{"id":9315,"date":"2018-03-06T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T14:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=9315"},"modified":"2018-02-22T23:53:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T04:53:14","slug":"gateway-to-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=9315","title":{"rendered":"Gateway To The World"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2018 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved<\/i>.<\/p>\n

There are many cities in the Netherlands that are worthy of being considered a great day trip!<\/p>\n

Having been to many of these cities, Alkmaar, Zaandam, Delft, the Hague, Haarlem, Leiden, Volendam, Utrecht, Enkuizen, Gouda and Muiden, somehow, Rotterdam had escaped my attention.<\/p>\n

Maybe I thought that it was just too far.\u00a0 Or maybe…I just thought it wouldn’t be as interesting of a city because I had always heard of it described as a “new” city.<\/p>\n

Rotterdam dates back to 1270, when a dam was constructed in the Rotte river. Seventy years later, Rotterdam was granted city rights by the Count of Holland and with it strategic location by the North Sea and rivers, Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt, it allowed access into the heart of Western Europe, giving it the title, Gateway To The World.\u00a0<\/em> The second largest city in the Netherlands, it was almost completely destroyed during World War II when it was subject to extensive bombing by the Germans.\u00a0 As the city recognized the challenge of rebuilding, a wide array of architectural styles resulted, including sky-scrapers, an uncommon feature in other Dutch cities.<\/p>\n

Arriving into Rotterdam Central Station, I stepped out into the cold morning after a longer than necessary train ride (I mistakenly took the Sprinter train instead of the Intercity direct, an extra 25 minutes).\u00a0 Walking through the modern station, I first stopped at the Information Center to purchase a map of the city and ask for any advice on seeing what Rotterdam had to offer.<\/p>\n

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Deciding to abandon plans to take public transportation, as it would prohibit me from seeing all of the little things, I set out to walk the city with a few landmarks in mind.<\/p>\n

\"\"The first thing I noticed about Rotterdam is while there are new buildings and skyscrapers, there are also still some older buildings scattered throughout the city, sometimes sandwiched between newer construction.\u00a0 I thought that this gave an interesting quality to the city…a sort of ying-yang.\u00a0 The second thing I noticed was that sculpture is EVERYWHERE!\u00a0 Following the canal that led away from the train station, I began to see interesting pieces of artwork lining the banks.\u00a0 Each piece was identified by a metal plaque on the walkway advising observers of the name of the artwork, the artist’s name and location and year constructed.\u00a0 Making for a nice leisurely walk, I stopped at each of the sculptures as I made my way south on Westersingel to Eendrachtsplein, where I found the current location of the controversial sculpture by Paul McCarthy, Santa Claus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>A shocking statue, it depicts the beloved Santa not holding a Christmas tree but a sex toy.\u00a0 While some people have defended it proclaiming that it reflects the fetishization of Christmas and the prevalent sexuality in consumer society, others declared it vulgar and offensive.<\/p>\n

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Continuing my jaunt toward Westzeedijk, I headed west.\u00a0 Walking through the grounds of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, I encountered the Greek Orthodox Church and a monument to G.J. De Jongh, the former Director of the Municipal Works of Rotterdam (1879-1910), responsible for urban and port growth.\u00a0 Also in this area is the Kunsthal and Natural History Museums.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Further on, I gazed upward at the Euromast, the observation tower constructed between 1958 and 1960 and designed by Hugh Maaskant.\u00a0 Though I would have like to visit the observation platform to see the city from the tallest building in Rotterdam, time was limited and I was headed to the oldest part of the city, Delfshaven.<\/p>\n

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Delfshaven, once belonging to the city and municipality of Delft, was annexed by Rotterdam in 1886.\u00a0 Having escaped wartime bombing, the small historic center has been carefully preserved and features local museums, a brewery and countless eating establishments.\u00a0 Here you can also find old bridges, a windmill and the Pilgrim Father’s Church.<\/p>\n

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\"\"The Pilgrim Father’s Church, dating back to 1417, when the Roman Catholic Church of St. Anthony was consecrated on the site, later fell into Protestant hands in 1574.\u00a0 When a group of English dissenters fled to the Netherlands in 1608, they later decided to make the journey to America so that they might worship in their own way.\u00a0 On July 21, 1620, they knelt in prayer on the quay near the church before boarding the ship, the Speedwell.<\/p>\n

The present facade, with its bell-shaped gable was built when the church was heightened in 1761 and the church was acquired by the Foundation of Old Churches in Holland in 1992 and restored in 1998.\u00a0 Today, the church is rented for concerts, lectures, weddings,, exhibitions and is open every other Friday and every Saturday from\u00a01200 until 1600.\u00a0 Sadly, I was there on a Sunday and was only able to see the church from the outside, missing the stained glass windows depicting the six days of Creation and the oldest bell, cast in 1464, cracked and on display in the church.\u00a0 I did however, get to admire the old buildings and boats that lined the canals.<\/p>\n

Having not purchased a ticket for the mass transit, I wasn’t sure if I could purchase one on the tram, so began the long walk back in the direction that I had come.\u00a0 Finally arriving at the Maritime Museum, I skirted the harbor looking for a good vantage point to observe the Erasmus Bridge.<\/p>\n

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\"\"The Erasmus Bridge (Erasmusbrug) was completed in 1996 and is the largest and heaviest bascule bridge in Western Europe, connecting the north and south parts of the city.\u00a0 Named after Desiderius Erasmus (Erasmus of Rotterdam), a prominent Christian renaissance humanist, the cable-stayed bridge section with its single asymmetrical pale blue pylon with a prominent horizontal base has earned the bridge the nickname, The Swan.<\/em><\/p>\n

Gazing upon the bridge in the waning sunlight, I was also able to admire De Boeg, the war memorial which commemorates the 3,500 crew members of Dutch merchant ships that lost their lives in World War II.\u00a0 The monument symbolizes a bow in the concrete waves with a bronze addition added in 1965 depicting a helmsman, three sailors and a drowned one.\u00a0 Engraved is the text, “They kept course”.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Finally, heading back toward the train station, I made three quick detours to see some fantastic landmarks, Kijk Kubus (Cube Houses), innovative housing designed by Piet Blom, Grote of St. Laurenskerk (Church of St. Lawrence), the only remnant of the medieval city of Rotterdam, and Stadhuis Rotterdam (City Hall), the\u00a0Beaux Art style building (with Byzantine, Roman and Art Deco influences) that was one of the few buildings to survive the bombardment of World War II.<\/p>\n

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\"\"After five hours of intense sightseeing and walking throughout the old-yet-new<\/em> city of Rotterdam, my feet were aching, yet satisfied.\u00a0 I had seen all that the city had to offer and was confident that future travels would be easier, allowing me to explore the city in depth.<\/p>\n

\"\"It was time head back to Amsterdam and this time, I caught the Intercity Direct!\u00a0 Definitely the way to go!\u00a0 Heck, I didn’t really even have time to catch a nap!<\/p>\n

For more pictures check out Facebook, Snapping the Globe and Instagram, @snappingtheglobe.<\/p>\n

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Kunsthal Museum<\/strong><\/p>\n