Roadtrip to Rotterdam


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Europe » Netherlands » South Holland » Rotterdam
May 2nd 2007
Published: August 6th 2007
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Some crazy statueSome crazy statueSome crazy statue

Because of all the amazing and strange architecture the city skyline can look really interesting from certain angles.
To put it bluntly, Rotterdam kicks Amsterdam’s butt. It’s a beautiful, clean city with some really amazing, modern architecture. After having visited there I really can’t understand why everyone raves about Amsterdam so much and hardly anyone talks about Rotterdam.

I was invited to go there on a roadtrip just last weekend with four French guys; JB, Greg, Olivier and Mathieu. It was a last minute decision - they invited me on Wednesday night and we were in the car and leaving Strasbourg by Friday afternoon.

It was so exciting to leave Strasbourg by car. In fact, it was pretty exciting just to be in a car at all considering I haven’t driven for almost four months. I had my face pressed against the window like a dog pretty much the whole way!

Coming from Australia, where it takes a good day if not more to drive between cities, it was pretty strange to drive only six hours and cross three international borders. We went from France through Luxemburg, through Brussels, and then into the Netherlands. As soon as we crossed the Netherlands’ border I was naively expecting to see fields of tulips and big wooden windmills. No such luck. It was just pretty much the same old green fields you see by the side of most motorways. A little disappointing, I have to admit. I guess you can't believe everything you see on postcards!

But on arrival in Rotterdam my spirits lifted again. I fell in love with the city as soon as I saw it. Actually it reminded me a bit of Sydney from a distance - big tall buildings with lots of surrounding water. The centre of Rotterdam was pretty much destroyed during the Second World War so a lot of the town centre is really new and it looks like they’ve had fun trying to create an interesting looking city.

A friend of the boys I was travelling with, Max, is doing a student exchange in Rotterdam this year and he and his Swiss flatmate, Flo, were generous enough to let the five of us crash at their place for a couple of nights. We were all pretty much camping on the floor but it was fantastic to not have to pay for accommodation.

As we were only there for two nights and two days we didn’t get to see absolutely
More cool buildingsMore cool buildingsMore cool buildings

These cubes are actually apartments.
everything Rotterdam has to offer, but we did go for a good walk around the city, including a trip up the giant Euromast to check out the awesome view from the top. We even made it to the beach, about 30 minutes from the city by train. Not the prettiest beach I’ve ever seen but it was the first time I’ve been to a beach since I left home and it was really nice to feel the sand on my feet again.

All in all, a fantastic weekend away. I was a little apprehensive at first to be spending an entire weekend with boys but it turned out to be a blast. They were all really nice and even though Max and Flo both spoke English, I spent most of the weekend practising my French which was an added bonus to checking out a new city.



Additional photos below
Photos: 18, Displayed: 18


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More cool buildingsMore cool buildings
More cool buildings

Bit of a closer look.
EuromastEuromast
Euromast

A view of the city from the Euromast - 186 metres high it's the tallest building in Rotterdam.
EuromastEuromast
Euromast

The circle thing on the pole is where the video at the top is taken from. It spins around a few times so you can see everything.
Greg & the local bar's dogGreg & the local bar's dog
Greg & the local bar's dog

Half asleep after driving all the way from Strasbourg
Mathieu, me, Max, Flo & OlivierMathieu, me, Max, Flo & Olivier
Mathieu, me, Max, Flo & Olivier

Some people just can't take the pace...
The Coke MuseumThe Coke Museum
The Coke Museum

The owner of Max & Flo's apartment has a cabinet filled with Coke paraphernalia so, bored one afternoon, we decided to take photos pretending it was a Coke museum.
Rotterdam BeachRotterdam Beach
Rotterdam Beach

About a 30 minute train ride away is the beach, full of icecream stands and umbrellas against a backdrop of factories and electric windmills.
Rotterdam BeachRotterdam Beach
Rotterdam Beach

I'm not sure what it is about the Netherlands, but when I'm there it seems everything's under construction, even the beach!
Australian Premium IcecreamAustralian Premium Icecream
Australian Premium Icecream

Does this even exist in Australia?? I thought icecream came from this part of the world...


3rd May 2007

Love the Australian Icecream
You gotta love advertisers - they will use any angle. Australia is so far away - who is going to know!! looks like it was a great trip - hopefully being the only female you got spoilt!!
4th May 2007

Australian ice cream rocks
are you kidding you have never heard of australian ice cream. it's the best. and the chocolate too. i used to work next door to one in Pitt st mall and it provided our 3pm sugar fix on many occasions. there's even one in bondi junction westfield.... remember that place.... loving your blog babe.
4th May 2007

What kind of Australian am I?
What a poor representation of Australia I am then if I've never even had Australian icecream!
21st May 2007

awesome
love the buildings they look fun. dont know what your talking bout i have Australian ice-cream all the time. it tastes awesome, oh no wait a minute thats royal copenhagen! hihi
23rd May 2008

Looking back...
It's strange to look back over this, a year later, and read my thoughts on Rottoerdam vs. Amsterdam. Looking back, if I were to visit one of the two cities again it would actually be Amsterdam. I don't think Rotterdam has that much more to offer while Amsterdam has so much more history. Just shows how various factors happening at the time skewed my opinions.
4th March 2009

does it exist
I have to laugh about the Austrian ice cream. Living here, I am finding a lot of things 'American', that I have never seen or heard of. Hahaa

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