Day 45 – Bilbao (3 of 3)

Todays wine tour plan fell thru so I took in the Balboa Museum of Fine Arts instead.  This turned out to be a great alternative. It included a special collection of el Greco and other 16th century works vividly and disturbingly depicting religious themes.  

Their was also a 40 minute video called “Different Trains”.  The music was composed by Steve Reich and was performed by the Kronos Quartet.  Video snippets were assembled by Beatriz Caravaggio.  The video reflected on trains from NYC to LA in 1939-42 comparing them with trains from Austria to Poland carrying Jews in cattle cars during those same years.  

Steve Reich escaped that fate thanks to the last minute intervention by his gradeschool teacher.  Years later he wrote this music to address his memories of the time.

Then I spent some time wandering through the outdoor exhibits of the Bilbao Maritime Museum.

Bilbao is an incredibly walkable city.   They have at least two bridges across the river Nervión that offer 30′ wide walkways. One of them is pictured below.

The covered space above has two marked lanes for bikes and the rest is for walkers.  Cars are outside of this protected area. 

Find-of-the-day is the best Starbucks barista in all of Bilbao, his name is Ugiatz. 

Ok, Ugiatz was the only barista at the time in the only Starbucks in Bilbao.  But he draws one fine tall no-whip mocha and speaks near perfect English with a crisp Basque accent.  In a land of tabernas that sell espresso along side of the beer taps, this Starbucks is a breath of fresh air.  
Tomorrow’s plans are still fluid but they will probably involve a bus ride to Gernika-Lumo or beyond.
Buen Camino,

– jgp