Long time ago, early settlers came to the lower end of the Rotte River. In the 1100s, early developments were destroyed by large floods so in 13th century protective dams were built on the Rotte, hence the name "Rotterdam".
Maybe it's because the city's rich history, or because of something I read in my middle school history books, but I didn't expect Rotterdam to be an ultra-modern cosmopolitan. You can put some flying cars in the city and they wouldn't look out of place.
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| Welcome to Planet Rotterdam Central Space Station |
A lot of the older buildings and windmills are preserved in the city's historic places (I didn't see them because I've seen enough old stuffs in the rest of Europe), but the rest of Rotterdam is like a Museum of Architecture that gives you a good sample selection of what the 20th century architecture has got to offer.
One of the city's main icon is the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge). This assymetrical cable bridge connects the northern and southern parts of the city and is nicknamed "The Swan". I took the metro and get off on Wilhelminaplein station to get close to the white swan. I didn't have enough time to walk around to find its best photogenic angle so it looked like a broken clothespin in my picture.
I probably didn't spend enough time in Rotterdam to explore all the neighborhoods, but from first impressions, this is my favorite city in Europe so far and I probably would be ok with giving up driving because the city, the tram, the metro, and the people are that freaking awesome. I mean, look at this tunnel entrance to the
My jaw kept dropping at every block as I walked briskly through the space scrapers while doing mental math, making sure that my time-limited "jump" ticket (a kind of hop on-hop off system) can take me back to the Central Space Station before I run out of time. I got a bullet train to Paris to catch. I was bummed that I didn't find this gem until the last days of my trip, but I promise myself that I will come back and stay longer.
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