Trip Recap City #4: Bilbao (Another Top Choice)

Maybe Oviedo won the prize for best drive, but Bilbao earned "The Most Intriguing City" and "I Wish I Could Live Here" awards of the trip.

Settled on the Nervión River in steep ravines of Basque mountains, Bilbao is an industrial, modern, and historical city all in one (not to mention a bit artsy and "hip").  With its prominent iron factories, architectural government buildings, and terraced houses lining the river, I often had to stop and ask myself if I was Paris...or even Pittsburgh. (It sounds silly but I looked it up and they're official twin cities.  I half expected to see Heinz Stadium around every river bend.)

To add further confusion to my geographical orientation, a different flag and language (euskera) accented the streets and buildings.  Within the Basque region is a population of vascos who are proud of their province and seek independence from Spain.  In the historical center of the city, many bilingual street signs (in Spanish and euskera) had been defaced by vandals so that the Spanish was less legible.  Before visiting the Basque Country, I had always heard about the separatists efforts to preserve the Euskadi language.  However I was surprised that I hardly heard any euskera.  Maybe it was because I was surrounded by tourists or I wasn't there long enough.  But I had certainly expected to hear more on the streets.

We spent the day strolling through the historical casco where our hostel was located.  Later in the afternoon, thanks to recommendations from fellow blogger Liz who lives in Biblao, we visited other sights in the city.  We walked by the Guggenheim museum and toured the cultural center, the Alhóndiga, which is an older building with a modern interior that houses art, children's workshops, a cinema, gym, and more.  If you want to learn more about Bilbao, Liz knows much more about it than I do as she's spent two years living and teaching there.  Check out her blog, Liz en España.

flag of the Basque Country

a vandal's effort to revive the Euskadi langauge

the best menú del día I've had--12€ buys you two courses,
dessert, a bottle of water, and a bottle of wine

Alice in Wonderland themed hostel
"When Alice wakes up."

Guggenheim Museum

Alhóndiga

inside the Alhóndiga--pillars of various designs

finishing the night with cheese, chess, and wine

My advice to a guiri:  Make your way to Bilbao at some point.  And again, if you're a guiri just passing through, shave off a couple of days from any trip to Madrid and Barcelona to go up north.  There's plenty to do in this city.  And don't forget to check out Liz en España.