Bilbao

Today was another day for sightseeing. I set off relatively early to avoid the afternoon heat.

First, I took the Funicular de Artxanda to the highest viewpoint in Bilbao. From there, you have a wonderful overview of the city. Porto impressed me much more, but looking back at Bilbao's history as an old industrial city centered around iron ore processing, the city has developed beautifully.

After the trip to the mountain, I headed to the old town, the cathedral, and just enjoyed a relaxed stroll through the alleys. What stands out in Spain are the lovingly detailed houses; finding this kind of charm in such abundance is rare in our area.

And when you look at the BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) building, you get a good impression of the power that these institutions had and still have, which is documented by their architecture.

Then it was time for the highlight of the day, the Guggenheim Museum. The building stands on the site where the foundry and blast furnace once operated. The structure designed by Frank Gehry is astounding; it’s incomprehensible how someone could come up with such a design. A thousand angles and edges, always revealing new perspectives, all while the entire building is bathed in light.

The exhibitions themselves (one floor was closed) were mostly not my thing, except for the pop art section featuring works by Warhol, Koons, Liechtenstein, and others. But that’s okay. It was definitely worth a visit!