Our Spanish course students visit Guernica

On Thursday 12 of September we went to Guernica, a city near Bilbao in the province of Bizcay ( Basque Country).  In the morning the students attended their Spanish course at Instituto Hemingway and afterwards at 14:30 they headed towards Atxuri the station where trains leave every half an hour bound for Guernica.

In only 40 minutes we arrived at the station in Guernica and we immediately began to explore the city walking to our first must-see stop, the Museum of Peace.

" There is no way to peace, peace is the way". This quote by Gandhi very clearly underlines the objective of this Museum. This unassuming building aims to get its visitors to understand the concept of "peace" and its importance.  The permanent exhibitions investigate the meaning and the absence of peace in the past during the Spanish Civil War using audiovisual and written methods.

A very moving exhibition  is the reconstruction of a Guernica house on the 26th of April 1937.  A very interesting commentary narrates the history of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War and the scene changes to simulate  an air raid by the German, Spanish and Italian air force.  We really liked the exhibition because it offered us a unique perspective into life before, during and in the aftermath of the war. The audiovisual puts the brutality of the War and the need for peace into perspective. We found the Peace Museum emotionally stimulating as a powerful reminder of the peace efforts in all parts of the world.  A visit to this symbol of peace in a war-torn world is essential.

Whilst having coffee all together, the Spanish course students reflected on the Museum´s message and they got to know each other better.  After the break we visited the Casa de Juntas( The General Assembly), the headquarters of the General Board of Biscay. We marvelled at the roof covered with stained glass in the form of a tree.

Afterwards we visited the Tree of Guernica, an oak that symbolizes the traditional freedoms of Bizcay. We returned to Bilbao after a moving and interesting experience. Visiting Guernica is worth the trouble. It will not disappoint you.

If you want to enjoy free cultural excursions like this sign up to a Spanish course at Instituto Hemingway; every Monday we begin new groups at all levels.