RETURNING TO BILBAO

THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA - OCTOBER 2006

The first time we were in Bilbao was in 1976, during an incredible bus trip that left some quite lousy pictures, which may be seen here. Bilbao, Spain's biggest port and sixth largest city, was then starting to enter a deep depression when its gruesome shipyards, steelworks and docks struggled to face competition in a new world where heavy industry had lost its prominence. In 1976, the heavily industrialised Bilbao was far from being interesting in tourist terms. Thirty years later the city is barely recognizable. The dawn of a new era was of course the spectacular Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum which opened in 1997. But the new urban projects, designed to regenerate degraded city areas, the state-of-the-art metro system by Norman Foster, the futuristic airport terminal by Santiago Calatrava, a wealth of museums, interesting new buildings and many excellent restaurants serving traditional Basque cuisine have combined to give Bilbao a brilliant new image.


"SHERATON - The design of the Mexican architect Ricardo Leggorreta, inspired by the work of sculptor Eduardo Chillida, made the Sheraton Bilbao a true work of art"


"LOBBY - One of the hotel’s most striking features is its enormous lobby, with a glass structure that makes it practically diaphanous. The lobby rises to a height of about forty metres, all the way up to the ceiling of the hotel’s 10th floor"


"LIFTS - The true splendour of the hotel’s lobby is revealed by the panoramic glass lifts"


"MODELS - The Hotel has an impressive collection of Spanish ship models, preserving the history of Bilbao as an important port"


"CLUB LOUNGE - The building is a great piece of modern architecture"




"VIEWS FROM ROOM 706 - Sunrise, Parque Doña Casilda (named after Casilda Iturrízar, who donated the terrains) and the Euskalduna"




"FINE ARTS MUSEUM - The museum was re-inaugurated in November 2001, but the collection originated with the merger of the collections from the first Museum of Fine Arts, inaugurated in 1914, and the Museum of Modern Art in 1924"


"ZUBIZURI BRIDGE - The tied arch footbridge across the Nervion River by Santiago Calatrava is another of the modern Bilbao's landmarks"



"SCULPTURE WITH SYMBOL"



"THE EUSKALDUNA Conference Centre and Concert Hall was designed by architects Federico Soriano and Dolores Palacios on the site of the former Euskalduna Shipyard. It represents the last ship built in the shipyard and was inaugurated on Febuary 19th 1999. It's one of the flagships of the new Bilbao of the 21st century"


"DALI - THE DANCE"

MUNICH STOPOVER

ON TIME FOR OKTOBERFEST - SEPTEMBER 2006

Travelling from Chania to Lisbon, we made a stopover in Munich on September 16th, 2006. It was the first day of the 2006 Oktoberfest. Having experienced the Fest in 1986 (no pictures, however, due to the confusion to get there - just to give you an idea, the ladies in our party had their feet in the air while going up the escalators of the subway station; and we avoided Theresienwiese station, which uses to be «the most highly frequented»...), we didn't try it again. Still, the Fest ambiance could be enjoyed throughout town...


"MARIENPLATZ is the heart of old town Munich"



"RATHAUS - The façade of the City Hall, with the famous Glockenspiel (a carillon with 43 bells) is huge and misleading. In fact it was built only in the late 19th century, between 1867 and 1908, one example of the German «Gründerzeitstill»"


"FRAUENKIRCHE - Just around the corner from MarienPlatz is the Frauenkirche, the largest church in Munich and a real piece of late Gothic architecture, as it was built between 1468 and 1488. The building's domes atop each tower, modelled after the Dome in Jerusalem, were built only in 1525. The cathedral suffered severe damage during World War II and the restoration was completed only in 1994"



"STROLLING AROUND"



"HOFBRÄUHAUS is probably the most famous of the German Breweries, and deservedly so"


"NATIONAL THEATRE, an opera house, is home to the Bayerische Staatsoper, and the Bayerisches Staatsballett"


"THEATINER CHURCH ST. CAJETAN was built between 1663 and 1690, in Italian high-baroque style, to commemorate the birth of the long-awaited heir to the Bavarian crown, Prince Max Emanuel, in 1662"


"RESIDENZ - The Munich Residenz was the seat of government and the residence of the Bavarian dukes, electors and kings from 1508 to 1918"


"STREET MUSICIANS - The picture is blurred, as the day was ending and I didn't want to use the flash. But I couldn't resist the magic of the Kusturica-style players..."


"HIRMER - «Willkommen bei Hirmer GROSSE GRÖSSEN – dem Spezialisten für Herrenmode in Übergrößen»"




"LÖWENPARADE - There were CowParades in many cities around the world. Munich had a LionsParade"

CRETAN TOWNS

HERAKLION, RETHYMNO & CHANIA - SEPTEMBER 2006

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HERAKLION, IRAKLION OR CANDIA

Heraklion, the fourth largest city in Greece, is the largest in Crete and its capital city. Founded in 824 AD by the Saracens, close to the site of the Palace of Knossos, it was ruled by the Byzantine (from 961), sold to Venice in 1204, conquered by the Ottoman in 1669 (after a bloody siege that lasted 22 years), included in the British Zone during the Great Power Supervision (1898-1908), part of the Cretan State in 1908, and finally incorporated in Greece in 1913, as well as all the rest of the Island!


"VENETIAN FORT - The importance of the port grew during the Byzantine period, reaching its glory days in Venetian times. The Venetians placed here a major trading centre and one of the main naval stations for their fleet. Thus, important works were made, including the building of walls around the harbour. The Fort was built in 1211, and was initially named "Rocca al Mare" (rock at sea). Collapsed by the earthquake of 1303, was rebuilt during the years 1523-1540"


"THE MOROSINI FOUNTAIN, a landmark of Heraklion and one of the city's finest monuments, is named after Francesco Morosini, Captain-General of the Venetian forces in Crete and future Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, during the Great Turkish War. The eight-lobed basin is adorned with a relief including scenes from mythology and marine life, together with coats of arms. Above the basin are four lions from whose mouth water flows. The fountain had a statue of Poseidon, which was later destroyed"

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RETHYMNO, RETHYMNON OR RHITHYMNOS

Rethymno developed when the Venetians created an intermediate commercial port between Heraklion and Chania. Today's Old Rethymno, one of the best preserved old towns in Greece, was almost entirely built by the Venetians"


"FOUR MARTYR CHURCH - When you get to Rhetymno, the easiest place to leave your car is the parking lot in front of the municipal garden (apparently an old Ottoman cemetery), at Plateia Tessaron Martyron (Four Martyrs' Square). The Square and the Church got their name from the four Christian Martyrs decapitated by Turkish troops in 1824 on this site"


"THE PORTA GUORA, the only intact remnant of the Venetian city walls, leads into the old town central square, where the beautiful Loggia and the Rimondi Fountain were situated"


"OLD TOWN ALLEYS - Shopping paradises..."


"THE RIMONDI FOUNTAIN, re-built in 1623, has three lion heads (from where fresh drinkable water still flows) and four columns with Corinthian capitals at the top. It was a fundamental water source in the sixteenth century"


"LIGHTHOUSE - The Venetian lighthouse is still there today"


"THE VENETIAN PORT at the Old Town is nowadays the main seafood restaurant centre of Rethymno"


"TAVERNA KNOSSOS - With Maria taking the order and his brother as a show-man, it's one of the nicest and most reliable fish restaurant in town. Looking somehow a French bistro, is included in the «Guide du Routard» and, no wonder, Maria speaks French..."


"VENETIAN McDONALDS? No way!"


"FORTEZZA - View of the impressive Venetian Fortress (a bit blurred). Built in 1573, it was one of the largest Venetian castles ever built with four bastions and three gates. It didn't resist long, however..."

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CHANIA, HANIA OR CANEA

Located on the west of Crete, 70 Km from Rethymno and 145 from Heraklion, Chania is the most densely populated area outside the Athens and Thessaloniki areas. Chania was the site of a Minoan settlement (Cydonia), saw the Greek domain, the Byzantine ruling, flourished under the Venetians and declined under the Ottoman (from 1645 through 1898). In 1898, the Great Powers made Chania the capital of the Cretan State, with Prince George of Greece, the High Commissioner of Crete, living there. In 1908, Eleftherios Venizelos, born near Chania, established a revolutionary government, recognized by the Great Powers. His election as prime minister of Greece (1910) was the last step before Crete was united with Greece on December 1st, 1913. Occupied by German forces during WWII, it became a tourist destination in the seventies, though the capital was moved to Heraklion in 1971!



"CHANIA PORT - Chania's Old Town was heavily bombed during World War II; nevertheless it's considered the most beautiful urban district on Crete, especially the Venetian harbour"


"THE FOUNTAIN at Eleftherios Venizelos Square"


"PANAGIA TRIMARTIRIS - The Orthodox Cathedral of Chania was built around the 13th century. During the Turkish era, it is said that the church was converted into a soap factory but was still regarded as a sacred place..."


"CASA DELFINO, an elegant 17th Century Venetian mansion, is the only luxury hotel near the Old Venetian Harbour"


"RESTAURANT on the wall of the Venetian Harbour"


"MOSQUE OF THE JANISSARIES - The Turkish mosque (Hassan Pasha) was built in 1645. It houses now an art gallery"



"VENETIAN HARBOUR Restaurants (tourist traps?)"


"SUNSET"


"NIGHT VIEW - Old Chania Venetian Port"