Blogs from Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands, Europe - page 7

As the title maybe suggests today was a rather relaxing day spent sitting in the park. Erik had told us all of this free event taking place in a city park not too far from the house so we all set off with high hopes. It was actually quiet a long way from the house and as it turned out the massive free event was cool... if you were six. It was an event for kids see, some of it was quiet exciting though, i did enjoy the man wearing a bird cage on his head making bird calls. During our visit to Breda Erik had said that the best place in the Netherlands was in Rotterdam and after really enjoying my pizza i insisted that he take us to the place. This involved alot more ... read more

Today started in a hungover disorientated state. I awoke in Breda amongst Bollywood debris and my equally hungover Dutch hosts. Once we were all conscience enough, we set to work on bringing some order to the party Armageddon before heading off back to Rotterdam. On the way Erik and Saar suggested that we head into a Turkish bakery for some breakfast/lunch. We all ordered Turkish Pizzas which are wrap style snacks, they are Turkish bread with salad mayo and chilli sauce and perfect for those who are worse-for-wear. After a sleepy journey home on an old transcountry train, that had serperate compartments like in all the old films, we arrived back in Rotterdam desperate for our beds. After a long nap Saar's Dad had emailed her inviting us all to a gig that evening. Excitedly we ... read more

It would be fair to say that after day one, Laura and I were exhausted. So waking up at 10.30 on our first day was really an achievement . After solving the usual puzzle of a new shower system we dressed as tourists and headed into the city. As usual Laura was "Little miss photograph" asking me to stop every five minutes to take pictures of me standing next to things or pointing at them looking interested. Looking back at the photos she has taken though i must say that they are quite good. The shopping is good in Rotterdam and there seems to be shops to cater for absolutly everything. Except for one thing that is... a woman's fleece, we looked everywhere but there wasn't one. Usually this would not have been a problem in ... read more

Los primeros días de este viaje lo pasamos en Hellevoetsluis, un hermoso pueblito situado a una hora de auto de Rotterdam. La historia de Hellevoetsluis estuvo siempre ligada al agua. Debido a su posición estratégica, en la costa del Mar del Norte, fue el puerto principal de la flota de guerra holandesa desde el siglo 17. Con el paso del tiempo se fue fortificando hasta convertirse en el pueblo con puerto mas fortificado de Europa. Los capitanes mas famosos de la flota holandesa la utilizaron como su base. Durante el siglo pasado el canal que atravesaba Voorne permitió que Hellevoetsluis fuese un antepuerto de Rotterdam. En ese período el pueblo creció y tuvo una próspera industria naval. Lamentablemente la primer mitad del siglo 20 fue desastrosa para el pueblo. La marina cambió de puerto, la economía ... read more

We rode our bikes into Rotterdam city centre for a bit of a look around. Not the greatest place ive been too but there were a few nice things to look at . A lot of very strange architecture and weird shaped buildings. Apparently it was bombed very heavily during the war so there wasnt meaning historic buildings. We just relaxed by a park near the river. We then left Rotterdam to go and visit some of Nadines family in Den Haag. We spent the day with Nadines Mums cousin Sharan and her Parents. Den Haag was a really nice place with a fantastic beach with bar and restaurants down it. We then went to her parents house and tried Haring which is a fish that they eat raw. The dutch are really into but we ... read more