Semana Santa Part 3: Bilbao

At the rate I’m going, I’m probably going to end up blogging a lot once I get back to the US! I have so many trips to write about, not to mention other random topics that I feel are worth discussing. We’ll see!

Next week will be the last week of University classes, and then the following week I have all of my final exams! eek! At this point, I’m excited to go home, but there’s a lot that has to get done between now and then, so I’m a bit frazzled. But I’m trying to enjoy what time I have left here!

So, back to Semana Santa! After exploring San Sebastián, I took the bus to another city in Basque Country: Bilbao. Bilbao is the largest city in Basque Country and one of the largest cites in Spain. Of the four cities I visited during Semana Santa, this was probably my favorite. I just really enjoyed the overall environment of Bilbao. Before going, I had heard that Bilbao was a bit “industrial”, which I think is true (especially compared to cities I’ve visited in Andalucía), but I don’t think that took away from the character or appeal of the city as a whole. Bilbao reminded me a lot of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest of the United States, which is an environment I really like. (My family took a trip to Seattle and Vancouver last summer.)

I arrived at the bus station in Bilbao and then took the metro to get to my hostel. This was the first time I had ever had to navigate a metro/subway system on my own, but it all worked out fine and I was proud of myself for not getting too mixed up! The hostel I stayed at was Ganbara Hostel. I think it was probably the largest hostel I’ve ever stayed in. I think it might be part of a chain, so things were very organized. It reminded me of a hotel, except you were sharing rooms with strangers instead of having the place to yourself! They had nice lounges on each floor, so I got to meet people, including some American girls who were studying in Granada, and a girl from South Korea who is studying in Germany. The South Korean girl and I ended up running into each other the next day and did a bit of sightseeing and had lunch together! It’s a small world!

I got up early Wednesday morning and checked out of the hostel (thank goodness for luggage storage!), had breakfast (the hostel’s included breakfast was amazing!), and then started exploring. I quickly realized how hilly Bilbao is! My hostel was located near the old town, and I wanted to make my way up to see the Basilica de Begoña and the Parque Etxebarria. On the map, this looked like a quick walk, but in reality, these sights were very far up the hill! Luckily, Bilbao has lots of staircases you can use (and even the occasional public elevator and escalator!). The park provided some great early morning views of the city.

Got out of the metro and saw this! I had almost forgotten it was Semana Santa, haha.

I climbed back down tons of stairs to get back to the old town, where I stopped by several sights, including the Plaza Nueva, the Iglesia San Nicolas, the Catedral de Santiago, the Iglesia de los Santos Juanes, the Mercado de la Ribera, the Iglesia de San Anton, the Bilborock, the Teatro Arriaga, and the Estación Abando.

Probably my favorite area was along the river, the Ría Bilbao, part of the Estuary of Bilbao. The river is very important to Bilbao’s economy, as the Port of Bilbao is one of the top five ports in Spain. There are a lot of beautiful buildings and bridges along the river, as well, making it a great place to walk around and explore.

I crossed the river into the main part of the downtown area. I visited the Plaza Circular, the Iglesia de San Francisco, the Plaza de Zabálburu, the Alhóndiga, the Diputación Foral, the Plaza de Federico Moyúa, the area around the Museo de Bellas Artes, the Parque de Doña Casilda Iturrizar, the Palacio de Congresos y de la Musica Euskalduna de Bilbao, the Plaza del Sagrado Corazón, the Puente Euskalduna, the Museo Marítimo Ría de Bilbao, the Paseo Abandoibarra, and the Puente Pedro Arrupe.

All of this was leading up to the thing I was most excited to do: visit the Museo Guggenheim. This was another site I had studied in various Spanish classes over the years and was really anxious to see in-person. The Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao was inaugurated in 1997 as a museum of modern and contemporary art. It is part of the Guggenheim Foundation, which operates several art museums around the world, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. The Museo Guggenheim in Bilbao is noteworthy because of its architecture alone. Architect Frank Gehry designed the building, and it’s considered to be one of the most significant architectural works in the world. The museum displays selections from its permanent collection, but the temporary exhibits often draw the most visitors. The Museum put Bilbao on the map as more than an industrial port city, and draws millions of visitors each year.

I really enjoyed the architecture of the museum inside and out. It’s a very unique space that’s unlike any building I’ve seen before. Additionally, outside the building there are a number of sculptures that are part of the museum’s permanent collection, including Puppy by Jeff Koons, a giant dog that seems to be made out of flowers!

Inside the museum, there are some permanent pieces that are very “site-specific”, and are intended to enhance or draw from the museum’s architectural design. One example that I enjoyed was The Matter of Time by Richard Serra. In a large gallery, there are several giant metal structures arranged in circles and spirals that visitors are allowed to walk through and explore. (No pictures were allowed inside, so these are from the Guggenheim’s website.)

Also part of the permanent collection are three pieces by José Manuel Ballester from his series Espacios ocultos (“Hidden Spaces“). Ballester took famous works of art and photo edited them so that all of the people were missing from the scenes! The works on display were modifications of Francisco de Goya’s El 3 de mayo, Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas, and Théodore Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa (Le radeau de la Méduse). I found these pieces fascinating, since these iconic works are almost unrecognizable without their subjects. One of the main themes is the idea of loss. (“You don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone.”) The audio tour (which was free! woo!) used the phrase “disquieting absences”, and I think that describes the feeling evoked by these works perfectly. (Again, no photography allowed, so these pictures are from the museum’s website.)

The temporary exhibits that were on display when I visited were amazing! The first was a series by Ernesto Neto called El cuerpo que me lleva (The Body that Carries Me.) The series is meant to be explored, experienced, and even smelled by visitors! He created a number of works inspired by the human body or by sensory experiences. There are pieces you’re intended to sit on, lay down on and look at from below, smell, touch, etc. It was very unique! I had actually “experienced” one of his works before at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, so it was great to see so much of his work in one place! (Again, not my photos!)

Here’s a video that talks a bit about the exhibit (It’s in Spanish, but only-English-speakers can still get an idea of the environment/feel of the museum:)

The other temporary exhibition was called Yoko Ono. Half-a-Wind Show. Retrospective. This displayed hundreds of works by Yoko Ono, many of which were also interactive sculptures! There were also videos and photographs, so altogether it was very well-rounded exhibition. I believe there are even going to be some events where the artist herself will visit and create some performance pieces. (Again, not my photos!)

Overall, the Guggenheim was the best part of my experience in Bilbao. It lived up to the hype, and was well-worth the wait!

After the museum, I continued walking around the town. I walked to the Zubizuri, which is Basque for “White Bridge”, where I ran into the South Korean girl I had met at the hostel! We ended up taking the Funicular de Artxanda up one of the mountains so we could get some amazing views of Bilbao. It was beautiful! After that, we had lunch and relaxed a bit before she had to go to the bus station.

I still had a bit more time, so I went along the river to the Iglesia San Vicente, the Ayuntamiento, and finally to the Euskal Museoa/Museo Vasco (the Basque Museum!). The museum was small, but provided some great insight into the Basque heritage and culture. I really respect how Bilbao makes an effort to remain connected to its Basque roots. All of the signage in Bilbao is listed in Basque and Spanish, and people seem to be very proud of this part of their history. I found it to be really interesting, since this really highlighted how different this part of Spain is from the south. They have an entirely different language, lifestyle, history, and culture, and that’s reflected in the modern society.

After enjoying the museum, I went back to the hostel to freshen up and charge my phone before heading to the bus station to go to Oviedo! More on that in my next post!