Rotterdam — Of An Interior

Rotterdam, one of the largest port cities in the world and our home for 9 years before moving to Kenya in 2017, is also our city of love. The place where we said ‘yes’ to each other and where we go back every summer to visit the familiar places our hearts have fallen for while living there, places that have felt our footprint sometimes on a daily basis sometimes for a special Sunday afternoon, places we want to keep the connection with for what they meant for us and which we’re hoping to instil the same love for to our children.

While all other cities in The Netherlands have the typical old Dutch architecture, Rotterdam has a completely new and modern architectural style. It wasn’t by choice that this happened. The heart of this port city was heavily bombed during Second World war and had to be rebuilt.

The statue of A Man Without A Heart or under it’s official name ‘The Destroyed City’ in the city center speaks about it’s painful history and barren look as a result of the bombing of May 14th 1940. The unveiling of the statue was quite a controversial event though acknowledged as the monument that would ‘preserve for eternity the memory of one of the worst event points in the history of the city and its people.’ Nevertheless what was a most unfortunate event lead to it being the most modern city of The Netherlands where the products of architectural imagination meet into a unique array of buildings embodying the city’s panorama.

The Markthall has been built while we were living there and hosts a wide variety of international cuisine restaurants on the ground floor with adjacent terraces and apartments from 1st floor upwards.

Inside De Markthall with a view on the Pencil Building and the Cube Apartment Building

Rotterdam gets its name from the dam built over the river Rotte.

Apart from the Rotte, our Dutch home city borders The New Maas with the well know Swan Bridge or Erasmus Bridge that connects Rotterdam to the neighborhood that used to be the old port headquarters - Kop van Zuid, redeveloped after the port moved its headquarters, now hosting Hotel New York - a historical building perfect for a high-tea or a luxury holiday stay.

The connection to the other side is done via the bridge where you can walk, bike or drive, or, if you love something different, via the Water Taxi or the Water Bus with different locations where you can be dropped off or picked up.

Waterbus on The Maas with the Kop van Zuid in the background.

On a Sunday with friends we said hello to the Maas Tunnel - the underwater tunnel that connects the two sides of Rotterdam mentioned above which one can cross by foot or by bike. With its 1343 meter distance it is the longest in Europe. We took the walk and enjoyed the pictures on the walls telling its story.

Building and renovation of The Maas Tunnel

Across the street from the tunnel we could show our kids the Euromast - a tower where you can have an easy lunch, a romantic dinner or go for entertaining activities during vacations or when the weather allows it. Also the place to be for rappelling in the city.

Next Sunday we stopped in Kralingen, the neighborhood where our home used to be, bordering the park where we biked, had picnics, took a dive, sailed, had our favorite snacks - patat met mayo (fries with Mayonaise sauce - typical Dutch snack served on a plate or in a paper cone) at De Eekhoorn (The Squirl), visited the animal farm and celebrated birthdays.

Here is a bit of Kralingen.

Rotterdam - The Place Where it all Started

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