Bilbao, Spain
October 2 - This morning we arrive at the port city of Bilbao in northern Spain. Although the area showed signs of settlement going back to the 3rd century BCE, the town is best known after the 13th century, first for its position in the iron trade in northern Spain and later as a center of ship building which lasted well into the 20th century.
Beginning in the 1990's with the decline of heavy industry, Bilbao decided that it needed to move in another direction and the emphasis here now is on transition to a service city, supported by investment in infrastructure and urban renewal. Many of the old industrial sites have now been converted to green spaces to improve the livability of the city.
Most important of all was the choice of Bilbao for the site of one of the Guggenheim Museums. The focus of this museum is on modern art with both permanent exhibits and traveling exhibitions. But it is the building itself that draws the most attention. Designed by Frank Gehry, the building is constructed of glass and titanium plates. The building itself, along the banks of the river, is suggestive of the ships which used to be built in the shipyard where the museum now stands, or perhaps of a large fish..
The titanium plates that cover the structure are likened to the scales of a fish, and like the scales they represent, they change colors with changes in the light.
Several permanent pieces of modern art are located on the plaza immediately outside of the museum. One of them is "Tulips" by Jeff Koons.
Another is the giant, bronze spider which the artist viewed as a protective image...but which made me think of Shelob in Lord of the Rings.
And yet another is the giant "Puppy" also be Jeff Koons which is covered in a coat of flowers. The flowers are changed out with the seasons to keep the Puppy colorful. The workers were in the process of removing the fading summer blooms and replacing them with autumn ones.
The interior of the museum was likewise a stunning interplay of light, shadow, and angles.
After we finished our tour of the museum we had some free time to walk through some of the park that now fills much of the downtown area near the river.
Eventually it was time to return to our ship and sail out of the harbor. As we cleared the port the pilot boat came along side to let the pilot leave us.
Our departure from Bilbao gave us a glimpse of a small pod of common dolphin. We hoped they might come play in the bow wave, but they must have had somewhere else to go and we saw no more of them.
Beginning in the 1990's with the decline of heavy industry, Bilbao decided that it needed to move in another direction and the emphasis here now is on transition to a service city, supported by investment in infrastructure and urban renewal. Many of the old industrial sites have now been converted to green spaces to improve the livability of the city.
Most important of all was the choice of Bilbao for the site of one of the Guggenheim Museums. The focus of this museum is on modern art with both permanent exhibits and traveling exhibitions. But it is the building itself that draws the most attention. Designed by Frank Gehry, the building is constructed of glass and titanium plates. The building itself, along the banks of the river, is suggestive of the ships which used to be built in the shipyard where the museum now stands, or perhaps of a large fish..
The titanium plates that cover the structure are likened to the scales of a fish, and like the scales they represent, they change colors with changes in the light.
Several permanent pieces of modern art are located on the plaza immediately outside of the museum. One of them is "Tulips" by Jeff Koons.
Another is the giant, bronze spider which the artist viewed as a protective image...but which made me think of Shelob in Lord of the Rings.
And yet another is the giant "Puppy" also be Jeff Koons which is covered in a coat of flowers. The flowers are changed out with the seasons to keep the Puppy colorful. The workers were in the process of removing the fading summer blooms and replacing them with autumn ones.
The interior of the museum was likewise a stunning interplay of light, shadow, and angles.
After we finished our tour of the museum we had some free time to walk through some of the park that now fills much of the downtown area near the river.
Eventually it was time to return to our ship and sail out of the harbor. As we cleared the port the pilot boat came along side to let the pilot leave us.
Our departure from Bilbao gave us a glimpse of a small pod of common dolphin. We hoped they might come play in the bow wave, but they must have had somewhere else to go and we saw no more of them.