Somewhere in Europe #2: Bilbao, Spain

Bring your umbrellas and join me on my trip to Bilbao, a (wet) city in the north of Spain!

In all honesty, my only reason to visit Bilbao was to see the Guggenheim Museum with my own eyes. And the first thing that I did after checking in at the hotel was to check out the museum, with the camera in my hand.

Guggenheim

So yeah, it was dark, misty and wet. And the museum became a bit of a dark ghost ship next to the water of Bilbao. This was the moment during all my trips that I wished the most that I had a decent camera. Look how spooky that museum is!!

I just love almost all architecture by Gehry. It is weird and it is different. But in Bilbao, it is a piece of art within the city. And in many streets, you will be able to see parts of the curving metal cover of the museum.

When you walk around the museum, you will notice that the surrounding area is turned into an outdoor art gallery. The Maman spider sculpture is rather creepy with the fog machines creating some extra thriller effect to it.

During the day, it is a totally different view. The flower puppy in front is by the artist (Koons) who also created the colourful metal tulips on the other side of the museum.

Tulips by Koons

Eventually, I also had to see the inside of the museum. So I bought a ticket and saw many many paintings that I didn't really care about this time. I was mostly impressed by the interior of the museum and the rusty "The Matter of Time".

The dock area

West of the Guggenheim is the Maritime Museum located. I didn't visit this museum, but what I liked was that the whole area had the same dock theme behind it. Old and new were combined in one. It was clearly thought out and I have never seen a more intentional city planning before.

Modern lanterns on the water edge, fitting the dock theme

Don't know what this was, but it looked nice

Old town / Casco Viejo

The historic quarter of Bilbao city is located south-east of the Guggenheim. It is much more compact and charming than the newer quarters of Bilbao and that is not weird knowing it is an area that dates back to the 1400s.

As you can see in the photo below, the weather kept giving water and I was slightly fed up and looking for a tram to my hotel at this time. So I bet I missed a lot of lovely spots ;)

New town

Back to the new town, back to my hotel. Like I said before, there is a lot of intent in the city of Bilbao. You will notice a lot of symmetry in the buildings and streets and modern bridges.

Symmetrical flats

I was stuck in one spot for minutes to try and fit a skyscraper in the distance between 2 apartment blocks nearby. It wasn't really a challenge... It was all on purpose.

Moyua Square

When I got back to my hotel it was clear that I missed a lot that day. A huge crowd was standing in front of the building to see Real Madrid leave before their game against Athletic Bilbao. No way was I going to miss this moment. And so I grabbed my camera and waited. And was lucky to see Cristiano Ronaldo IRL.

And if you are lucky, you might run into Ronaldo

Also in this series:

• Somewhere in Europe #1: San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain

My Ireland series:

• Ireland & the back arse of nowhere #1: Aran Islands
• Ireland & the back arse of nowhere #2: Cliffs of Moher
• Ireland & the back arse of nowhere #3: Gap of Dunloe & Lakes of Killarney
• Ireland & the back arse of nowhere #4: County Donegal
• Ireland & the back arse of nowhere #5: Dingle Peninsula
• Ireland & the back arse of nowhere #6: Howth Cliff Walk

My California series:

• Exploring the Golden State #1: Northern Highway One, Avenue of the Giants, The Lost Coast, Eureka!
• Exploring the Golden State #2: Marin County