Brasilia
Monumentality and formidable buildings
We were looking forward to visiting the capital of Brazil because, due to our taste for architecture and history, it was a priority destination on our list of dreams to be fulfilled.
Already upon landing at the Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport, it was an announcement of what those days in the airplane-shaped city would be like. When it was designed, it was projected with the central avenue on the fuselage and the connecting routes on the wings. In fact it was through the tip of the south wing that the Uber took us directly to the hotel in front of the Burle Marx Garden in a trip of about fifteen minutes.
The accommodation had been chosen - very wisely - by Mr. @tripticity_.
The B Hotel Brasilia, located in the Monumental Axis, was designed by Isay Weinfeld, the world's leading Brazilian architect, honoring the architectural heritage of the city.
The friendly Tiago welcomed us and assigned us a room on the tenth floor with a view of the renovated Mané Garrincha stadium and, even better, facing west, which assured us an extraordinary postcard of the Brazilian sunsets, although the lively rooftop terrace ended up being the right place to enjoy them, while we savored some unbeatable aperol spritz with a tremendous setting. There, with the characteristic cobogó, the decorative technique that allows ventilation through walls with ornamental holes, the hotel's swimming pool is also located there, and at night the in-house DJ creates the ideal atmosphere for delight.
The first day we decided to take a guided tour to get a local perspective on its fascinating history. In short, in the fifties it was decided to build the new Brazilian capital in the central inland region, far from the Atlantic coast, realizing the pilot plan devised by Lúcio Costa, the main urban planner; Oscar Niemeyer, the main architect; Joaquim Cardozo in the structural calculations and Roberto Burle Marx as the great landscape designer.Four geniuses who materialized the city during Juscelino Kubitschek´s goverment.
The migratory flow required for its construction from scratch was called the candangos; architects, engineers, builders, workers and families who were the first inhabitants of the new capital, in fact, it is the current gentilicio -together with brasiliense- of those who were born and live in the city, as well as gaúcho regarding those born in the state of Rio Grande do Sul or carioca regarding those from Rio de Janeiro. In the square of the Three Powers, a monument called "Os Guerreiros", work of the artist Bruno Giorgi, honors these workers.
The city located in the savannah is the seat of the federal government, made up of the three branches of the republic (executive, legislative and judicial).
That first day we toured the Monumental Axis, and then headed to Lake Paranoá to get a panoramic view of the beautiful Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge. Then, we stopped at the Palácio da Alvorada, official residence of the President of the Republic, followed by another walk along the main avenue of the fuselage to the Juscelino Kubitschek memorial, as spectacular as the rest of the public buildings in the city.
We finished with a visit to the huge São João Bosco sanctuary, with its walls entirely composed of stained glass windows in shades of pink and purple. The sun was starting to go down, so the rays that illuminated the perfect square that makes up the church felt providential, like a great gift of destiny.
For sunset, we chose the hotel's tremendous rooftop to enjoy the sunset, one of the most impressive on that Brazilian plateau.
At night, our minimalist room, with designer furniture and soft sheets, guaranteed us absolute rest, after a shower with Trousseau amenities (the sophisticated Brazilian brand of bath products), to prepare us for the next day in which we were expected for a hard hike.
First, a great breakfast at the Térreo restaurant, with the delicious and very characteristic Brazilian queijo bread, fruits, juices, an unforgettable almond croissant and a strong and tasty local coffee, of course without sugar.
After the bacchanal, we took an Uber to the Oscar Niemeyer cultural center, to start the visit -at our own pace- of that open-air gallery that is the Monumental Axis.
We continued through the Espaço Oscar Niemeyer and the Pantheon of Homeland and Freedom, the impressive building that evokes a dove, the Tancredo Neves Memorial. Also in the Three Powers Square we visited the Cultural Center of the same name, the Historical Museum of Brasília and the Espaço Lucio Costa, which honors the creator of the city's aircraft design.
Also, on one side of the esplanade is the elegant Palacio do Planalto (the home of the federal government) and the building that houses the Court of Justice.
An uphill walk took us to the impressive Congresso Nacional, a work - like the rest of the monumental buildings - of Oscar Neimeyer's ingenuity, with two tall central buildings and the legislative chambers in the form of inverted half circles. There we decided to take the tour inside to continue to be dazzled by the design and art that resides there. It was Saturday so we were even able to enter the halls, but it was after a long line to register visitors.
Just across the street is another architectural highlight, the Itamaraty Palace.
From there we began a walk along the Esplanade of the Ministries to reach the Cathedral of Brasília and marvel at its elegant design. The Metropolitan Cathedral Nossa Senhora Aparecida is a building that seems to be from another planet. To tell the truth, the whole city seems extraterrestrial. Its figures, the profiles of its public buildings are absolutely fantastic.
We continue with a visit to the Republic National Museum, with its ovni shape and its cheerful entrance. Also across the street is the National Library of Brasilia Leonel de Moura Brizola. From there we took another Uber that drove us to the Planetarium of Brasilia, for a quick visit.
Our tour ended at the TV Tower, clearly inspired by the Parisian Eiffel Tower. We went up to its observation deck to get a remarkable view of the city, its modernist monuments and its unique urbanism.
And so, totally amazed by it, we returned to the hotel to honor another sunset from the top of the fantastic Bar 16, making as always new friends, this time the Paulistas Felipe and Marcela and the locals Mauricio and Carolina.
Then we went down to the Lobby Bar to taste their signature cocktails.
In the morning, a flight to São Paulo awaited us, to complete this cultural trip through the two Brazilian mega cities, but not before we had another feast of typical delicacies at breakfast offered by the B Hotel Brasilia.
And so, happy and full, we left very proud to have known the capital of our beloved Brazil.
