Bilbao and Lublin, differences and similiarities

Polish and Spanish cities are not frequently compared. They are considered to belong to two different worlds, east and west, which because of numerous dissimilarities are not worth being juxtaposed. In opposition to this statement, two cities has been found more similar to each other  than it is commonly thought – Bilbao (Spain, Basque Country) and Lublin (Poland, Lublin Voivodeship). The strongest feature that binds them is the amount of citizens - in both cases it is more or less 350 thousand of inhabitants.
The number of population makes these two cities politically significant. Lublin is the city of major importance in the voivodship and the biggest city on the east side of the river Vistula.  Bilbao is the capital city of the Basque Country. They both include social or political institutions that are able to influence the government (although Basque Country has more autonomy, in example it has it's own, independent from the rest of Spain Treasury).
Geographical point of resemblance is the access to river. In Bilbao it's the river called Nervión and in Lublin – Bystrzyca. The cities are situated on the ancient Trade Routes, what in the past made them both the cog in the trade machine. It is also worth being pointed out that Bilbao and Lublin have airports, locally known football clubs (Motor Lublin and Atheltic Bilbao), attractive cultural life, universities and religious intitutions such as catholic seminaries. Although, when it comes to the quality of all these similarities and taking a closer look at them when set aside, it must be said Bilbao is much more developed and modern.
A distinction should be drawn between traditions. The Basque Country is known for having it's own, quaint minority language called Euskera. Many Basques are bilingual and speak not only Spanish but also Euskera. This phenomena cannot be observed in Lublin, which simply does not stand out with such uniqueness.
As far as mentality and habits are concerned there is a wide range of differences. People from Bilbao tend to be very open-minded but in the same time they have a lot of self esteem. They are known for perceiving themselves as 'kings of the world' but this is most probably only a stereotype. One thing is certain – Basque people are very attached to their land, traditions and families. They are extremely patriotic, what is rare in today's reality. Inhabitants of Lublin, by contrast, do not seem to be devoted to their country. However, the sense of unity with the family cannot be perceived as non-existent. According to infrastructure Lublin is rather chaotic and seems not to be thought trough as there is a mixture of styles and epoques, Bilbao is carrefully planned and the transport is much better developed.
Although Spanish and Polish living conditions and traditions are very different, some similarities may be found such us political significance or number of population. Bilbao and Lublin are the best examples of how both resemblence and distinctness may be binding.

Do not be afraid!

While walking through the streets I like to observe people, their clothing, their relations, their behaviour. It's amazing how much one can read from other person's face, how much one can discover by trying to look under the mask they put on everyday. In most of cases underneath it there's fear and pain. The latest study of WHO shows that more than 350 milion people suffers from depression, among them a significant percentage is youth. How's that possible? We grow up in the civilisation of technology, where addictins, the cult of beauty and crisis of family values makes us, the youth, be constantly scared of rejection. Every boy and girl has to face the cruel reality, struggling with their own consciousness just to be accepted. It seems like natural vocation of every gender is not popular anymore. A woman is no longer a wife, a mother, a person who brings love to the family and a man is no longer the force, the fighter. It is like we lived in a matrix and our deadly error was  keeping on living in comformist unity with it. Do not be scared of being yourself, pursue your aims, be a person YOU want to be, not people around you. Go further, go beyond the mediocrity, go find your heaven on earth and live your life to the fullest. The way to happiness apears to be easy, when you don't look at others and at what's being forced on you.

“True freedom is not advanced in the permissive society, which confuses freedom with license to do anything whatever and which in the name of freedom proclaims a kind of general amorality. It is a caricature of freedom to claim that people are free to organize their lives with no reference to moral values, and to say that society does not have to ensure the protection and advancement of ethical values. Such an attitude is destructive of freedom and peace.” 
― Pope John Paul II

“Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 
― Pope John Paul II