dome. A Protestant church and a hotel complex with a casino were originally planned here at the end of the 19th century. Instead, the Catholic Knights bought the land, and had the basilica built on the model of Sacré-Cœurs. © Calle Claus (Detail)
    Sagrat Cor ( Sacred Heart), one of the highlights of any visit to Barcelona, is a church on the local mountain Tibidabo. The special features are the fantastic views and the 7.5 m high statue of Jesus on the dome. A Protestant church and a hotel complex with a casino were originally planned here at the end of the 19th century. Instead, the Catholic Knights bought the land, and had the basilica built on the model of Sacré-Cœurs.

Thomas Hummitzsch on "Barcelona"

However, when leafing through his short travelogues, it is something else that catches your eye. Almost as though, with each passing day, the city is becoming louder, more alien and unapproachable."

Review
 

More Comics for everyday heroes

Barbara Yelin: Kairo © Barbara Yelin (Detail)

"Travel Sketches from Kairo"

Barbara Yelin was there in 2011 when the people of Egypt chased out President Mubarak and spread hope for democratic reform from Tahrir Square to the entire Arab world. Eight years later, the consequences of the demonstrations are grim. This also alters the way her comic book is received.

Ulli Lust: Alltagsspionage © Ulli Lust (Detail)

"Alltagsspionage"

Born in Austria and a Berliner by choice, Ulli Lust in her early years was captivated by a Berlin in transition and went where people, oblivious of the place and the world, indulge in the purest of all desires.

Making friends in Bangalore | Traffic © Sebastian Lörscher (Detail)

"Making friends in Bangalore"

Sebastian Lörscher takes his readers on a colourful and exciting #Graphic Journey. With red-edged pages, beautifully creamy paper that brings out the colours well, and harmonious typography, the book is so well designed that the Stiftung Buchkunst chose it as one of the most beautiful books of 2014. But the content is also not disappointing.

More about Graphic Travelogues

Graphic Travelogues Graphik: Dominik Wendland © Goethe-Institut New Delhi

About the artists

Learn more about our well-known artists, including Barbara Yelin, Reinhard Kleist and Sarnath Banerjee. All with proven comic expertise and sometimes with more, sometimes with less travel experience in the respective country.
 

Graphic Travelogues Graphik: Dominik Wendland © Goethe-Institut New Delhi

About Graphic Travelogues

Graphic Travelogues presents travel experiences by comic artists from different countries, illuminates and identifies recurring topics. From sketches to graphic novels, graphic diaries and travel drawings, we collect treasures here and question concepts and motivations, techniques and experiences.

Top