Rotterdam: off the Backpacker Track

"Money is earned in Rotterdam, divided in The Hague and spent in Amsterdam"

Hi Everyone!
I have spent the last three days in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. I forget why I decided to come here other than I found a cheap hostel. Amsterdam is going to be very expensive, so I needed a break from that. Rotterdam is an interesting place, it is very Urban. It was bombed to the ground in 1940 during WWII. Instead of restoring the buildings and architecture of the past, they decided to rebuild completely differently. The buildings are very modern in their architecture. My favorite is the Cube houses. They are supposed to represent abstract trees. Each cube stands on its corner. They are yellow, which is strange if you are going for a tree theme. Apparently there is a hostel in them now. I didn't stay there. I stayed at the Mafkees. (Dutch for Silly Head.) It used to be an ice rink which they remodeled to put 124 beds in one big room. I get to stay in the girls dorm, which only has 24 beds. Last night I even had it all to myself. Ha. The fun thing about Rotterdam is the distinct lack of tourists. Everyone seems to be going about their business.
On Saturday when I got here there was a huge open air market taking place. There were hundreds of stalls with very cheap prices, 3-10 Euro for new clothes. There was even a fabric stall. It is a good thing I don't have room in my luggage because I was tempted to buy new clothes.
On Sunday I went to the Boijmans-van Beuningen art museum. (I saved 4,50 euro with my student ID). They had several Van Gogh and Monet paintings which I enjoyed seeing. In addition I found a painting that I loved by Jan Toorop, called The New Generation. It was fascinating. The paint was thick but very orderly. In the thick paint there were places where the paint had been scratched away in tiny designs that you could only see up close. This style is called 'salad oil type.'
Otherwise, the museum was full of the usual western art homage to christian symbolism. I saw at least three John the Baptist heads.
I Enjoyed the relaxed pace here Now it is on to Amsterdam!

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