We started off our second to last day of the trip with a bus ride. I always enjoy the bus rides because it means a little bit of extra sleep! Our bus took us to a company called Tekniker. This company was, to put it bluntly, insane. The building was so modern and nice looking, the facilities were top of the line, and all the projects looked so intriguing. They even had a gym, rock wall, and relaxation room! As an engineering student, this is a company I could see myself working for in the future.

After the company visit, we headed to the Oma painted forest. I was very excited to see the tree art here, but, safe to say, I was not prepared for the conditions. The hike up was very steep and soaked with mud the entire way. I also wasn’t in the right attire for a hike like this. Despite these conditions, the trees were still very cool to look at, and getting down felt so rewarding.

After the painted forest, we took one last stop to Gernika. Here, we learned a lot about the historical relevance of the city, and how it was bombed in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. We got to visit many historical sites including the one church that was not bombed (because German and Spanish troops were living there at the time) which is now used as the “town hall” for the local government, a “replica” of Picasso’s guernica, and the bomb shelters that people fled too during the 3 hour bomb strike of the city. The day finally ended with a bus ride back to the hotel and a nice, refreshing shower.