We left this morning for a second visit to this cool city. We visited 9 years ago when we did a bike & barge.
Rotterdam, major European port and second largest city of the Netherlands. It lies about 19 miles (30 km) from the North Sea, to which it is linked by a canal called the New Waterway. The city lies along both banks of the New Meuse (Nieuwe Maas) River, which is a northern distributary of the Rhine River.
The name Rotterdam was first mentioned in 1283, when a small tract of reclaimed land was created by draining the mouth of the Rotte River (another distributary in the Rhine River delta). Rotterdam developed as a fishing village and was chartered in 1328. In 1340 the town received permission to dig a canal to the Schie (another tributary of the New Meuse River), and it became the major port of the province. In the 17th century, when the discovery of the sea route to the Indies gave an enormous impetus to Dutch commerce and shipping, Rotterdam expanded its harbours and accommodations along the Meuse. Before the end of the century it was, after Amsterdam, the second merchant city of the country.
Rotterdam adjusted to the changed circumstances after the French occupation, which, from 1795 until the fall of Napoleon in 1815, halted most trade. Transit trade grew more important, and between 1866 and 1872 the New Waterway was dug from Rotterdam to the North Sea to accommodate larger oceangoing steamships. In 1877 the city was connected with the southern Netherlands by a railroad crossing the Meuse River. The simultaneous construction of a traffic bridge across the Meuse opened that river’s south bank, where large harbour facilities, extending westward, sprang up between 1892 and 1898. Between 1906 and 1930 Rotterdam’s Waal Harbour was built; it became the largest dredged harbour in the world.
During World War II Rotterdam’s city centre and more than one-third of the port’s facilities were destroyed by the Germans. The city hall (1918), the main post office (1923), and the stock exchange were among the few public buildings that escaped destruction. The 15th-century Grote Kerk (Great Church), or St. Laurenskerk (St. Lawrence’s Church), was burned in 1940 but was later restored.
Rotterdam literally rose from its ashes after its devastation by bombing during World War II. A totally new inner city was laid out, with a spacious and functional architecture oriented toward the river and a series of experiments at complete city planning that have attracted both professional and touristic admiration. The Lijnbaan Shopping Centre became the prototype for similar centres in Europe and America that allowed only pedestrian traffic.
Rotterdam’s economy is still almost completely based on shipping. The port lies at the heart of the densely populated and industrialized triangle of London, Paris, and the German Ruhr district and at the mouths of two important rivers (the Rhine and the Meuse), yet it is also open to the North Sea, the world’s most heavily navigated sea. The amount of sea-transported goods that pass through Rotterdam’s harbour and that of its outport, Europort, is the largest in the world in terms of capacity, with much of its cargoes consisting of crude oil or petroleum products. Rotterdam is also one of the largest grain and general-cargo harbours on the continent. It is a major transshipment port for inland Europe, with tens of thousands of Rhine River barges using its facilities.
We arrived had a nice breakfast at Bagel and Bean
We caught the #1 tram to the cube houses, one of our favorite architectural marvels.
The trams run over a grassy parkland setting.
In the Netherlands you tap your card when you get on, and tap when you get off. If not the fare doesn’t stop accumulating and you might buy your very own tram.
Kijk-Kubus
The remarkable yellow houses on pylons are designed by architect Piet Blom. He wanted to create a village in the middle of the city, in which he compared every individual house with a tree. The whole complex got the name Blaakse Bos, which can be translated to the Forrest of Blaak. There are 38 cube-shaped houses and 13 bigger cubes for companies.
We got to tour the inside of one and it was super cool. Would love to see one lived in to see how they decorate these lil cubes. This one had some great paintings on the main floor.
It’s hard to stop seeing different angles or just stop walking around these absolutely FUN unique houses.
Okay it’s getting peoply and the market is calling. Time for exploring, eating and capturing one of the biggest and most gorgeous colorful ceilings.
It’s hard to capture the ceiling to share. Here’s the best we can do with a few panos over our heads 🤪
Great way to sample local foods and everything was fresh and delightful
Next up, a walk along the river
WWII Tribute
THE MERCHANT NAVY, THE BOW IN MEMORY OF THE SEAFARERS WHO DIED OF THE NETHERLANDS MERCHANT NAVY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1940-1945
A gorgeous day in Rotterdam so let’s walk across the famous Erasmus Bridge. The Erasmusbrug is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge. Construction began in 1986 and was completed in 1996. It crosses the Nieuwe Maas in the centre of Rotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of the city. She’s a beauty
There are some very interesting buildings.
Lastly an important building the Witte Huis (White House) in Rotterdam is an office building constructed between 1897 and 1898 by the architect W. Molenbroek, commissioned by the brothers Gerrit and Herman van der Schuijt. These individuals were two Rotterdam entrepreneurs.
With its impressive height of 45 meters, The White House was the tallest office building in Europe during its time, and for decades, the tallest building in the Netherlands.
This historic building survived World War II and, along with the Sint-Laurenskerk, was one of the few structures that remained standing in the area.
The exterior of The White House bore numerous bullet impacts, which were later removed during restoration. However, one bullet impact on the left side, facing the Wijnhaven quay, was preserved. There were also plans for its demolition, but they were never carried out.
It has been a full day exploring Rotterdam and we end our day with Rotterdam’s art depot, which was opened by King Willem-Alexander on November 5, 2021, is affectionately known as the “salad bowl” or “De Pot.” MVRDV designed the building after winning a competition in 2013. Interestingly, an IKEA bowl on their conference table served as the inspiration for its unique shape.
It looked like a supersized Chicago Bean and of course we did a selfie
Rotterdam, Maas thinks, is particularly suited to such eccentric form-making. “It is not a city with regular urbanism,” he says. It was flattened in the second world war, and the decades since have seen all manner of strange experiments, from cube houses on stilts to elephantine market hall (another result of a model being turned upside down). “It’s about making objects. Every generation makes its mark, and the next reacts.”
A day of adventures and walking a city we really liked before and thoroughly enjoyed it again. Back to Amsterdam and to our home away from home for 2 more nights.
Goedenacht vrienden
