bill in the basque country 2010: bilbao (part 2)...
This post covers the Maritime Museum, the Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park, the Puente Colgante and finally San Mamés, the stadium of Athletic Bilbao.
In case you missed the first post, it's here.
Maritime Museum.
The Maritime Museum Ría de Bilbao is located near the Euskalduna Jauregia (the conference centre and concert hall).
The first thing we see is the crane Carola, named after a beautiful woman that allegedly used to pass the dockyard every day and the workers climbed the crane to admire her and pay her compliments. XD
I loved this map of Bilbao and its suburbs, right to where the Nervión meets the Gulf of Biscay.
Fire!
This boat is called Aitor Uno. XD
Shipshipship!
"Mister Simpson, we must all rejoice! The sources of the Nile have been discovered at last. Your ship, as far as I can make out from your illiterate scrawl, is in Central Africa. " ;)
Sextant!
A model of the Puente Colgante, the oldest transportation bridge in the world.
Flag signals!
A ship model that I would have loved to take home. ;)
The Victory! :D I did a little happy dance when I saw this!
I like to think that the guys in the blue and red uniforms are Nelson and Hardy. XD
Longitudinal section of a ship.
I loved that badge.
Outside, there were some piles of huge iron chains.
And a dry dockyard with a couple of exhibition boats.
This, for instance, is the Euskadi Europa 93, in which José Luis de Ugarte participated in the Vendée Globe in 1993: a voyage around the world, alone, without stops and help from outside. He was faced with storms and giant waves for 27,000 sea miles until he finally reached Les Sables d'Olonnes, the destination in France.
This is the Auntz, built in 1928 at the Euskalduna Shipyards for towing and supply water to ships at the Port of Bilbao. During the Civil War, was used as patrol and assisted in the evacuation of the civilian population.
The view from the deck of the Auntz.
Down to the engine room...
The cots looked tiny! When visiting tall ships (like the Victory), we usually get the explanation that a couple of hundred years ago people were smaller than they are today, but this boat was built at the beginning of the 20th century!
The bow of the boat.
The helm!
Does anyone want to go for a swim? ;)
Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park.
The park was the only lung of the city until a few years ago. It is an English-style garden created more than 100 years ago, in which the main highlights are the perfectly preserved examples of many centenary tree species.
The Doña Casilda Park, a rather nice little park with several little lakes, fountains and statues.
Puente Colgante/Puente Bizkaia.
The Vizcaya Bridge, commonly called puente colgante ("suspension bridge" in Spanish, though it's not a suspension bridge), is the world's oldest transporter bridge and was built in 1893 between the Bilbao suburbs Portugalete and Las Arenas (part of Getxo). It was the solution given by the engineer to the problem of connecting the two towns without disrupting the maritime traffic of the Port of Bilbao and without having to build a massive structure with long ramps. The bridge, is 164 meters long and its gondola can transport six cars and several dozens of passengers in one minute and a half. It operates every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, all year round, and the service was only interrupted once, for four years, during the Spanish Civil War, when the upper section was dynamited. From his house in Portugalete, the bridge's designer Alberto Palacio (one of Gustave Eiffel's disciples) saw his masterwork partially destroyed just before his own death.
Impressive, isn't it?
On July 13, 2006, the bridge was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The bridge has a panoramic passageway right at the top which you can reach by a lift. From there, you can look down and watch the bridge operate - though you shouldn't do that if you're afraid of heights. ;)
It's really windy at the top, but the view is totally worth it.
There are some anecdotes about the bridge on a plate next to one of the lifts:
Estadio San Mamés.
First of all, let me say that the people in and around Bilbao love Athletic. I even found Athletic flags and banners in San Sebastián, which is actually the city of Real Sociedad, who returned to the first league this season.
The place where the first fanclub of Athletic was founded.
This is it from the front.
Athletic are at home at the stadium San Mamés, also known as El Catedral (The Cathedral). It was opened in 1913 and is Spain's old built stadium. San Mamés can seat almost 40,000 people, and from what I could gather from the home matches I've seen, it has a most impressive atmosphere due to the absolute dedication of the fans. Unfortunately, it's not going to last much longer: In 2013, a hundred years after the original stadium was opened, the new San Mamés stadium (called San Mamés Barria) will open.
This is the first glimpse of the stadium that you get when you approach it from the park.
The official stadium fanshop, only open on matchdays.
The entrance to the museum, next to a picture of the great Fred Pentland, who coached Athletic Bilbao from 1922 to 1925 and from 1929 to 1933. He introduced Athletic to the short-passing game and led the team to a Copa del Rey victory in 1923 and the Campeonato del Centro in 1927. A plate in the museum says: In those days a great coach ran a great team, "... and his prestige and fame were of such quality that the word 'mister' was already a constant way of calling the coaches".
The history of Athletic's shirt. The one on the far left is the shirt that Athletic wore for the Copa del Rey final in 2009.
Trophies! Athletic used to be really really successful in Spain despite their policy to employ Basques players only. In fact, their highest victory was a 12-1 against FC Barcelona in the 1930/31 season. ;)
The team of 1931/32 in cartoon form. :D
Giant trophy!
More silverware! Have I mentioned Athletic used to be really successful? ;)
Probably the most awesome trophy I've ever seen. It unites my two favourite fandoms. XD
Look, it's the Horn of Gondor!
More cartoons!
An old football boot and an old football.
At the museum, there's a wall of all the Athletic players in the history of the club. It was impossible to take a picture of the entire wall because of the bad light, but I managed to catch the lower, more recent part. Spot anyone familiar? ;)
Athletic won the league and the cup in the year I was born, in 1984. This picture pops up in all kinds of places, the museum, the press conference room, everywhere, and I think everyone can see why. Just wow.
Of course, the museum ticket comes with a tour around the stadium!
Upon entering the VIP room, you see this awesome lion which was given to Athletic as a present in 1975. Behind the lion are photographs of all the Athletic players that were called up for the Spanish national team.
Including the most recent additions, Fernando Llorente and Javi Martínez. There's also a pic of Andoni Iraola, but the lion covered most of it and I couldn't find a good angle to take a picture.
The pitch, as seen from the VIP seats. Quite a good view, don't you think? ;)
Statue of Rafael Moreno, nicknamed "Pitxitxi", after whom the Pichichi trophy is named. Moreno died in 1922 at the age of 29 from a sudden attack of typhus. He was the player to score the first goal at San Mamés, and netted a hat-trick in the 1915 Copa del Rey final against RCD Espanyol.
The guest team's locker is right next to the referee's so he can keep a good eye on them. ;)
The trainer's cabin which is located in a tiny corner and looks like a broom closet.
The Spanish football federation regulates that only the referees, the players, the coaches, the medical staff and the other club employees shall have access to the locker rooms. The museum visitors are not mentioned. Ah well, nobody cared about us breaking the law. XDDD
Excited already? I know I was! XD
And here it is, the place where the players take off all their clothes! XD (Well, only to put on other clothes, but still. XD)
I particularly liked the slippers on top of some lockers. XD
I shall refrain from making more naughty comments, as I suppose you all know what I was thinking when I saw this. XD
I'd like to work there. ;)
Caparrós' office.
Just so nobody forgets, the bus leaves Lezama for the airport at 16.15. ;)
The press conference room!
This is where the players enter the pitch.
The bench is really really comfy. XD
I loved how they put the logo of Athletic on every wall in the stadium.
The view from outside the stadium is excellent too. XD In fact, I convinced my buddy J that we had to have lunch in one of the restaurants in this street just so I could sit outside and stare at Fernando Llorente all the time. ;) But really, how could I not when he's looking that gorgeous?
The inside of the restaurant was very appealing too.
Hello, OTP! XD
After having visited the stadium, we went to the Athletic fanshop in the old town and spent over 300 Euros there. I felt really guilty for spending so much money, but they had such awesome stuff there, I couldn't resist. In the end, I bought last season's shirt, this season's shirt, a polo shirt, a pullover, a scarf, a sticker and a little shirt to put in the car. J isn't even a football fan but he liked the shirts a lot and decided to buy one as well as a polo shirt. The only downside was that I wanted my shirts with prints and they don't do that at the shop. I had to order the print and then return four workdays later to pick up the shirts. But since the distances in the Basque Country aren't that huge and we had a car, it was not really a problem. Also, with the Bilbao Card, a tourist card that gives you free public transport in Bilbao as well as several discounts for tourist attractions, restaurants and shops, we got a 5% discount at the Athletic fanshop, which is never a bad thing. :D
The Athletic fanshop in the old town!
Pretty! :)
Back at the hotel, we watched Athletic's reserves play against Irún (Ibai Gómez was awesome in that game), and we also watched parts of Terminator 2 with Basque dubbing before heading to the old town for pintxos, beer and txakoli. :D
There will be more posts soon, once I've written up the rest of my holiday and edited the remaining billion pictures. So if you want to read and see all about the beautiful cities/towns of Guernica, Bermeo, Lekeitio, Deba, Zumaia, Vitoria and San Sebastián, as well as Athletic Bilbao's training centre in Lezama, stay tuned!
In case you missed the first post, it's here.
Maritime Museum.
The Maritime Museum Ría de Bilbao is located near the Euskalduna Jauregia (the conference centre and concert hall).
The first thing we see is the crane Carola, named after a beautiful woman that allegedly used to pass the dockyard every day and the workers climbed the crane to admire her and pay her compliments. XD
I loved this map of Bilbao and its suburbs, right to where the Nervión meets the Gulf of Biscay.
Fire!
This boat is called Aitor Uno. XD
Shipshipship!
"Mister Simpson, we must all rejoice! The sources of the Nile have been discovered at last. Your ship, as far as I can make out from your illiterate scrawl, is in Central Africa. " ;)
Sextant!
A model of the Puente Colgante, the oldest transportation bridge in the world.
Flag signals!
A ship model that I would have loved to take home. ;)
The Victory! :D I did a little happy dance when I saw this!
I like to think that the guys in the blue and red uniforms are Nelson and Hardy. XD
Longitudinal section of a ship.
I loved that badge.
Outside, there were some piles of huge iron chains.
And a dry dockyard with a couple of exhibition boats.
This, for instance, is the Euskadi Europa 93, in which José Luis de Ugarte participated in the Vendée Globe in 1993: a voyage around the world, alone, without stops and help from outside. He was faced with storms and giant waves for 27,000 sea miles until he finally reached Les Sables d'Olonnes, the destination in France.
This is the Auntz, built in 1928 at the Euskalduna Shipyards for towing and supply water to ships at the Port of Bilbao. During the Civil War, was used as patrol and assisted in the evacuation of the civilian population.
The view from the deck of the Auntz.
Down to the engine room...
The cots looked tiny! When visiting tall ships (like the Victory), we usually get the explanation that a couple of hundred years ago people were smaller than they are today, but this boat was built at the beginning of the 20th century!
The bow of the boat.
The helm!
Does anyone want to go for a swim? ;)
Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park.
The park was the only lung of the city until a few years ago. It is an English-style garden created more than 100 years ago, in which the main highlights are the perfectly preserved examples of many centenary tree species.
The Doña Casilda Park, a rather nice little park with several little lakes, fountains and statues.
Puente Colgante/Puente Bizkaia.
The Vizcaya Bridge, commonly called puente colgante ("suspension bridge" in Spanish, though it's not a suspension bridge), is the world's oldest transporter bridge and was built in 1893 between the Bilbao suburbs Portugalete and Las Arenas (part of Getxo). It was the solution given by the engineer to the problem of connecting the two towns without disrupting the maritime traffic of the Port of Bilbao and without having to build a massive structure with long ramps. The bridge, is 164 meters long and its gondola can transport six cars and several dozens of passengers in one minute and a half. It operates every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, all year round, and the service was only interrupted once, for four years, during the Spanish Civil War, when the upper section was dynamited. From his house in Portugalete, the bridge's designer Alberto Palacio (one of Gustave Eiffel's disciples) saw his masterwork partially destroyed just before his own death.
Impressive, isn't it?
On July 13, 2006, the bridge was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The bridge has a panoramic passageway right at the top which you can reach by a lift. From there, you can look down and watch the bridge operate - though you shouldn't do that if you're afraid of heights. ;)
It's really windy at the top, but the view is totally worth it.
There are some anecdotes about the bridge on a plate next to one of the lifts:
- If we calculate all the passengers that have crossed over the river using The Bridge since 1893, you will be surprised to know that it is the equivalent of the entire population of the United States of America and the European Community together. Approximately 650 million people.
- If we calculate the number of trips over the same period of time, the gondola would have travelled 31 times around the world.
- The first gondola which was operated by a steam engine was designed for two types of passengers. First class passengers travelled on three rows of covered benches whilst second class passengers had to share the central part of the moving platform with carriages, merchandise and cattle.
Estadio San Mamés.
First of all, let me say that the people in and around Bilbao love Athletic. I even found Athletic flags and banners in San Sebastián, which is actually the city of Real Sociedad, who returned to the first league this season.
The place where the first fanclub of Athletic was founded.
This is it from the front.
Athletic are at home at the stadium San Mamés, also known as El Catedral (The Cathedral). It was opened in 1913 and is Spain's old built stadium. San Mamés can seat almost 40,000 people, and from what I could gather from the home matches I've seen, it has a most impressive atmosphere due to the absolute dedication of the fans. Unfortunately, it's not going to last much longer: In 2013, a hundred years after the original stadium was opened, the new San Mamés stadium (called San Mamés Barria) will open.
This is the first glimpse of the stadium that you get when you approach it from the park.
The official stadium fanshop, only open on matchdays.
The entrance to the museum, next to a picture of the great Fred Pentland, who coached Athletic Bilbao from 1922 to 1925 and from 1929 to 1933. He introduced Athletic to the short-passing game and led the team to a Copa del Rey victory in 1923 and the Campeonato del Centro in 1927. A plate in the museum says: In those days a great coach ran a great team, "... and his prestige and fame were of such quality that the word 'mister' was already a constant way of calling the coaches".
The history of Athletic's shirt. The one on the far left is the shirt that Athletic wore for the Copa del Rey final in 2009.
Trophies! Athletic used to be really really successful in Spain despite their policy to employ Basques players only. In fact, their highest victory was a 12-1 against FC Barcelona in the 1930/31 season. ;)
The team of 1931/32 in cartoon form. :D
Giant trophy!
More silverware! Have I mentioned Athletic used to be really successful? ;)
Probably the most awesome trophy I've ever seen. It unites my two favourite fandoms. XD
Look, it's the Horn of Gondor!
More cartoons!
An old football boot and an old football.
At the museum, there's a wall of all the Athletic players in the history of the club. It was impossible to take a picture of the entire wall because of the bad light, but I managed to catch the lower, more recent part. Spot anyone familiar? ;)
Athletic won the league and the cup in the year I was born, in 1984. This picture pops up in all kinds of places, the museum, the press conference room, everywhere, and I think everyone can see why. Just wow.
Of course, the museum ticket comes with a tour around the stadium!
Upon entering the VIP room, you see this awesome lion which was given to Athletic as a present in 1975. Behind the lion are photographs of all the Athletic players that were called up for the Spanish national team.
Including the most recent additions, Fernando Llorente and Javi Martínez. There's also a pic of Andoni Iraola, but the lion covered most of it and I couldn't find a good angle to take a picture.
The pitch, as seen from the VIP seats. Quite a good view, don't you think? ;)
Statue of Rafael Moreno, nicknamed "Pitxitxi", after whom the Pichichi trophy is named. Moreno died in 1922 at the age of 29 from a sudden attack of typhus. He was the player to score the first goal at San Mamés, and netted a hat-trick in the 1915 Copa del Rey final against RCD Espanyol.
The guest team's locker is right next to the referee's so he can keep a good eye on them. ;)
The trainer's cabin which is located in a tiny corner and looks like a broom closet.
The Spanish football federation regulates that only the referees, the players, the coaches, the medical staff and the other club employees shall have access to the locker rooms. The museum visitors are not mentioned. Ah well, nobody cared about us breaking the law. XDDD
Excited already? I know I was! XD
And here it is, the place where the players take off all their clothes! XD (Well, only to put on other clothes, but still. XD)
I particularly liked the slippers on top of some lockers. XD
I shall refrain from making more naughty comments, as I suppose you all know what I was thinking when I saw this. XD
I'd like to work there. ;)
Caparrós' office.
Just so nobody forgets, the bus leaves Lezama for the airport at 16.15. ;)
The press conference room!
This is where the players enter the pitch.
The bench is really really comfy. XD
I loved how they put the logo of Athletic on every wall in the stadium.
The view from outside the stadium is excellent too. XD In fact, I convinced my buddy J that we had to have lunch in one of the restaurants in this street just so I could sit outside and stare at Fernando Llorente all the time. ;) But really, how could I not when he's looking that gorgeous?
The inside of the restaurant was very appealing too.
Hello, OTP! XD
After having visited the stadium, we went to the Athletic fanshop in the old town and spent over 300 Euros there. I felt really guilty for spending so much money, but they had such awesome stuff there, I couldn't resist. In the end, I bought last season's shirt, this season's shirt, a polo shirt, a pullover, a scarf, a sticker and a little shirt to put in the car. J isn't even a football fan but he liked the shirts a lot and decided to buy one as well as a polo shirt. The only downside was that I wanted my shirts with prints and they don't do that at the shop. I had to order the print and then return four workdays later to pick up the shirts. But since the distances in the Basque Country aren't that huge and we had a car, it was not really a problem. Also, with the Bilbao Card, a tourist card that gives you free public transport in Bilbao as well as several discounts for tourist attractions, restaurants and shops, we got a 5% discount at the Athletic fanshop, which is never a bad thing. :D
The Athletic fanshop in the old town!
Pretty! :)
Back at the hotel, we watched Athletic's reserves play against Irún (Ibai Gómez was awesome in that game), and we also watched parts of Terminator 2 with Basque dubbing before heading to the old town for pintxos, beer and txakoli. :D
There will be more posts soon, once I've written up the rest of my holiday and edited the remaining billion pictures. So if you want to read and see all about the beautiful cities/towns of Guernica, Bermeo, Lekeitio, Deba, Zumaia, Vitoria and San Sebastián, as well as Athletic Bilbao's training centre in Lezama, stay tuned!