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On emerging from the monastery, it occurred to us that the package tickets we’d bought included admission to a museum. We found the museum across from the station at which we’d been dropped off from the rack railway and went in.
The Museum
The Museum

We found an assortment of paintings, a few by well-known artists such as El Greco, Dalí, Picasso and Miró, and some interesting artifacts. Unfortunately, photography was not permitted, so I was only able to get this picture that I took by accident:
Clock Mechanism
Clock Mechanism

Also included in our package tickets was admission to two funiculars located near the museum. One of the funiculars goes up (the Sant Joan), and one goes down (the Santa Cova). We elected to try the Santa Cova funicular first.
Monastery from Funicular Station
Monastery from Funicular Station

We followed the signs and boarded, and were taken down to a trail which leads to the Santa Cova chapel.
Riding the Santa Cova
Riding the Santa Cova

The chapel is about a mile from the drop-off point, and there are some very nice views to be had from points along the trail.
Aeri de Montserrat
Aeri de Montserrat
View from Start of Trail
View from Start of Trail

Valley and Aeri de Montserrat Station
Valley and Aeri de Montserrat Station
Rocks and St. Michael's Cross
Rocks and St. Michael's Cross

St. Michael's Cross, Rocks and Valley
St. Michael's Cross, Rocks and Valley
Rocks and Monastery Building
Rocks and Monastery Building

Rocks
Rocks
Nella on Trail and Monastery Building
Nella on Trail and Monastery Building

Aeri de Montserrat
Aeri de Montserrat
Valley from Trail
Valley from Trail

Also along the trail are 15 sculptural groups dedicated to mysteries of the rosary (for non-Catholics such as myself, a rosary is a sort of beaded necklace thing with a specific arrangement of beads that helps one pray in a certain way, or such is my understanding; I’m not sure what’s mysterious about them - an expert, such as any Catholic, would be able to give you a better description). Some of these sculptural groups were executed by well-known Catalan artists (Gaudí worked on one, for instance).
The Presentation of Jesus
The Presentation of Jesus
Jesus at the Temple
Jesus at the Temple

Jesus in the Orchard of Getsemani
Jesus in the Orchard of Getsemani (1897, Matali and Campeny)
Trail and Rocks
Trail and Rocks

Crucifixion
Crucifixion (Cadafalch and Llimona)
Resurrection
Resurrection (1907, Gaudí, Llimona and Renart)

Resurrection
Resurrection (Gaudí, Llimona and Renart)
The Coming of the Holy Ghost
The Coming of the Holy Ghost

Iron Butterflies
Iron Butterflies
Coronation of the Virgin
Coronation of the Virgin (1906, Llucià)

After walking the trail we eventually arrived at the Santa Cova chapel, which is a chapel that was built around the cave in which the Virgin of Montserrat is said to have been found in the 9th Century. There has been a chapel here since around 1700, though the original was heavily damaged during the Napoleonic Wars and had to be rebuilt in 1859. Damage during and following a forest fire in 1994 led to its latest restoration, which was completed in 1997.
Santa Cova (Chapel of the Holy Grotto)
Santa Cova (Chapel of the Holy Grotto)

The cave of the Virgin is nicely presented, with a copy of the Virgin figure and effective lighting. There is a bank of candles in the room set aside for viewing of the cave.
Nella and Holy Grotto
Nella and Holy Grotto

Nella, Holy Grotto, Candles and Reliefs
Nella, Holy Grotto, Candles and Reliefs
Candles
Candles

A second room is used to display a peculiar collection of objects that have been left or sent in as offerings or expressions of gratitude, or maybe both, I’m not exactly sure. There are articles of clothing, motorcycle helmets, artificial limbs, photographs and rosaries, among other things.
Offerings at Chapel
Offerings at Chapel

The chapel also has a tiny but well-maintained courtyard or cloister.
Nella and Chapel Courtyard
Nella and Chapel Courtyard
Courtyard and Overhanging Rock
Courtyard and Overhanging Rock

Following our visit to the chapel, we retraced our steps back to the funicular and rode it back up to monastery level.
Annunciation at Base of Funicular
Annunciation at Base of Funicular

At this point we disembarked and boarded the other funicular, the Sant Joan, which took us up the mountain from the monastery. This trip ended on a ridge from which we could see what was on the other side of the mountain (more mountain, and a valley beyond). This also seemed to be a confluence of trails leading to other parts of the mountain. We were tempted to wander around a little, but it was getting late and we wanted to make sure we had rides back down the mountain, so we stayed close to the funicular station.
View from Pla de les Taràntules
View from Pla de les Taràntules
View from Pla de les Taràntules
View from Pla de les Taràntules

Trail and Nella at Funicular Station
Trail and Nella at Funicular Station
Bob
Bob

There was a small observation deck on top of the station from which we could see some picturesque rocks. We also had a birds-eye view of the monastery complex.
Group of Rocks
Group of Rocks
Nella and Group of Rocks with Sign
Nella and Group of Rocks with Sign

Bob and Rocks
Bob and Rocks

Rocks and Monastery from Above
Rocks and Monastery from Above
Monastery from Top of Funicular
Monastery from Top of Funicular

Eventually we re-boarded the funicular for the trip back down to the monastery.
Waiting for the Funicular
Waiting for the Funicular

From here we caught the rack railway back down to the valley train station.
Crossing a River
Crossing a River
Back in the Valley
Back in the Valley

The regular train took us from here back to Barcelona, where we found some dinner and returned to the hotel. We rested up for the next day, not because we had a lot of things planned (though we had a few things in mind), but because the next day was to be our last in Europe for this trip, and we knew we would have to do any last-minute shopping and make preparations for our departure.