"Birthplace of Catalunya" a Ripoll Travel Page by mikey_e

Running low on pictures and tips, I decided to return to my early posts and rework them a bit. Ripoll was clearly in need of some sprucing up, given its near total lack of content. I've decided to make this page my "Ripollès" rather than Ripoll page, since VT doesn't recognize the other town I visited near Ripoll (Ribes de Freser) nor does it recognize the entire region of Catalunya where the two towns can be found. I spent one night in the region, in Ribes de Freser, but the close proximity of the two towns, and the fact that neither was packed with historic sites and museums, made it easy to visit both thoroughly in two days. I wanted to see this region (after visiting Puigcerdà, farther north, twice), and the end of February was the perfect time, as one of my flatmates was having her 4th of 9 going away parties, and I wasn't quite in the mood for an apartment full of screaming Italian expats.

Ripollès is the perfect antidote to anyone who feels like they've had too much of the hustle and bustle of Barcelona, but doesn't want to spend time at an overpriced and very touristy ski resort. Ribes de Freser is the end stop on the Cremallera railway (which goes to Vall de Núria, the ski resort) but it is hardly a touristy spot. Ripoll, which has no connections to the ski resorts except by the Rodalies line, is very solidly a normal market town, free of the kitsch and annoyance of tourist traps and hawkers. In both places I found what I was looking for: a few old churches and (in Ripoll) the tomb of the founder of the Catalan nation, and lots and lots of wide open spaces with breathtaking mountain views to hike and amble through. The weather was a bit chilly, but it was still perfect weather for discovering the mountain paths, farm lanes and castle ruins of the two towns.

Of course, the two towns wouldn't have been of great interest to me if I couldn't find some linguistic or political reason for visiting them. Part of the legacy of having the tombs of the counts of Barcelona and Raimond Berenguer IV is the staunch desire of the locals to preserve and encourage the use of Catalan as a means of daily communication. Everything here was listed in Catalan and official buildings often sported the Catalan flag only, with the Spanish one noticeably absent. These towns are on the tourist trail north, so you do find some pockets of immigrant traders and servers (mainly Latin American, but some Russian workers too), but large and wide everyone here uses Catalan and intends to continue. Stores feature local Catalan products (yogurt, produce, breads, liqueurs) and there are even a few odd protest goods - like alterni-cola, the soft drink for Catalan nationalists angry with the Coca Cola Corporation.