If you have left your hometown at some point after school or university to live somewhere else, you probably have the same problem like I do. You don’t get to see your parents too often anymore. I have been living in Berlin for a number of years which is more than 600 kilometres away from my hometown, Mayen. Too far for a quick day or even weekend trip. Most of the time, there’s just not really a good reason to make the trip and Mayen unfortunately is for me not really an exciting place to spend a lot of time at (sorry). 

I have recently fixed (or let’s not get too greedy and settle for mitigated) this problem. Two years ago, when I was at home for some family event, my mum said in some random conversation that she really wanted to see Copenhagen, the Danish capital, one day. Since Copenhagen was set to host the Tour de France in the summer of 2022 I immediately saw the opportunity to catch two birds with one stone. One bird being the increase of the time spent with my mum and the second bird obviously being that I get to watch the start of the Tour. We went to Copenhagen last year, it was very nice, and it was decided that we would make this an annual thing. 

Since the biggest bike race in the world just went underway in Bilbao in the Basque Country this year, we spent our annual weekend trip in this beautiful part of the world. I guess most of you have not been to the Basque Country because it is by far not as popular a travel destination like its Spanish counterparts located at the Mediterranean sea. The Basque Country is obviously located at the Atlantic ocean and most probably because of its slightly rougher weather it has not developed the same appeal for travellers. Most of them coming from the northern parts of Europe who want to maximise their time spent under the sun and at the beach. This, however, means that the Basque Country is a very untouristic, untouched and authentic place. Characteristics most people I know are actually looking for these days (but are still booking their flights to Mallorca and Ibiza). 

If you go to a restaurant in the Basque Country, you don’t get a German menu, you don’t get an English menu and you are lucky if you get a Spanish menu. The Basques have their own language which is unlike Catalan not at all similar to the Spanish language. It in fact is the only European language that’s not connected at all to any other European language. It does seem that the Basques have not really been into mingling with others for a very long time. No tourists (that’s of course an exaggeration), a completely isolated language and to really hammer home the point of isolation: The top-tier football club of Athletic Bilbao does not accept any players to their team that are not born in the Basque Country.

I realise this might sound like the Basques are quite the nationalistic bunch that do not really like foreigners or anyone that’s not Basque. But that’s not true at all. Many Basques would appreciate independence from Spain and France (yes, the Basque Country stretches into France; no, didn’t know that either before I was there) but they don’t see themselves as superior or anything like that. They are actually super friendly and very happy to welcome you to their beautiful country. I’d say since they are not so over-exposed to tourists their hospitality actually feels a lot more genuine. They are just normal people treating you like a normal person. 

If you got a bit inspired by this post and do make the trip to the Basque Country at some point, let me save you from embarrassing yourself like I did though. At least a little bit.

We were staying in one of the many Casa Rurals you can book via booking.com or Airbnb (we picked this one and it was perfect). These are large, old but nicely renovated houses in the countryside, mostly in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by pure nature and run by Basque families who also live in these houses themselves. I already knew I would probably not find a specialty coffee café close by - we’re a tad bit spoiled by these in Berlin - but I tried Google Maps to find a good restaurant. Going by the reviews there was one very clear winner called Asador IBAIONDO. It was just ten minutes by car from our Casa Rural and I drove there a couple of days before my mum arrived.

I found a huge restaurant, easily able to host 100+ people who could come by car as well given the enormous parking lot that was just for this one restaurant somewhere in the countryside. I went in and found lots of people standing in front of the counter. I grabbed a (Basque) menu and tried to understand what it all meant and what I wanted to order. Since there was no clear line I positioned myself at the counter trying to get the attention of the person behind the counter just like you would do it in a crowded bar. Unfortunately, and although I am 1.92m tall, I did not get the attention of the person behind the counter. Person after person placed their order and I was ignored. I finally put my menu which was pinned to a wooden board on the counter and stood exactly in front of the young lady taking the orders but I still got the same result. I got nothing. Not even a quick look while the next person was coming to the counter and placed their order. After five minutes that felt like 15 because of the growing embarrassment the thought occurred to me that maybe they have a special ordering system in place I am just not accustomed to. I went to an older man and asked him what I had to do to place my order. He looked at me with a grin and just pointed to a roll at the door which I somehow missed and from which you could pull a number. He then showed me that above the counter there was a little screen that showed the number and that was the number of the person who could now order. I couldn’t see the screen either in all the time I was standing in front of the counter while the screen was exactly above me. Good lord, what an idiot I am. Self-serve is actually the name of the game in many Basque restaurants so please keep your eyes peeled for the number roll. 

While we’re at it, I need to complete the story by stating that the food at Asador IBAIONDO was absolutely magnificent. And I don’t just say that. When it comes to restaurants and cafés I have earned a reputation among those going with me to these places of being annoyingly picky. The Asador IBAIONDO is a fantastic place, excellently run, and delicious food. I went there again with my mum a couple of days later and even one more time again. The third time, the owner made sure to whisper to the guy at the counter who was taking my order that I was there for the third time and he should put some extras for free on our order. I just loved that.

Ongi etorri in the Basque Country.