Bilbao: Buildings and scenery

What were my impressions of Bilbao? First, that one short, busy weekend was nowhere near enough time to see the city properly! And the city itself? It felt huge and sprawling after a few weeks in Villablino. When we left the train station to catch the metro there were lights and people and buses and cars everywhere well after 9pm. There were a lot of people on the metro. Even the fact that the city has a metro system was huge for me – I´d never been on one before. And my Australian tendency to keep left meant I got in the way sometimes!

The next morning, looking out of the kitchen window I noticed a huge building. My host came in as I took a photo of it and told me that it is a primary school. That the huge multi-storey building with no grass out the front was a school. When I commented on how huge I thought it was, she smiled and said the school she works at is even bigger. That really blew my mind!

We walked past the school, and there was a soccer game on the asphalt soccer field. I´ve never seen anyone play on anything but a grass soccer field before, but apparently it is the norm in Bilbao.

That afternoon (Saturday) my host went with us for a walk through Bilbao. This is the main chance I had to see the city, and I loved it. Bilbao is an old city, with some very old and very lovely buildings, like the cathedral, which is so tall, and so close to other buildings, that I couldn´t get the whole front of the building in a single photo. Then there are newer sections with a very modern vibe. And then there are some in-between sections which are a bit rough around the edges.

I took a lot of photos! It might have looked a bit strange, but I even took a photo of the footpath. Then again, it might not be that strange, as this particular shape is famous in Bilbao, a local symbol.

One thing I had expected, but was still pleased by, was that many signs were in Euskera, the local language, as well as in Spanish. And that Euskera was printed above the Spanish.

When we were leaving again, I took a photo of the stained glass window in the train station. I love stained glass windows, but this one is HUGE and beautiful. 

 

And then we were on the train, leaving Bilbao and El País Vasco (the Basque Country), but this was the first chance I had to glimpse the countryside, since it was very dark when we arrived. Beautiful green paddocks nestled between the arms of some stunning hills.

 

I really hope to get a chance to visit Bilbao again before I head back to Australia! There is so much I still want to see!