{"id":453,"date":"2015-06-08T07:19:03","date_gmt":"2015-06-08T07:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kiwihoods.com\/?p=453"},"modified":"2015-06-08T07:19:03","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T07:19:03","slug":"rotterdam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kiwihoods.com\/?p=453","title":{"rendered":"Rotterdam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday 5\/6\/15 Off to Rotterdam to meet up with Kristie (for those who don’t know Kristie is a\u00a0friend I work with).\u00a0 The day started warm but it was a heatwave for Holland with a temp of at least 32 degrees \u2013 felt just like what\u00a0we had left in Aus \u2013 sweating hot weather (don\u2019t miss it one little bit). \u00a0We had heard that Staadcamping in Rotterdam wasn\u2019t a very nice campsite, but it was fine.\u00a0 A bit rustic \u2013 a big paddock with electricity in some places and the shower cubicles are small and there isn\u2019t any loo paper \u2013 you have to ask for it at reception \u2013 but I think some people are a little precious about camping grounds.\u00a0 This camp site is 3-4kms from the centre of Rotterdam and it is the only one so it\u2019s great just to be able to park up safely and bike into the centre.\u00a0 We travelled from delft to the campsite in about 30 minutes.\u00a0 Got on our bikes and biked to the grand central hotel to meet up with Kristie.\u00a0 We had read that after Rotterdam got bombed so badly during the war when they rebuilt they decided to build modern and not like most other places that re-built things the way they were.\u00a0 We were very impressed with how it has been rebuilt.\u00a0 The architecture is really quite amazing and they could teach Aust and NZ a few lessons on better architecture.<\/p>\n

We saw the new market place \u2013 where there are apartments on the outside of the big arch that forms over a food market \u2013 with the most delicious looking food \u2013 it\u2019s amazing inside, peoples windows in their apartments look over the market below.\u00a0 A place where I wished I had the most amazing metabolism so I could try all the cuisine.\u00a0 We wandered around the city which is so unlike anything we have seen in Europe yet.\u00a0 Not that it is remarkable \u2013 just so modern compared with everywhere else.\u00a0 We heard music playing so headed in that direction to find a cultural concert which we sat down and enjoyed along with the free wine and beer they were handing out.\u00a0 We found V&D department store where they have a great eatery and had dinner.\u00a0 Whilst eating we had a thunder storm with hail \u2013 how ironic that we get a day like Brisbane and then get a typical Aussie storm at the end of it.\u00a0 We then went to an Irish bar for a nightcap before saying goodbye.\u00a0 As I said on facebook \u2013 In a place where everyone is a stranger it is so nice to see a friendly face that you know well \u2013 was so sad to say goodbye but at least we had that little bit of time.<\/p>\n

We decided to stay on in Rotterdam for Saturday and biked once again into the city.\u00a0 What we did though was just bike around street after street \u2013 looking at different parts of the city since it is really quite a big city.\u00a0 We were heading for the docks as there were a few places there that are historic, but would have been too far to walk to on Friday.\u00a0 When we found a really cool place with a lot of quite old boats on the canal we parked the bikes and wandered around the cafes.\u00a0 There were so many people sitting in the sun in these cafes and so many others wandering around \u2013 a very busy day.\u00a0 You can tell everyone is coming out for the summer sun.\u00a0 Scot found a pub that had about 20 boutique brewed beers and the owner started talking to us as we stood outside looking at all the bottles.\u00a0 A very nice man \u2013 who obviously enjoyed having someone who was interested in hearing about how all the beers were brewed so he sat with us for a while having a chat.\u00a0 I was interested to hear where he thought were the best places to visit, so when we left we went on his recommendation and continued towards the harbour\/docks of the area of the former Holland\/Amerika lines.\u00a0 In its hay day it was the liner that all the immigrants went to America on to start a new life.\u00a0 The area was also the old red light district, but is now a food market and eatery along with apartments that looked like they could now be used for new ethnic immigrants.\u00a0 We ended up going to the end of the island where the SS Rotterdam rests.\u00a0 This is the largest Ship that the Netherlands ever built and did its last world voyage back in 1997.\u00a0 It now sits as a tourist attraction with guided tours, hotel rooms, restaurants and bars.\u00a0 However the first two floors and promenade deck are free to the public which as poor tourists J we took advantage of.\u00a0 We talked to the lady guide who was very friendly and again seemed amazed that we were on a 12 month European holiday.\u00a0 People over here seem to think we are incredibly adventurous, but I don\u2019t think many people from NZ and Aussie travel too far out of their comfort zone \u2013 or the tourist zones.<\/p>\n

I am impressed with the bikeways around the city \u2013 it certainly makes bike riding much more enjoyable when you know the cars aren\u2019t going to run you over or come so close you fall off your bike.\u00a0 Also you get to see lots of things you most likely wouldn\u2019t see from a car at a higher speed.\u00a0 The bikeways are on each side of the road and have a centre line to allow both way bike traffic.\u00a0 The only thing that stuffs it all up is the scooters travelling at 60+km that fly past you and scare the pants off you.\u00a0 It is illegal for them to do that, but it seems most don\u2019t get caught.\u00a0 We really were wowed by the architecture and you will have to excuse all the photos we took as it is so different from the boring square typical staid uninventive architecture we are used to.<\/p>\n

Below there is a photo of one building that didn\u2019t get bombed during the war and it\u2018s really quite a cool building.\u00a0 It was built about the 1890\u2019s so is very old although it doesn\u2019t look it.\u00a0 Another picture is like an Escher building where the walls are all cubes and it looks like the rooms are sloping downwards \u2013 really an amazing building.\u00a0 There are peoples books and things in the windows.<\/p>\n

I hadn’t been fussed on visiting Rotterdam, but I am glad we did because it is an amazing city with so much to see, but you do need a bike to see it all.<\/p>\n