Archive
September 2, 2007
Yesterday I took a day trip out to this place called the Hermitage of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. It’s located out on the coast, perched on a rock in the Bay of Biscay, between Bilbao and San Sebastian. I took a bus from Vitoria to Bilbao, and then caught another bus to the beach town of Bakio. From there I found another bus that would take me in the direction of the Hermitage and would drop me off along the way. When left Vitoria it was raining a bit, but by the time I got out to the coast it was quite nice and HOT. I found all the busses I needed and made my way out to the Hermitage. The bus dropped me off way way up on the hill, from there I had to walk down a little road to actually access the Hermitage.
The history of the Hermitage is rather obscure, as are most things which are thought to be over 1000 years old. It is dedicated to San Juan (John the Baptist), and has been dated to the 10th - 9th century. It is thought to be originally a structure of the famed Knights of Templar order. However it would seem throughout the years it changed hands many times as kings died off and family alliances changed.
To get out to the Hermitage you have to walk across a narrow little land bridge which takes you to a series of over 230 stairs that lead you up to the top of the rock where the Hermitage sits. The building its self is rather unspectacular. And once you get out onto the rock, there is very little room to move around so taking photos of the Hermitage is quite difficult. The real views lie back on land.
From the Hermitage I made my way back to Bilbao, not having a whole lot of time until my bus back to Vitoria, I made a quick detour over to the Guggenheim museum. I didn’t go in, but just strolled around the outside checking out the building. I found it hard to get a good perspective on the building, its hemmed in against a river and a series of buildings, there is a bridge on one side. So any views are slights obscured. I think if I had more time I would have crossed the river for a better view. I would be interested in knowing how the apartment prices have changed in the immediate area of the Guggenheim since it was built. There are apartment blocks right across the river, which I presume, before the Guggenheim was built looked out over the relative industrial wasteland that was Bilbao of the 1990s. Then, over night this building pops up right in your back yard which you have a perfect unobstructed view of. I bet those people felt like they found a gold mind overnight.
September 6, 2007
One of the things I am grateful for here in Spain is having my bike. With my bike I have been able to see most of the immediate country side around Vitoria. The same was true when I was in Granada. I would be willing to bet that I have seen more of the little towns and back roads around town than someone who is my age or a older and has lived here all their lives. Unless you live out in the country there really is no great reason to go driving around and visit all the small towns. But I really enjoy riding through all the small towns. Not that there is ever really anything interesting going on in them. They all usually feature an old church, some have a few more impressive buildings than others, but in general they are pretty quiet places. I read once that as soon as they can the young people move into the big cities, leaving the small towns just full of old people. And as the old people are getting on in age, some of the towns are becoming completely deserted. Only recently are some of the areas most affected by this starting to regain some population, and this is due to the arrival of the large quantities of Romanian immigrants in the past few years. I read that some small towns have been more or less completely transformed by Romanian immigrants. I haven’t seen any of this, the towns I ride through do seem a bit old, dusty and tired. But in general they still have life in them. Anyways, having my bike and being able to go out and enjoy the back roads has allowed me to see parts of Spain that a lot of the normal tourists wouldn’t ever see, let alone native Spanish people who have lived here all their lives.,
September 10, 2008
What’s the difference between me and you?
Lately in class we have been talking a bit about the differences between the people in Spain and the USA. Differences exist, however trying to pin down what exactly they are is a difficult thing to do. I was chatting with my teacher in the school office area and I was asking about how Spanish youth perceive their future, etc. and the guy who works the reception piped up and said “well really what future do we have?” He went on to describe a litany of details supporting his position that Spanish people have no future. Later on I asked my teacher if this was a normal feeling. Thankfully, she said no, and that Gorka (terrific Basque name) had spent some time in Ireland and the USA and that she thinks that he is a bit disconnected with Spain or something.. Anyways, we started talking about getting into colleges, etc and comparing the university education systems in general. I told her about the SAT tests and other tests such as the MCAT , and how people will study A LOT for them and hire private tutors and buy all sorts of programs. She couldn’t believe this, she thought this was insane. She suggested that perhaps the same social pressures do not exist here in Spain as they do in the USA. From what I can tell I would agree. Again trying to provide a concrete example eludes me, however it is the general perception I get. However, I think the example of the standardized entry tests for school does provide an interesting comparison it seems that comparatively - students in the USA will go to a lot greater lengths to prove themselves ahead of their peers. And this doesn’t even compare to people in China spending every waking hour memorizing stuff for the National Exam for university!
September 19, 2008
Hi all, its been a while. Anyways, tomorrow I head out on a little trip to Austria. Tomorrow afternoon I will take the bus from Vitoria down to Madrid where I will spend the night and catch my 6.30 AM flight out of Madrid to Vienna. I am planning on staying a few nights in Vienna before moving onto a smaller town called Melk where I will stay a night and then end up in Salzburg. From Salzburg I just plan to take the train back to Vienna the day before my return flight. I am flying back to Madrid on the 26th, where I will take the bus back up here to Vitoria. Anyways, I am very excited to do some travel and am looking forward to a much needed break of the same old routine!