Today David and Dayle, Alina, Wayne and I took a guided tour to Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague. Our driver was Pete, who was born in Rotterdam. There was a couple from Chicago, and a woman from Melbourne. We were in a nine seat Mercedes van.
The couple from Chicago were MAGAs. They believe the Minnesota welfare scam story. They don’t believe in climate change. They think that the Obama‘s enriched themselves more than during their his presidency, than Trump has during his. I said to them twice we should stop talking about this. There was no point.
Regional electric rail, runs next to the highway. Trains go 130-200kph here. Amsterdam to Rotterdam is about 30 minutes by rail, twice that by car.
I took almost 500 pictures today and have whittled down t what I will share in the blog to about 70. It’s already 11 PM as I begin to write so I’m going to try to be somewhat brief. I apologies in advance for any typos. It was an amazing day of new experiences and they’re just isn’t enough time to go into a lot of detail. At the end of my descriptions and photos, I will include a verbatim description that came from the tour company.
Rotterdam and The Hague are the second and third largest cities in The Netherlands.
All of the tallest buildings in the Netherlands are in Rotterdam, Rotterdam is more open and green than Amsterdam, and more car friendly, but still has lots of bicycles.
Erasmus Bridge was built in 1997. Rotterdam port is the largest in Europe and at one point in time was the largest in the world. Due to its proximity to the sea, it is a very windy city. On the day, the bridge was meant to open. It was unable to do so because of the amount that it was swaying in the wind. It used to be closed many days per year until it was reinforced, and now there were many fewer closures. The bridge has two lanes of motor vehicle traffic, two sidewalks, tram, lines, and bike lanes.
Only two cities in the Netherlands were heavily bombed during World War II. : Rotterdam and Arnhem, which is near the German border. The church in this picture was about the only thing standing at the end of the war as you can see in this picture shared by our guide Pete. The German ultimatum ordering the Dutch commander of Rotterdam to cease fire was delivered to him at 10:30 a.m. on May 14, 1940. At 1:22 p.m., German bombers set the whole inner city of Rotterdam ablaze, killing 30,000 of its inhabitants.
The church was built in 1572. Only 13% of people in the Netherlands are religious. In the Netherlands, a rooster on a church steeple is commonly used to indicate a Protestant (Reformed) church, serving as a distinct visual marker that sets it apart from traditional Catholic churches, which typically feature a cross. The use of the rooster is rooted in both theological symbolism and historical tradition, often functioning as a weathervane.
The public library is colourful, and known as The octopus, for the yellow ducts surrounding it. The building in front of it is colloquially known as The Pencil.
The transportation hub is known as the lid of the kettle.
We saw a postman arrive on his bike to deliver the mail.
The iconic Cube Houses were built in 1984. They were designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom and are about 1000 ft.² inside. One sold last year for about €400,000.
Here’s a slideshow. Use the arrows at the sides to scroll through it.
Each house contains three floors. Because each cube is placed on its corner about a quarter of the space is unusable. One of the residents has opened his home to curious tourists and makes a living showing it. Alina and I paid €3.50 each to visit.
There are three cubes on Sumach Street in Toronto, which were inspired by the Rotterdam cubes.
The Markthall residential and retail building designed by MVRDV. Located in the city center, it features a massive indoor fresh food market, 228 apartments, and a 4-story underground parking garage. The building is famed for its huge 11,000 m2 “Horn of Plenty” ceiling mural.
Our guide told us that a five bedroom condo had recently sold for €1.2 million which seemed like a good price to me, but he thought it was an extraordinarily high price given the average wage in Rotterdam.
We were given half an hour of free time at the Markthal. We rushed downstairs to the privately owned and operated bathrooms, which cost €1.60 to enter. They were very clean and modern and there was relaxing music in the stall, and advertising projected on the mirror. It was an odd experience. Almost half of our time was used getting into the bathroom because there was a large Toor group in front of us.
As we finished, we split up and raced around to get something to eat and get back to the van. I had a beautifully made latte and freshly made waffle with Nutella, mangoes, and strawberries. It was delicious.
Next, we drove to Delft. On the way out of Rotterdam we saw several residential areas with enclosed bike storage. Mostly bikes are stored outside here locked up to racks and railings.
We stopped for an hour at the Delft museum. It was a lovely little museum. With many examples of Delft pottery. De Porceleyne Fles has been producing Delft pottery of all different kinds, and in all colours and sizes, since 1653.
Besides Delft Blue, over the period from 1880 to 1981 Royal Delft also produced many architectural ceramics. These are ceramics specially made to adorn the façades and interiors of buildings.
This character is giving some serious side-eye.
In 1602 the Dutch East India Company captured a Portuguese ship transporting a large shipment of Chinese porcelain. The sale of these items yielded a record amount. The exotic blue and white ceramics became extremely popular. Pottery manufacturers in Delft tried to imitate this unique porcelain. It took many years of experimentation before they were successful. The museum had a Delft version of The Night Watch.
When I saw this clock the lyrics of a song from my childhood came into my head. Johnny Cash, is one of many people who recorded My Grandfather’s Clock.
My grandfather’s clock
Was too large for the shelf,
So it stood ninety years on the floor;
It was taller by half
Than the old man himself,
Though it weighed not a pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn
Of the day that he was born,
And was always his treasure and pride;
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
No of my group knew the song. But when I asked Cindy about it at dinner, she knew it, and said she had learned it in the Girl Guides. I was also a Girl Guide.
They also made home fittings.
We were able to see the workshops.
Every piece is hand painted and signed by the artist.
A collaboration between Amsterdam‘s street art Museum and Delta blue led to these creations shown in this slideshow of six images below. There are small arrows on either side of the slideshow to scroll though it.
The museum had a lovely courtyard, and the window frames were made out of porcelain.
We exited through the gift shop where a handpainted egg cup was on sale for €100.
A short drive took us into the city center, which is mostly car free. There were many beautiful views of Canal bridges, shown in the slideshow of six images below.
The lower level of the canal homes is right at the water level.
This is the main square which has City Hall at one end and new church at the other end. The Dutch Royal family are buried at the New Church. It was built between 1381 and 1510.
The statue in front of New Church is Grotius who was a priest. He was interested in law and wrote, wrote Freedom of the Sea, which became the basis for Maritime law.
We were given about an hour of free time. We split up and got food and explored. I had another latte and some banana bread.
I took a video of the activity on one of the small streets in Delft in mid afternoon.
On my walk to The New Church I passed the storefront which had an indoor bicycle storage facility. It’s free to store your bike for up to two weeks. The attendant was very friendly and proud of the facility and told me his city was the best place in the world to live.
I then rushed back to the New Church to climb the stairs of the tower. It was €7.50 to climb, but it was money well spent for the beautiful views.
I found climbing the 376 steps of the spiral staircase, quite easy. I climbed the CN Tower seven times in the past so in addition to being fewer steps, it’s I also find it easier to climb, spiral steps rather than flights of stairs.
Everyone in our group is very punctual and we were all back up the meeting spot at the requested time of 3:15 PM.
On the way out of Delft I asked Pete what the glass boxes on the left side of the road were. Delft has built an underground parking garage under the main road and these are the access points. What a great way to keep unsightly cars off the beautiful streets.
We also passed a windmill, which is still used to process barley for beer.
After a fairly short drive, we got to the modern city of The Hague, which means the hunting grounds of the counts.
Our first stop was to view the Dutch government buildings. The hexagonal tower at the left is the Prime Minister‘s office.
Our second stop was at the Kings Palace. In the time we stood and talked about the monarchy hundreds of cyclists passed by under the Crowns strung across the street in both directions.
Our final stop was at the Peace Palace. It opened in 1913, and is a global icon of international law and justice. Andrew Carnegie funded it.
I’ve written about Carnegie in several blog posts. He built A total of 2509 Carnegie libraries between 1883 and 1929. There were 125 built in Canada, 111 of which are in Ontario
The Peace Palace houses the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Peace Palace Library, and The Hague Academy of International Law. A copy of Grotius’ Freedom of the Sea it’s in the library.
In front of the Peace Palace is the World, Peace Pathway with an Eternal Flame and a walk from every country on earth. The gray red and black one represents Canada.
It was about an hour drive back to Amsterdam and we were dropped off first where we were picked up this morning.
I took a video of the activity on the Cyclepath before starting to walk to meet Mark and Cindy.
We met Mark and Cindy at a restaurant by the station, but it was very crowded and noisy. We decided to walk back to the restaurant where we had lunch on the first day and had another very good meal. It was then just a short walk across the road back to the hotel.
We spent time figuring out the train and transit system and think that we have a cheaper way to get to the city centre tomorrow where we will be visiting the van Gogh museum.
Perry, who turns out to belong to someone who lives in the neighborhood, not at the hotel, visited us again. Apparently, they reached an agreement with the owners because Perry likes to hang out at the hotel.She has a bed with a heat lamp in the lobby, but visited us again tonight and our room. She wasn’t very pleased when Alina decided it was time for her to leave for the night.
At midnight, I decided I’d better get to sleep and finish writing the blog, hopefully, in the morning.
Itinerary – verbatim from- The Hague, Delft and Rotterdam Small-Group Tour (Max. 8 People)
1 Markthal
The first stop in our journey is Market Hall in Rotterdam. It is the largest, most beautiful and fashionable market in the world. There are nearly 11,000 m2 of indoor paintings on the walls, which are currently the largest indoor paintings in the world. It is an open market, you could see almost all tranditional Dutch food here, such as: cheese, haring fish, stroopwafel, etc.
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2 Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk
This St. Lawrence Church is the only remnant of the medieval city of Rotterdam. It is also the first all-stone building in Rotterdam. The church is destroyed in the Second World War, after several repairs it has retained its current magnificent building. In addition to its church function, nowadays it is also used as a venue for exhibitions, concerts and other activities.
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3 Oude Haven
The Old Harbour is the oldest port in Rotterdam. It was built in 1350. There are many historical buildings around here. The port nowadays is full with bars and restaurants. It is a pleasant place to enjoy the views and the food here. You could still see some old barges and modern yachts moored here. This is a great place for a casual walk.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4 Kijk-Kubus
Cube houses are a set of innovative houses built in Rotterdam. It is designed based on the concept of “living as an urban roof”: high density housing with sufficient space on the ground level, since its main purpose is to optimise the space inside. The cube of a conventional house is turned 45 degrees, and rested it upon a hexagon-shaped pylon.
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5 Erasmus Bridge
Erasmus Bridge is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge. It crosses the Nieuwe Maas River in the centre of Rotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of this city. The Erasmus Bridge is Rotterdam’s most important landmark and is even part of the city’s official logo.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Euromast (Pass By)
Euromast is an observation tower in Rotterdam, It was specially built for the 1960 Floriade Flower Expo, and is a listed monument since 2010. Euromast is the highest building of the Netherlands, it is also a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.
6 Delft
Delft is a popular tourist destination and famous for its historical connections with the reigning House of Orange-Nassau for its blue pottery. In Delft, you would enjoy the view at the city center and have lunch here.
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7 Stadhuis Delft
The City Hall in Delft is a Renaissance style building on the Markt across from the Nieuwe Kerk. It is the seat of the city’s government as well as a popular venue for civic wedding ceremonies. Most administrative functions have been transferred to an office inside the Delft railway station building.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8 New Church
The New Church is a Protestant church in the city of Delft. The building is located on Delft Market Square (Markt), opposite to the City Hall. The church tower was completed in 1872, is the second highest in the Netherlands, after the Domtoren in Utrecht.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
9 Markt
There are many restaurants, bars, shops on the market square. You would have a walk here and have lunch at your own choice.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
10 Royal Delft – Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles
【Choose one place to visit. We go either Madurodam or Royal Delft Blue Pottery Factory. We don’t visit both places. You could choose one of two places】The Royal Delft Factory is a Dutch manufacturer of Delft Blue earthenware. It is the only remaining factory out of 32 that were established in Delft during the 17th century. Today, Royal Delft has been active for over 360 years, you would see live painting there.
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
11 Madurodam
【Choose one place to visit. We go either Madurodam or Royal Delft Blue Pottery Factory. We don’t visit both places. You could choose one of two places】Madurodam is a 1.8 square kilometers miniature ‘city’ / park and tourist attraction in The Hague. It is home to a range of 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch landmarks, historical cities and large developments. In 1972, it became the smallest city in the world. The city brings together more than 120 famous buildings and historical sites in the Netherlands.
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
12 Peace Palace
The Peace Palace is an international law administrative building in The Hague. It houses the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague Academy of International Law and the Peace Palace Library.
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Noordeinde Palace (Pass By)
Noordeinde Palace is one of the three official palaces of the Dutch royal family. It has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander since 2013.
13 House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is part of the parliament. It plays an important role in drafting laws, monitors the government and decides whether a cabinet (or minister) has enough confidence.
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
14 Binnenhof & Ridderzaal
Binnenhof was built primarily in the 13th century, the Gothic castle originally functioned as residence of the counts of Holland and became the political centre of the Dutch Republic in 1584. It is the oldest Parliament building in the world still in use.
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
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