And off we go

2nd destination Bilbao

Originally we wanted to go to Puente la Reina in the Navarra region, but the Foreign Office warned against travelling there and we didn't want to risk any trouble or have to quarantine for 14 days, so we quickly changed our plans... In Puente la Reina, the Aragonese and Navarrese branches of the Camino de Santiago merge, and the common route crosses the Arga River via the bridge of the same name.

The Romanesque bridge over the Arga River was donated in the 11th century by Queen Doña Mayor, the wife of the King of Pamplona, Sancho el Mayor. In Puente la Reina, the two variants of the French Camino de Santiago merge. Well, we have already walked a small section of the Camino de Santiago, so it's not that tragic 😉

So now we'll spend 5 nights in Bilbao, which is not bad at all.....

Tourism used to avoid the "Spanish Ruhr area" for a long time. Today, a different picture presents itself: Bilbao has become a tourist attraction for the entire Basque Country with the opening of the Guggenheim Museum.... Bilbao, or Bilbo in Basque, is 14 km away from the Cantabrian Sea and the port at the mouth of the Nervion River estuary. The port and industry still play an important role for the city. Bilbainos call their city El bocho, the bottleneck, referring to its tight location in the Nervion River valley. The city now has 399,000 inhabitants, making Bilbao one of the most densely populated cities in Spain with 83,000 inhabitants per square kilometer.... but it doesn't feel that way to us, but it's possible that many Bilbainos (funny word, the bus here is called Bilbobus...:-)) are also on vacation, as it is also summer vacation here...

Arrival in Bilbao, a big city ... I'm excited, it reminds me a little of Barcelona, beautiful avenues with star-shaped squares, great shops, wide sidewalks, large buildings of different architectural styles, and many small shops, bars... I'm excited, after checking in we'll go to the nearest beautiful park.... before that, we bought a jersey of Williams No. 9 from Bilbao's football club No. 1 for Marvin... and then just for Hoshi....everyone to the park ... we have ice cream and walk through the park for a while because we have to greet all the dogs. We want to eat typical Basque food and go to a restaurant... whoa, the prices are high, so we only eat something unknown and small, Marvin has something with veal sweetbreads, which are breaded mini balls, and Ingo actually ordered what he thought was a tuna steak, but it turned out to be mini pieces of tuna on tomatoes... mmmmh, everything else was not an option for us at 30€ per person just for a casual dinner... lesson learned. The drinks are relatively cheap compared to that, my wine is 1.80€ per glass... can't complain... we pay and continue towards the apartment and pass by many small bars and taverns, and it is actually true that people meet for a glass of wine/beer and only eat these small snacks, sometimes toasted or breaded delicacies that are placed on every counter, and going out to eat at a guesthouse is actually expensive and something special.... we're learning...

Another day of sleeping in 🙊 and after breakfast, we moved the car to the apartment's private underground parking for 16€ per day, instead of 18€ three streets away.... then we stroll towards the river... and to the Guggenheim Museum... Danist Puppy the flower dog .... we place Hoshi in the same position as the Puppy .... great picture... we bring joy to the group in front of the flower dog 😂.... The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has become a symbol of the new city of Bilbao. The museum is one of the most important cultural projects of the century. It was designed by American architect Frank O. Gehry and built on a 32,500 m2 site. The building is located on the banks of the Nervion River, 16 m lower than the height of the city of Bilbao. This river is crossed by the colossal La Salve Bridge, which is also one of the city's main entrances. It is 30 degrees but cloudy, we take a short break at a fun water fountain... we are delighted by the many wet and happy children, and of course, we join in the fun 😜... refreshed, we continue along the banks of the Nervion. The walk along Paseo de Uribitarte leads us to Zubizuri, a white bridge bearing the unmistakable stamp of architect Santiago Calatrava. Its floor consists of impressive glass tiles that make the walker feel like they are floating on water. From here, you have a good view of the Isozaki Towers, two skyscrapers connected by a walkway to the bridge. ...it thunders and lightnings and hails, we take shelter at a bus stop and wait, somewhat soaked we now embark on our boat trip towards the sea, almost 3 hours.... beautiful....we pass by Portugalete and Getxo, the two towns connected by the Puente de Vizcaya or Puente Colgante. The oldest transporter bridge in the world combines technology and aesthetics. The suspended ferry, inaugurated in 1893, still serves its purpose. Since 2006, it has been part of UNESCO's World Heritage.... The towns of Getxo and Portugalete are about 14 km north of Bilbao ... The sandy beaches and promenade stand out, but there is also a beautiful fishing district and many wonderful restaurants. On the other side of the suspension bridge, Portugalete has a compact medieval center and an interesting industrial museum, and the Gothic Basilica Santa María. Getxo on the other hand invites you to stroll through the villas, many boats, beautiful houses ... the Basques stroll here on weekends... The boat turns and we're heading back... a canoe is riding in the wake of the boat.... Arrival and it's raining again... we decide to eat at the tavern of the apartment....

Side note: Since August 11th, the Basque Country has also been declared a risk area... Well, we tried to avoid it, but... I don't understand it, for example, there were so few people at the Guggenheim Museum today and all of them were wearing masks, it is also strictly controlled, and here in the Basque Country, unlike the rest of Spain according to my travel guide, punctuality is not only important, but there are also no multi-generational households.... Anyway, we have been here in the beautiful Basque Country since August 4th and will continue our well-deserved vacation with our children as planned.... we are all healthy and will stay that way 😉

Today we're going to the old town and for some shopping..... well, the enthusiasm is divided 🤣 We pass by La Concordia Station, colloquially known as Santander Station, which is a terminal station in Bilbao and looks nice...

Bilbao is also the cultural and political center of the Basque Country. The significance of the city becomes apparent in the historic district, the old town, which we reach via another bridge... We enter the so-called "seven streets" (Las Siete Calles) ... The Seven Streets is also the center of the tastiest tapas bars in the city. Here, the Bilbainos indulge in their favorite pastime, txikiteo. In the company of their friends, the cuadrilla, they go from bar to bar. The local white wine, txakoli, is poured sparingly into simple drinking glasses, this is the only way to endure the constant change from bar to bar. With the wine, they indulge in one of the appetizing bites that temptingly pile up on the counters... we pass by the Arriaga antzokia in Basque or Teatro Arriaga in Spanish, it is an opera house in the neobaroque style, through beautiful alleys... We see a beautiful small church, the Cathedral of Santiago. The name of the church reminds us that Bilbao is a stop for pilgrims who have chosen the coastal route to Santiago de Compostela. Beautiful little square.... and there we see the Pilgrim sign on the street.... Hooray, another small section of the Camino de Santiago.

We arrive at the market hall Mercado de la Ribera (built in the shape of a ship in 1929), which unfortunately closes every day at 2:30 p.m., but there is still something to drink, Ingo gets us Sangria, very tasty and refreshing.... there are so many small delicacies, tapas, here called Pintxos.... mmmh... but Ingo wants something other than "sandwiches" for once... oh well, he's a philistine.... Marvin, Angelina, and I really enjoy these bites.... well, we want to make everyone happy, so we go to the next supermarket. They have a fresh fish counter with a nice saleswoman... we want tuna, and she tells us that the fish is from the local sea and a specialty, she cuts us 4 substantial steaks for 7.50€, a bargain (later I read that the Bonito del Norte, the so-called white tuna in the Bay of Biscay, when it arrives there from the Azores for spawning, is caught in traditional line fishing. It is considered the best tuna because its white meat is particularly tender and tasty, finer than that of the conventional yellowfin tuna) And it tastes delicious, really great quality.... full and happy, it's time to watch football again 😜

Today, we skipped breakfast and went to the market hall.... there were soooo many delicious Pintxos, and of course, we wanted to try as many as possible 😊 and we were not disappointed.... very tasty! Even Ingo really enjoyed the bites today..... with the leftover bread, we had to feed the fish in the river 🤪 and poor Hoshi had to be locked up the whole time because dogs were not allowed there....

Then we walk to the funicular railway: One way to see Bilbao and the Guggenheim Museum from above is from the Artxandra Mendia hill. An old cogwheel railway built by the Swiss company Von Rou in 1915 takes passengers 226m uphill from Plaza del Funicular in just 3 minutes. Took some nice photos of the beautiful, small city where you can reach everything on foot.... we adapt to the lifestyle and go for a nice drink.... Ingo smokes one of his cigars ..... then we go back by funicular railway, we get some ice cream because that's the only way to take off our masks besides smoking and drinking.... my chin is already sore, it's annoying.... Angelina was already reprimanded by a police officer today because she temporarily did not have her mask fully on... before, we wanted to do some shopping again, but after the 2nd store, we gave up when we realized that the fitting rooms were closed and we couldn't try anything on. That was still possible the day before.... mmmh stricter corona rules? Then no more shopping... Ingo is happy about it 😜 ... So we continue towards the apartment.... Today we'll eat there, after all, there's football on TV again 🤣🙈....

Football a constant companion...

So the last day in Bilbao, I already feel a little bit at home. I am slowly starting to understand the language (well, the gestures help 🤣) and the local mentality, I find the people here pleasant. Except for wearing masks all the time, nothing bothers me... We don't want to walk much today, as we're all a bit tired of walking.... but we'll make it to the stadium 😜.... At the World Architecture Festival 2015 in Singapore, the Estadio de San Mamés was awarded Best New Sports Building in the world. Since 2013, the Estadio San Mamés has been the home stadium of first division team Atlético Bilbao. The new stadium was built right next to the old one from 1913. The San Mamés is known as "La Catedral" by the fans, the atmosphere is supposed to be amazing. The uniqueness of the club lies in only using players who either come from the Basque provinces of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Álava, and Navarra (all Spain), Labourd, Soule, and Lower Navarre (all France) or were trained in the youth academy of a football club from these provinces. It costs 10€ to enter... We are asked which country we come from, when we answer Germany we immediately get a fever test, the Spaniards after us don't... 🤔🤔🤔... very interesting and beautiful film clips about the club and its uniqueness. I am also impressed. Jupp Heinckes used to be a coach here too.... The stadium tour only starts 2 hours later, too bad.... so we go back to the apartment, we still have anchovies waiting to be fried in the pan.... here, all the shops close at 12 o'clock and many people enjoy their free time in cafes and bars... drinking beer and wine and talking a lot... I read again on the internet, while the boys watch Dynamo, about new developments on the corona front, now the whole of Spain is a risk area, congratulations. Tomorrow we will continue to France, I'm curious how things will go from here, at least I have already found out that there is a test center at Dresden Airport when we return home, we don't want any trouble and want to avoid quarantine... I also read that Paris has now been declared a risk zone by France itself.... we wanted to go there too.... nothing is predictable anymore, it's just annoying... we try to make the best of it!