Bilbao

I had decided to do the crazy thing – to wake up at 4.30 am in order to catch the 7 am flight to Bilbao and return to Madrid by midnight on the same day. The purpose? To visit Museo Guggenheim Bilbao.

Bilbao has developed as a maritime centre front the 14th century. As a tourist destination, I think Bilbao has lots more to offer besides Museo Guggenheim Bilbao. In terms of modern architecture, it has Euskalduna Jauregia Bilbao (Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall), Puente Euskalduna (Euskalduna Bridge) and Bilbao Airport. In terms of nature, it is a convenient base to, amongst others, Parque Natural de Gorbeia and Parque Natural de Urkiola. The streets of Bilbao city centre is clean and lined with trees and the weather in May is great. It feels safe too. Sadly, Museo Guggenheim Bilbao is still the draw for most people (including me). I took about 650 photographs during the 1 week in Madrid and about 500 photographs in just 1 day in Bilbao. I wish I could have spent more time in Bilbao. (For the 100^th time, I wonder why I do not have enough time.) 

As one enters the city on bus, the first things that catch one's eye would have been the world renowned Museo Guggenheim Bilbao and Maman created by Frank Gehry and Louise Bourgeois respectively. 

I took the airport bus to the main bus station, got a city map from the station control and walked towards Museo Guggenheim Bilbao (since I had plenty of time before the Guggenheim opened anyway). Along the way, I would pass by note worthy Euskalduna Jauregia Bilbao and Puente Euskalduna. 

Euskalduna Jauregia Bilbao's architects are Federico Soriano and Dolores Palacios and the building was meant to resemble a ship for nostalgic reason. It received the 2001 Enric Miralles award at the 6^th Biennial of Spanish Architecture. (source: Euskalduna Jauregia Bilbao) While it was not a stunner like Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, the "ship and sail" design looked good. I am quite curious to know how, with so many corners, the interior space would be utilised.

Engineer Javier Manterola conceived Puente Euskalduna, a curved metal bridge for both motor vehicles and pedestrians. The bridge, which was completed in 1997, is 250m long and 27m wide, with a 45m high illumination tower. (source: http://www.bilbaointernational.com/en/bilbao-and-its-bridges/)

After a pleasant stroll through Parque de Dña, I soon came face to face with Jeff Koons' 'Puppy', a 12m high floral installation, in front of the museum. Koons' stainless steel 'Tulips' sculpture could also be found at the back of the museum. (Somehow, I still like the combination of the 2, the 'Balloon Dog', better.)

Frank Gehry's Museo Guggenheim Bilbao has been anaylsed to death and I really have nothing to add. If I were to nitpick – the bathrooms were really so not in sync with the lines of the rest of the building. I did not imagine that I would love the building but I really enjoyed examining its nooks and corners at every turn. It was totally interactive. 

The curator for Museo Guggenheim Bilbao was fortunate in the sense that some of the art installations were created specially for the museum and these artists had the opportunity to explore the museum while it was being built. This produced one of my favourite installations by Jenny Holzer:

“Installation for Bilbao — nine vertical L.E.D. signboards, each more than 40 feet high — transmit aphorisms in Basque, Spanish, and English. Developed over time, the texts were first written for an AIDS fund-raising event. While consideration of the epidemic provides an immediate and tragic context, these writings—such as 'I say your name' and 'I save your clothes' — evoke universal themes of intimacy, death, and loss." (source: http://www.guggenheim.org). 

I like it how her rigid signboards contrast against the curvy walls of the museum. It is an interactive art installation – visitors can walk through it and view the installation from the other side. When I was visiting, school children were lying on the floor, reading the messages and listening to their teachers. Isn't it a great way to learn?

Museo Guggenheim Bilbao was conceived when the iron and steel industry in Bilbao went downhill (I think partly to boost the economy). Now, the whole city seems to gravitate towards Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, with people sitting in the park next to the museum or along the river, rowing on the river... 

The final place to visit in Bilbao was of course La Paloma (The Dove), the Bilbao International Airport designed Santiago Calatrava, who seemed to favour "wings" in his architecture. While the airport looked great from the outside and in the public area, some valuable space had been sacrificed for the "wings" effect, resulting in the waiting space after the check-in area slightly uncomfortable.