Our day began bright and early, with my first alarm going off at 6:00 a.m. and breakfast served at 7:00. The reason for the early start? We were leaving Bilbao and heading to the historic town of Gernika! After packing up and checking out of our hotel, our first stop on the way was a visit to Tekniker, a nonprofit applied research center.
Located in Eibar, Tekniker serves as a bridge between universities and companies, focusing on research and prototype development. Their primary goal isn’t competition, but collaboration by supporting others by helping solve problems in a range of industries. Currently, they’re working on 160 ongoing projects, with expertise in areas like surface engineering, advanced manufacturing, ICT for production, and product engineering. They have over 100 partnerships with hospitals and universities, and on the medical side, they assist in integrating new technologies with existing medical devices. Their approach to product development is phase-based, allowing for better uncertainty management and cost control. All research goes through six phases before even reaching the stage of clinical trials. One highlight of our visit was meeting two co-op students from the University of Cincinnati who are currently working with Tekniker. Their projects are based on needs identified through conversations with local hospitals. After listening to the issues and challenges, they designed targeted solutions and are now developing working prototypes. We even got a look at early diagrams of their designs.
After our tour of the building, we boarded the bus again and continued on to Gernika. Our new hotel is tucked away in this small but historical town. After settling in, we found a charming restaurant called 4 1/2, where I had an amazing chicken sandwich. My friends ordered rabas and croquetas, both of which they said were delicious. We followed that with a quick stop at the grocery store and a brief siesta before regrouping.
In the afternoon, we visited the Assembly House of Gernika (Casa de Juntas), a symbolic site in the Basque Country. Here stands the Tree of Gernika, an oak tree that represents the traditional freedoms and self-governance of the Basque people. Historically, Basque leaders and nobles would gather under the tree to pledge loyalty to the region’s laws. Though the current tree is a descendant, we saw the preserved trunk of one of the older trees, which looked massive and weathered like driftwood.
Following the event, a small group of us went on a spontaneous nature walk by the river. We walked about four miles, enjoying the tranquil scenery. The river winds its way all the way to the ocean, though that would’ve been a six-hour round trip, so we chose a hour long version. Still, the trail offered stunning views of the surrounding mountains and countryside, giving us a sense of Gernika’s natural beauty. After freshening up at the hotel, we headed out for dinner, aka pintxos time! I tried a mini hamburger-style pintxo and another with Spanish tortilla served on bread. We bumped into the rest of the group and all decided to cap the night off with ice cream before heading back to the hotel to rest up for tomorrow.
