My little jubilee, the 50th country visited was Liechtenstein. And boy what a ceremony happened. The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swiss Confederation were celebrating the 100 years of their common Dounae contract. We were about to cross the bridge that was built over the river Rhine, but we were stopped as the celebration was just…
Krapina is my hometown. Zagorje runs through veins. Kajkavian dialect is spoken out loud by my core. So please, allow me to show you a portion of heaven given to us people from Zagorje to enjoy, nourish, and remain proud. Krapina Krapina was first mentioned in 1193. It has always been a favorite site for…
This is a post of a lovely, walkable city that will charm all wine, gastronomy and history lovers. From Markets to Mustard! This capital of Burgundie is calling you to get all its tastes. And you will not know all of these existed! The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until…
Avignon is a city on the Rhône river in the south of France. It is surrounded by walls of Avignon (French: Les Remparts d’Avignon) – a series of defensive stone walls that were originally built in the 14th century during the Avignon papacy and have been continually rebuilt and repaired throughout their subsequent history. We entered through Porte Saint-Michel. The…
This historical province of southeastern France, extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur . The largest city of the region and its modern-day capital is Marseille. Known for its diverse landscapes, miles of…
Michel de Notre-Dame, as we all know as Nostradamus, was an apothecary by profession, and published in the year 1555 a book called Les Prophéties (The Prophecies). In his collection of 942 poetic quatrains, he predicted various future events that experts, and many amateurs, find a way of interpreting into related events occurring in the present day. Some historical evidence suggests…
This is going to be a short post. Sanremo is a city on the west coast of Italy, in the province of Liguria. It is the capital of the Riviera dei Fiori or Riviera of Flowers. Its casino also makes it a sort of Italian version of Monte Carlo. This large building in Art Nouveau…
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Rapallo was never on my list. I never thought there could actually be something about this city. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, just between Cinque Terre and Genoa. As a girl from Croatia, I know it from the history books as the Treaty of Rapallo was signed there, in Villa Pagana, formerly known as Villa Spinola. A treaty…
The five Cinque Terre villages are situated in northern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, just 3 hours by train from Milan, Pisa and Florence. I have arrived by car and totally enjoyed the national park that spreads across the five villages. La Spezia My journey started in La Spezia. This was the very first stop as I…
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A very good friend of mine for some time was living in a small city close to Rotterdam. One Saturday morning I hoped on the train and 2 hours later […]
A very good friend of mine for some time was living in a small city close to Rotterdam. One Saturday morning I hoped on the train and 2 hours later ended up in this great completely modern architecture city.
It is the second largest city in the Netherlands, and lies on both banks of the Nieuwe Maas, the tidal southern arm of the Rhine. As a big logistic and economic centre it is home to Europe’s largest port, as known as Europort. Thereby, the city is called Gateway of Europe and, conversely Gateway to the World.
New port, the biggest in Europe and six biggest in the world
The city of Rotterdam is known for the Erasmus University, named by Erasmus of Rotterdam – Dutch/Netherlandish Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian that who lived in 15 century. A classical scholar that wrote in a pure Latin style editions of the New Testament, which raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation of 16 century.
The statue of Erasmus of Rotterdam
Hence, the Erasmus bridge or Erasmusbrug, a combined cable-stayed bridge that has women legs standing upon the air as bridge props. Indeed, a truly weird architecture style – but this is Rotterdam.
Erasmus bridge with women legs upon as the air as bridge props.
But, to start from the beginning, the city heritates from 9 century when the first settlers stard to build the dam because of the floods and high water. The city got name moody waters.
During World War I the city was the world’s largest sp y centre because of Dutch neutrality and its strategic location in between Great-Britain, Germany and German-occupied Belgium. Many spies who were arrested and executed in Britain were led by German secret agents operating from Rotterdam.
During World War II (known as the Rotterdam Blitz) the near-complete destruction of Rotterdam’s city centrehas resulted in a varied architectural landscape including sky-scrapers, which are an uncommon sight in other Dutch cities. Rotterdam is home to some world-famous architecture from renowned architects like Cube Houses – the fine examples of modern architecture block of houses with their unique cube-shaped upper stories 🙂 whatever weirdy Rotterdam 🙂
Cubic houses
However, some sites were not completey demolished and renowned after the WWII finished. One of the sites is the St Lawrence church dating from 15 century.
St Lawrence church
Or simply another example of art nouveau style: Witte Huis or the White Haus – a building and National Heritage Site in Rotterdam, built in 19 century. It is famous as the oldest skyscraper in the world. This 10-storey building is mostly shop center today.
The oldest skyscrapper of Europe (1897)
The skyscraper has actually great location by the Oude Haven (Old Harbour) too, built in the 14th century already. Within this ancient harbour, many historic ships are moored. The view of this historic fleet gives the Old Harbour in Rotterdam a unique atmosphere. The Old Harbour also offers a small shipyard, where historic ships are renovated in its old splendour. But what makes the Old Harbour really special is the mix of historic homes and modern design, which is characteristic for Rotterdam and it is a great place to stop and take a moment, enjoying the coffee moment – what my Friend and I did. 🙂
Old ships moored at the Old port of Rotterdam
But my defo best place in Rotterdam is the old district of Delfshaven, which unlike much of Rotterdam survived WWII largely unscathed, is consequently one of the most popular spots in this big bustling city. Famous as the birthplace of Admiral Piet Hein, a 16th-century hero of the country’s long war against Spain.
Windmill in the Old town of RotterdamHistoric Delfshaven
It’s also where, in the Old Church (Oude Kerk), the last service was held in 1620 by the Pilgrim Fathers before sailing for the New World (the event is commemorated with a memorial and bronze tablet).
For all the foodie lovers, temples of gastronomy are not something you necessarily expect in Holland. Yeah there are good cheeses, and that’s it. But the quirky idea of building a food market shaped like an inverted letter U that incorporates apartments in its arch – only Rotterdam – because why the hell not.
Market hallEnter a caption
For the end of this post, I will quote one of the most famous architects of Rotterdam, Jan Knikker: “Because this is a working-class city, the architecture had to be not too serious. ”
I’ve been to most European cities but I haven’t been to The Netherlands yet. I hope to one day. So interesting to learn Rotterdam was the spy center during the world war. Oh and I’m digging the psychedelic ceiling of the market hall. Nice. 🙂
I love the quote at the end of this post! My cousin is currently living in the Netherlands, and every time I talk to him it really makes me want to visit. It looks like such an amazing and beautiful place! Thanks for sharing!
I really really want to visit Rotterdam so badly! I just looked at flights and hostels last week! Really enjoyed reading your article, bookmarked it for further use
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I’ve been to most European cities but I haven’t been to The Netherlands yet. I hope to one day. So interesting to learn Rotterdam was the spy center during the world war. Oh and I’m digging the psychedelic ceiling of the market hall. Nice. 🙂
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I love the quote at the end of this post! My cousin is currently living in the Netherlands, and every time I talk to him it really makes me want to visit. It looks like such an amazing and beautiful place! Thanks for sharing!
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Glad you liked it! Love reading how you experienced my hometown 🙂
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I really really want to visit Rotterdam so badly! I just looked at flights and hostels last week! Really enjoyed reading your article, bookmarked it for further use
LikeLike
Hey, you used to write wonderful, but the last few posts have been kinda boring… I miss your tremendous writings. Past several posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!
LikeLike
That is a very good tip particularly to those new to the blogosphere. Simple but very accurate information… Thanks for sharing this one. A must read post!
LikeLike
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to
make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could
be giving us something enlightening to read?
LikeLike
Intriguing post. I’ve been pondering about this issue, so a debt of gratitude is in order for posting.
Cool post. Thanks!
King regards,
Boswell Dencker
LikeLike
Good blog post. What I would like to make contributions about is that computer system memory must be purchased if the computer can’t cope with whatever you do with it. One can set up two good old ram boards having 1GB each, as an example, but not one of 1GB and one having 2GB. One should always check the manufacturer’s documentation for own PC to make certain what type of memory it can take.
LikeLike
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Whoa! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a
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