Day 11 in Bilbao! We started the day off by visiting an engineering company called Tekniker. When we first arrived, they shared a presentation that detailed an overview of the company as well as the many different fields of research they work in. We learned about their missions, history, and projects! After the presentation, we went on a tour around the company. We got to see a lot of really cool advanced technology including this small car that could adjust the length of its wheels depending on its speed. This is something I did not even think could be possible! It was so cool to see it in real life. Another area of the tour that really stood out to me was the work life balance. They had a rock climbing wall and gym built into the facility. This seems to be a theme across all the company visits so far: they prioritize their work life balance a lot more than in the US. It is so interesting to compare the two systems.

After the company visit, we went to Oma Forest for a hike! The walk up the hill was very steep and muddy, so it was definitely a challenge! However, once we reached the top we were rewarded with a delicious sandwich and the ability to see the beautifully painted trees. They were 32 different images painted in the trees. It was a fun scavenger hunt to find them all! My favorite was the white eye right at the beginning. Its image was immediately obvious and stood out to me. I really enjoyed this hike and thought it was a great opportunity to see something new!

After this, we went to Guernica. Here, we saw the parliament building and many fascinating historical buildings and statues. It felt really meaningful being able to hear about the town’s history. Near the end, we watched this historical video about the bombings from inside a bomb shelter people hid in. The video made me very emotional and it was very obvious the impact that this tragedy had on the town. I am very happy that we got to see Guernica and I feel it added so much historical impact to the trip.