Advertisement
Published: August 11th 2018
Edit Blog Post
Rotterdam
The old Rotterdam Sushine at last.
We arrived in Rotterdam and were greeted by sunshine and blue skies. If anything it was too warm. I know. Picky, picky, picky. Walked from the pier, across the Erasmus Bridge and caught the Hop-On-Hop Off trolley. Although it was interesting to ride on an old trolley the announcements were few to non existent. One stop we both wished to do was the area where the Pilgrims set out for the New World. It has a very old church, a windmill and houses that were built before WWII. Most of the center of Rotterdam was bombed in 1940 by the Nazis and later bombed gain by the Allies. Most of the architecture is post war and new buildings are being built.
Too bad so sad. Instead we got off at the Euromast, a tower something like the space needle and the views from the observation platform were amazing. We had a 360 view of Rotterdam and the surrounding area all the way to Antwerp. One site that caught my eye was the old Rotterdam, permanently moored at her home port and a combination hotel, restaurant and museum complex. I remember Bill Russell
Rotterdam
View from the Euromast telling me about crossing the pond on that ship when he was a boy.
We had lunch at the brassiere and watched the brave souls zip line down the tower. Later we took the water taxi for a wild ride back to the bridge and to the ship. The taxi ride was the most fun.
Next day found us on the road early for a trip to Gouda (pronounced Howda). We enjoyed the drive through the city and out into the countryside. Our guide was knowledgeable and pointed out points of interest and sharing the background of the region. One thing he pointed out was black object across a river as we drove alongside on a dike. This was a boat that was on the river when heavy rain and snow melt damaged the dike. Just as a large hole appeared on the dike, the boater rammed his vessel into the hole and thus prevented a catastrophic flood. The little Dutch boy lives.
Some were disappointed that the stores were closed on Monday. Didn’t effect us. We walked around the square and admired the quirky ton hall. The highlight was a
visit to Sint Jan’s Church (St. John’s) originally built as a Catholic Church. The stained glass dates back to the 15th century and they are magnificent. The largest widows were o King Philip of Spain and Queen Mary.
After touring the Church we stopped in a cheese shop. Imagine a busload of people crammed into a small shop trying to decide on dozens of Gouda Cheeses or all other kinds as well. It was just short of bedlam. I sampled garlic Gouda, tomato Gouda, and many others but decided to buy local pure Gouda. When we got back to the ship the new cruisers were embarking and soon it was time to sail away. I sat in my deck chair and watched the massive Port of Rotterdam go by. I must have dozed off and when I opened my eyes we were on the North Sea headed for Dublin.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.41s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 15; qc: 49; dbt: 0.1843s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb