Arrival in Bilbao, Spain
May 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 64 °F
Our adventure with American Airlines brought us to Madrid, although we arrived about an hour and a half late. With only a short window to clear Immigration and catch the train to Terminal 4 for our connecting Iberia flight to Bilbao, we had to move quickly. Fortunately, we made it to the gate with only a few minutes to spare, proving that airport speed walking is indeed an Olympic sport.
After arriving in Bilbao, an Uber took us from the airport to our apartment on Calle Prim 5. Unfortunately, shortly after the driver had left, Heinz realized that he had accidentally left his phone and wallet in the back seat. Not exactly the souvenir he had planned to leave behind.
Getting into the apartment building was also a bit of an adventure, even after carefully following the check-in instructions. Luckily, a friendly resident came to our rescue, helped us get inside, and pointed us toward Apartamento Bajo D. The door code worked perfectly, and we were delighted to find a lovely, modern, and comfortable two-bedroom apartment waiting for us.
Once Heinz established internet access, his priority was contacting Uber about the missing items and locking all of our credit and debit cards as a precaution.
Around 5:00 PM, we took a stroll to a nearby bakery and food market to pick up supplies for breakfast the next morning. Later, we made our way to Plaza Nueva, where we enjoyed our first Pintxos accompanied by a nice glass of wine. Our broken Spanish proved surprisingly useful while chatting with several locals, including a friendly bartender from Medellín, Colombia.
Later that evening, our friends Kurt and Renata from Switzerland arrived in their Mercedes rental van. We spent a pleasant evening catching up over a glass of wine and enjoying the opportunity to see each other again for the first time since the pandemic. 🍷
That night, however, Heinz found it difficult to sleep. His thoughts kept returning to the phone and wallet left behind in the Uber. We all hoped that either the driver or a subsequent passenger would turn them in to Uber’s Lost & Found or to the Bilbao police. As it turned out, our Spanish adventure was already providing plenty of excitement on day one.Read more