San José – a city between tradition and globalization

Amongst all the adventure experiences here in Costa Rica, I also want to increase my cultural knowledge about the country. Therefore Serendipity Adventures gave me the opportunity to make a trip to the capital San José.

For me, it was a very exciting experience because San José is an interesting city that is hard to categorize. On the one hand, San José tries to be like a huge modern capital with the high number of international restaurants, shops and all the different sightseeing offers. On the other one, the city still has got the typical Latin-American flair. The many different street sellers, who offer fruits, clothes or souvenirs, are a good example. 

The first part of my trip was a visit of the National Stadium. This multi-functional arena hosts all the games of the Costa Rican soccer team. Additionally, it hosts concerts and other big events like the presidential inauguration a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, a big fence covers the stadium so that I was not able to come really close to the arena. Nevertheless, the whole construct is a very impressive view for someone who loves to play soccer and to be in big stadiums. 

After this, I made a walk back to the center of San José. This is another fact I like about this city. Its center is not too big, so you can reach each important point by foot. 

The National Museum was the next part on my agenda. There were no guided tours this day, so I had to discover the museum on my own. But this had also benefits. So I could spend much time in the sector that attracted me most, the newer history of the country. Costa Rica is very proud of its stable democracy and the whole history of its development is shown in a very modern part of the museum. Newspaper articles, short video sequences and real historic artifacts make the history understandable.

After two hours in the museum and a short break for lunch, I visited the last part of my agenda. This was the National Theatre of Costa Rica. Built in 1891, it is now one of the finest historic buildings in the capital. The old building is equipped with a very cozy and modern interior. It is a great place for a nice theatre evening. 

Nearly two further hours later, my day in the capital was over. Typical for a city trip, it was quite exhausting because I did the whole exploration by foot. Nevertheless, it was a great and interesting tour. Now I know much more about the history and culture of this exciting country.