Bilbao, Spain

Sunday April 28, 2013 Bilbao, Spain

We sailed overnight last night with only a gentle rocking motion, and we slept well.  This morning we had a lecture on Spanish Wars in Art with an emphasis on Goya and Picasso which was just wonderful, and was a great prelude to the temporary exhibit at the Bilbao Guggenhiem.  At lunchtime we docked in Santander, a town we had visited many years ago when we were able to see the cave paintings at Altamira, something which is no longer open to the public.  We went by bus to Bilbao, about an hour’s ride.

We are now in Basque country, along the northeast coast of Spain, which incorporates three Spanish provinces as well as some part of France.  The Spaniards have recognized the Basque language as a valid (and legal) part of Spain, and have granted the three Basque provinces substantial autonomy.  We were told that 94% of the taxes collected here stay here and only 6% go to Madrid.  The aggressive (and sometimes murderous) Basque separatist movement is now somewhat mollified by the actions of the central government and have become somewhat quiescent.  As a result of some pretty competent planning, the old grimy town of Bilbao has been rebuilt over the last 20 years, and a centerpiece of that rebuilding was the partnership with the Guggenheim Museum which led to the creation of the Frank Gehry masterpiece building which houses it.  Currently Bilbao and the Basques are doing quite well with an unemployment rate of “only” 15%, while all of Spain is at 25%!

Bilbao is now a lovely city!  The streets of the old city have been turned into pedestrian only walkways:

And valuable old buildings have been reconstructed or rehabbed.  Here is the train station:

The centerpiece for a tourist is, of course, the museum, built on a river.  Here’s a photo from across the river:

The skin is titanium which has a silvery color of its own and reflects colors around it:

There was a competition to incorporate the bridge over the river into the view of the building, and it has been done very successfully with a sort of sculpture over the bridge truss:

Some of the art is outdoor sculpture:

The interior is spectacular.  No words or photos can do it justice; it has to be experienced:

Photos are not allowed in the galleries, but they are wonderful.  The temporary exhibit is on war, as depicted in painting, and on painting as influenced by being done in wartime.  It is wonderful, but we had limited time to see it after gawking at the building on our tour.

We’re well, finally pretty well rested, overfed, and looking forward to the visit tomorrow to Belle Ile, France.