2019 Euro Trip – Bilbao, Spain
Next up is Bilbao, Spain. Home of the Guggenheim Art Museum, and the heart and soul of the Basque country. Founded in the 14th century, it became the largest city in northern Spain due to its port and industrial development. Today it has evolved into a home of art, architecture, food and scenery, and was chosen the Best European City for 2018.
Travelling to Bilbao is a challenge as there is no direct train connection along the coast from San Sebastian, so we had to go 2 hours southwest to Miranda, then 2 hours north. In contrast to most train stations in France and Spain with great shops and restaurants, the “cafeteria” in the Miranda train station was closed, with a sign pointing to a mostly empty vending machine. Good think I brought snacks. We were the only people in the station, except two bored looking ticket salesmen and two station attendants. They did a good job unloading a little old lady with a special scissor lift designed for wheelchairs coming in and out of the trains.
We arrived in Bilbao and came out of the station, bumped our way across the river and found the hotel, Petit Palace Arana. It’s a gorgeous old building adjacent to the river and in the middle of the old town, just the way we like it. We head upstairs for a nap, then walked around for the afternoon and evening. Lots of bars and cafes but far fewer pintxos shops than our previous towns.
Up and out the door early the next morning, walked around the bend in the river to the Guggenheim Museum. Now, the Guggenheim building is a piece of art itself, designed by Frank Geary about 20 years ago. Not a single straight or level surface inside or out in the whole building, and the outside is covered in titanium plates that look like fish scales to me. Outside there are artworks including a giant spider, a decorated arch in the bridge across the river, giant flower bulbs in shiny metallic colors, a fog that swirls over the pond in front of the entrance, and a giant sculpture called Puppy that is covered in flowers but during our visit it was surrounded by scaffolding getting a fresh set of spring flowers. The ticket price is quite reasonable at â¬13. They gave me an audio guide headset but the number for the exhibit area and the corresponding audio track don’t line up in any way. Ugh.
Now, I’ll admit here that I just don’t get most Modern Art. Jim does, and he knows a lot about the history of the artists and their works so he was my tour guide. I “get” paintings of fields and people, it’s about the artist’s skill to reproduce a scene with color, light and shadow and a little artistic license. But Modern Art – wow. Pretty much anything goes, and I have a hard time calling things “art” when a kindergartner with a crayon could do about the same work. So, take my comments with a grain of art-cretin salt.
Coincidentally I had just randomly picked and started re-reading the Dan Brown novel “Origin” on the train as we traveled toward Bilbao. The plot opens with a presentation at the Guggenheim in Bilbao, and I linked several scenes in the book with locations or artwork inside the museum.
First up was a series of massive steel walls by Richard Serra. Great scale, but my engineering mind ignored the art aspect of it and went to the questions of how the sheets of steel were formed, cut, rolled to the right compound curves, transported to the museum and then installed in the space. To me that’s a bigger accomplishment than the art itself.
Next was a film showing a yellow backhoe with a large bell mounted to the bucket, demolishing a disused office space. I’ve seen better demolition videos on YouTube.
Next was Jenny Holzer, with an extensive set of text snippets on the walls. Some aphorisms, some jokes, but mostly commentary on the US wars, CIA torture, the Mueller Report. I “got” this and respect it.
Next were about 40 paintings of the same set of pots and fruit in still life. Ugh. Then some old masters paintings that I had heard of the artist, like El Greco.
Near the end I spotted a large, wide array of what looked like giant rubber stamps of Marilyn Monroe’s head in primary colors, reminded me of something Andy Warhol would do. I remarked to Jim, “Hey that guy is trying to rip off Andy Warhol.” I walked over and looked at the marker, it was an Andy Warhol, a real one. Points to me!
We wrapped up with a beer and snack at the cafe. All in all, the Guggenheim is something you should experience. You may get more or less out of it than I did, but you’ll always remember the visit.
Then we jumped on the doubledecker tour bus around the city so we could scout out locations that we wanted to see later. As with every town we’ve been to on this trip, the architecture is wonderful, the many green spaces are full of grass and trees, the city is laid out well for pedestrians and bikes and electric trams and buses, and cars stop for crosswalks and it’s just so very… civilized. Coming from years in Thailand, it’s a very refreshing change. The sky is bright blue, the wind is blowing gently and the temperature is perfect for walking and seeing the sights. We’re constantly commenting to each other how amazing everything on this trip. Food, wine, beer, climate, architecture, parks, public art, street musicians, rivers and oceans, transportation, everything is clean and has a certain orderliness that I really miss.
Back to the room for a well deserved nap, then walked through the old town. Neither of us were hungry so we had a few drinks around the town in different cozy bars and tables in squares in front of 500 year old churches.
Next up is a side trip with a long walk to a place full of magic.
