Rotterdam

by | Aug 16, 2023 | Europe, Netherlands | 0 comments

After the – for us – very long stay in Gouda we tackle the next big city of the Netherlands. Rotterdam, we come or much rather Rotterdam we come again. A while ago Mimi was already in Rotterdam, then the city could not convince her. The reasoning behind that was probably also that the visiting program was very tight, mainly art and architecture was the focus and was a real Chinese tour of Rotterdam. This time the experience should be much better.

The city center of Rotterdam

The advantage of traveling without Ben is certainly the chance to book a very central hotel in the heart of Rotterdam. We really enjoy being able to start our daily excursions right outside the hotel door in close proximity to the Rotterdam Market Hall and Rotterdam Blaak.
Unlike other Dutch cities, which are built more circularly around the center – some even with ring-shaped canals (water channels) – Rotterdam has a much more modern character. This is certainly due to the fact that both war and a huge city fire had wiped out the city center only in the middle of the 20th century and it had to be rebuilt. Thus, we find in the Witte de Withstraat an estimated kilometer of restaurants and bars lined up. Offers for the evening and night hours as far as the eye can see. Not far from there is the second big street in the city center, the Beurstraverse, where you can find shopping opportunities without end crowded together. And the best – we can reach all of this comfortably on foot from our hotel. Of course, this would also be possible with Ben, but we have seen exactly one other campervan directly in the center of Rotterdam, maybe we would have been the second one if we had Ben here?

Market Hall Rotterdam

Immediately upon arrival, our path takes us to the nearby Rotterdam Market Hall. We knew to expect a very modern market hall, the live experience was even better. In addition, the Rotterdam Market Hall is a market hall for feasting. There are more food stalls than food stands selling raw foods. Meals are offered everywhere, and so we too are immersed in a culinary flight. A special feature that we particularly like: Directly at the food stalls there are stairways that lead to the roof of the stalls. Once we reach the top, we can sit down at a table and enjoy our food with enough distance to the noisy market, but still with an interesting view.
The market hall is enclosed in a huge, futuristic building with a round outer shell. Simplified, the market hall is actually a building tube. Inside the tube wall there are stores and restaurants at the bottom and apartments at the top. The two tube openings are closed with gigantic, colored glass panes, so that the market takes place in the market hall but still has a lot of light and because of the height comes along somewhat airy. It is sometimes difficult to put what we saw into words, so one or two pictures of the market hall will certainly provide better clarity.
Over the four days we spent in Rotterdam, we are in the market hall several times for a snack or a full meal. It turns out that the stalls are best checked with two looks before placing an order. On average, in our small sample, we find about half of the stalls to be excellent whereas the other half tend to be below average. So, as always at the market, the same applies here: Look closely, avoid the tourist traps and pick out the gems!

Rotterdam Miniature World

In Rotterdam, we visit a miniature world. The best of the whole Netherlands has been reproduced here in great detail in a large miniature world. Windmills, trains, houses and entire city districts are staged with great charm. In the course of minutes, the times of the day are simulated, trains run and lights of the many houses are activated when needed. Really great job, we can spend some time not only marveling at the miniature world, but also finding the hidden “Easter eggs “. In one place we discover Superman, there are also several places where Pokémons are hidden, and finally, other comic book heroes are not to be missed. But we don’t want to give too much away, it’s still best to see the miniature landscapes for yourself.
In the basement of the museum, the miniature world of England is currently being expanded. The parts, which are already finished, reminded us very much of our first leg of this journey in England and Scotland. The craftsmen of the museum have reproduced the characteristic landscapes and sights very well.

Erasmus Bridge

An impressive structure in Rotterdam is the Erasmus Bridge. The peculiarity of this bridge is that the stay cables run only from one side via the pylon. The appearance of this large bridge is therefore very delicate and light, despite its impressive dimensions.
The bridge is the last one before the river Nieuwe Maas flows into the North Sea. Accordingly, the passability by large ships is also important. Therefore, the Erasmus Bridge combines two opposites. Directly adjacent to the Erasmus Bridge is the largest and heaviest European bascule bridge, with a span of 89 meters, to allow even very large ships to pass further up the river. And this in contrast to the aforementioned very graceful appearance of the Erasmus Bridge.

Boijmans Van Beuningen Depot

During our walks through the city center of Rotterdam, we notice, not entirely by chance, an extremely characteristic building. It is the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen and is part of an art archive. To laymen like Paddy, the building looks like an oversized, silvery flowerpot. The appearance is exciting in itself, and even the doors to enter the building have special swinging doors to preserve the exterior shape. Behind them are conventional rectangular doors. A real effort was made here to do justice to the design of the building also in its realization.
The surrounding Rotterdam skyline is reflected in the silvery facade. The sight is wonderfully futuristic. Tickets must be booked in advance to visit the interior of the art archive. We did not do this, but the sight from the outside is a little experience in itself.

Rotterdam Centraal Station Hall

For architecture lovers, Rotterdam Centraal station hall is worth a detour. It is the main station of Rotterdam and the detour is accordingly very small for most visitors to Rotterdam. It may well be that this station is naturally used for arrivals or departures to Rotterdam. In order to be able to let the special building form work on us without ballast we come here specially on a day without luggage. Thus, we can perceive the enormous roof construction and building form best.
The large hall with the tracks and platforms is followed by the reception hall with an extravagant shape. It almost looks like a folded sheet, which is leaned against the hall with the tracks to protect the passengers from the weather. Metal as well as wooden elements are combined to form a beautiful overall concept.
And of course, we soon pass Rotterdam Central Station again: our departure towards Amsterdam Airport takes us directly through this station.

With this stay, we have been able to shift the image of Rotterdam in Mimi’s memory quite a bit to the positive side. We liked the city very much, it is quite hip and lively, but unfortunately does not come close to the flair of Amsterdam because of the historically conditioned new buildings. For a city trip Rotterdam is still worthwhile – maybe soon, who knows!

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About us

We are Paddy and Mimi, a travel-hungry couple from tiny Switzerland in the middle of Europe. We call ourselves slow travelers, because we like to spend enough time in one place or country. Therefore we don’t only visit the typical sights but also get to know the culture of the respective country.

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Junín de los Andes, Argentina

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