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Home Page > Travelogues > Netherlands > Rotterdam
I'm not a big city fan -- I prefer smaller cities and
towns, or big cities that think they are small towns (like Munich).
When I go to big cities, I tend to expect more dirt and trash, more crowds, more
boring glass and steel architecture, and more of a cold big-city attitude
towards strangers. I found Rotterdam, a major port city, to Rotterdam is a sprawling metropolis, built around several islands on the massive Maas River, seen in the first photo. The Maas is massive, much wider than the Rhein. It is so big that by afternoon it seems almost as rough as the sea. There are over a dozen ports (havens) along the river, and large canals run inland toward the city center. The row of buildings along the right edge of the photo is of an island (Nord... Island). The Rotterdam Centraal train station is at the north edge of
downtown, and upon leaving it, you are immediately immersed in the shopping
district. This district was a good eight city blocks big, and I combed The strip malls are unique and colorful, like the Beurstaverse in the third photo. This one is called "The Trench" according to the city's own website because it is built below street level -- the road is above the photo to the right. The Beurstraverse is a whole block long and connects together several other shopping centers. It's not all newness in the downtown. In fact, there's
quite a number of old Closer to the water is the Wijnhaven, fourth photo, which is probably Rotterdam's best-known hangout. The Wijnhaven is home to Rotterdam's maritime museum, and the harbor is filled with old relics, all surrounded by the area's trendiest bars and clubs. The Old Harbor, Oudehaven, is off the photo to the left, and is a regular marina for the locals. The area was pretty quiet when I went by because the majority of people populate the shopping district by day, then shift over to the Wijnhaven at night. The tall red structures you see in the distance is one of
Rotterdam's bridges, the Willemsbrug -- it is the same bridge you see from the
side in the first photo. The Willemsbrug was where I started a walkabout
of The other part of that walkabout that fascinated me was the
wacky artwork. Rotterdam is home to several massive, interesting metal
sculptures. One of them decorates the grounds of Rotterdam's Architectural
Institute, and is shown in the The Museumpark and Het Park next to it were beautiful parks with
more traditional scenery -- sculptures of famous locals, quiet Het Park hosts the EuroMast, a very high observation deck with several levels -- the highest being 180m above ground. The sixth and final photo in this travelogue was taken from the middle level, 112m high. The park directly below was Het Park, the Erasmusbrug was the white structure in the upper left, and the telecom building was the rounding building in the upper center. I would warn that the three lower observation decks and their connecting staircases are outside, which may not appeal to the acrophobic among you. I was pleasantly surprised. I expected to see a lot of new -- but not so much character in such a big city. I rather enjoyed my trip there, and can see why it is a popular place for big-city-oriented foreigners. Trip taken 20 October 2002 -- Page last updated 01 September 2006 -- (C) 2002 Tom Galvin Useful Links:
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