Wednesday, June 6 – Day 9 (Bilboa)
After two days in Spain, today we finally got a chance to get out and see the city we’d called home the previous two nights – Bilboa. The city is best known for the incredible Guggenheim Museum designed by architect, Frank O. Gehry (more on this later).
We started our day with a trip to the Puente Colgante, a transporter bridge dating back to 1893 and thought to be the world’s oldest. This picture shows Rich pointing to the bridge in the background…
We walked to the base of the bridge and bought tickets to ride the gondola to the other side for .30 cents euro each. However, the guidebook mentioned “the walkers’ view from the top is great.” Just as we finished our gondola ticket purchase one of the attendants approached us. Rich asked if it was still possible to go up and walk across the top. The attendant indicated in Spanish that indeed we could and showed us to the stairs that lead to the elevator. We started to climb the stairs, but the attendant abruptly stopped us and pointed us into the “gift shop.” The gift shop cashier informed us that it cost 4.00 eruos each to WALK across the top. We looked at each other in brief puzzlement (.30 cents to ride and 4.00 to walk – what a tourist scam), but then we figured what the heck. That was why we were there, right?
We took an elevator up to the top and stepped out onto the open air bridge. The elevator attendant (same guy from earlier) showed us how to call the elevator/attendant when we reached the other side and left us up there all alone! This picture shows the view from the top with Bilboa in the background…
Here, Rich is demonstrating the length and openness of the foot bridge…
When we reached the other side, we called the elevator, rode it down, and then took the gondola back to our original starting point. Here, you can see the gondola coming into the station behind me as we waited to ride it back over…
From the Puente Colgante, we headed to the Guggenheim Museum Bilboa. Here is Rich in front of the entrance to the museum…
We went inside the museum and explored the various galleries and exhibits, but to be honest I was more impressed with the building than any of the art inside. When you enter the museum, you are brought into an open atrium that is 55 meters high. This is the heart of the museum and all of the rooms on each floor emanate from the atrium. Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed in the museum, but Rich and I managed to sneak this shot upward in the atrium…
The Guggenheim Bilboa opened its doors to the public in 1997. The amazing structure is a combination of interconnected shapes constructed from limestone, titanium, and glass. All three are present in this picture of the museum terrace taken behind the building where the museum meets the river Nervión…
Gehry did a fantastic job of integrating the museum into the city of Bilboa. One of the city’s main highways runs right through the east tower of the building. You can see that to the left side of this photo…
The design of the building was inspired by the shapes of ships and fish - two of Bilboa’s traditional industries. The structure seems more like a huge sculpture, itself, than a building housing a modern art museum. I really can’t do it justice, you should check out the picture on the website to appreciate its true beauty - http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/ingles/edificio/el_edificio.htm
Rich and I first discovered the work of Frank Gehry during a day trip to Los Angeles about four years ago. We were walking through downtown and noticed this sparkling surface high on the horizon in the distance. None of the maps we had showed anything like what we saw looming before us, so our curiosity was peaked. We started to follow the building as it broke through the trees every block or two. Finally, we crested a hill and approached the structure immediately in front of us. The building turned out to be the Walt Disney Concert Hall (home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra). It had just been completed, and they were preparing for a Grand Opening Gala that very night!
Anyway, that evening I did some research on Frank Gehry. I had never heard of him, but I LOVED the architecture of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. In my research, I found that he designed the Guggenheim in Bilboa, and when Rich and I decided to visit Northern Spain, I told Rich we had to go see this museum. This is a view of the back of the museum looking over to the opposite bank of the river Nervión. Rich is listening to an audio guide about the design and building of the museum…
After the Guggenheim, it was over to the Casco Viejo or the “Old Quarter” for a quick bite to eat before catching our very first night train from Bilbao to Madrid – not quite the “luxury” one might expect from the “Hotel Train”…
After two days in Spain, today we finally got a chance to get out and see the city we’d called home the previous two nights – Bilboa. The city is best known for the incredible Guggenheim Museum designed by architect, Frank O. Gehry (more on this later).
We started our day with a trip to the Puente Colgante, a transporter bridge dating back to 1893 and thought to be the world’s oldest. This picture shows Rich pointing to the bridge in the background…
We walked to the base of the bridge and bought tickets to ride the gondola to the other side for .30 cents euro each. However, the guidebook mentioned “the walkers’ view from the top is great.” Just as we finished our gondola ticket purchase one of the attendants approached us. Rich asked if it was still possible to go up and walk across the top. The attendant indicated in Spanish that indeed we could and showed us to the stairs that lead to the elevator. We started to climb the stairs, but the attendant abruptly stopped us and pointed us into the “gift shop.” The gift shop cashier informed us that it cost 4.00 eruos each to WALK across the top. We looked at each other in brief puzzlement (.30 cents to ride and 4.00 to walk – what a tourist scam), but then we figured what the heck. That was why we were there, right?We took an elevator up to the top and stepped out onto the open air bridge. The elevator attendant (same guy from earlier) showed us how to call the elevator/attendant when we reached the other side and left us up there all alone! This picture shows the view from the top with Bilboa in the background…
Here, Rich is demonstrating the length and openness of the foot bridge…
When we reached the other side, we called the elevator, rode it down, and then took the gondola back to our original starting point. Here, you can see the gondola coming into the station behind me as we waited to ride it back over…
From the Puente Colgante, we headed to the Guggenheim Museum Bilboa. Here is Rich in front of the entrance to the museum…
We went inside the museum and explored the various galleries and exhibits, but to be honest I was more impressed with the building than any of the art inside. When you enter the museum, you are brought into an open atrium that is 55 meters high. This is the heart of the museum and all of the rooms on each floor emanate from the atrium. Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed in the museum, but Rich and I managed to sneak this shot upward in the atrium…
The Guggenheim Bilboa opened its doors to the public in 1997. The amazing structure is a combination of interconnected shapes constructed from limestone, titanium, and glass. All three are present in this picture of the museum terrace taken behind the building where the museum meets the river Nervión…
Gehry did a fantastic job of integrating the museum into the city of Bilboa. One of the city’s main highways runs right through the east tower of the building. You can see that to the left side of this photo…
The design of the building was inspired by the shapes of ships and fish - two of Bilboa’s traditional industries. The structure seems more like a huge sculpture, itself, than a building housing a modern art museum. I really can’t do it justice, you should check out the picture on the website to appreciate its true beauty - http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/ingles/edificio/el_edificio.htmRich and I first discovered the work of Frank Gehry during a day trip to Los Angeles about four years ago. We were walking through downtown and noticed this sparkling surface high on the horizon in the distance. None of the maps we had showed anything like what we saw looming before us, so our curiosity was peaked. We started to follow the building as it broke through the trees every block or two. Finally, we crested a hill and approached the structure immediately in front of us. The building turned out to be the Walt Disney Concert Hall (home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra). It had just been completed, and they were preparing for a Grand Opening Gala that very night!
Anyway, that evening I did some research on Frank Gehry. I had never heard of him, but I LOVED the architecture of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. In my research, I found that he designed the Guggenheim in Bilboa, and when Rich and I decided to visit Northern Spain, I told Rich we had to go see this museum. This is a view of the back of the museum looking over to the opposite bank of the river Nervión. Rich is listening to an audio guide about the design and building of the museum…
After the Guggenheim, it was over to the Casco Viejo or the “Old Quarter” for a quick bite to eat before catching our very first night train from Bilbao to Madrid – not quite the “luxury” one might expect from the “Hotel Train”…
No comments:
Post a Comment