Netherlands
Schiedam

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    • Day 3

      Hafenrundfahrt

      July 23, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Am Morgen gings los zu einer Hafenrundfahrt, das Wetter war bis dahin ok.
      Auf dem Schiff fing es leider zum Teil an zu regnen. Wir blieben drinnen und beobachteten den Hafen vom Trockenen aus.
      Es war sehr spannend was sie alles erzählten, für mich war es die erste Hafenrundfahrt.
      Nach ca 75min waren wir wieder zurück.
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    • Day 6

      Stadscamping Rotterdam

      May 4, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Heute habe ich keine Lust mehr zu fahren oder einen Übernachtungsplatz zu suchen und steuere deshalb den ca. 12 km entfernten "Stadscamping Rotterdam" an...

      Also für Rotterdam sollten schon 2-3 Tage eingeplant werden.
      Nächstes Mal nehm ich auf jeden Fall mein 🚲 mit👏

      Der Campingplatz ist klein, mitten im Grünen (Autobahn führt aber direkt vorbei). Er hat 2 Sonnenwiesen, geräumige Stellbuchten und Ferienhäuschen. Waschmaschinen und Trockner, Spülplatz und Duschen beinhaltet das Angebot.

      Am CP ist ein Ponyhof, ein Tennisplatz, Sportplatz ubd ein schöner Weg zum Gassigehen. Dieser führt mich morgens zu einer entzückenden Schrebergartenanlage...
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    • Day 7

      Botanik II...

      May 5, 2023 in the Netherlands

      Wie gesagt, heute führte mich die Gassirunde zu einer entzückenden Schrebergartenanlage.
      Es war zwar ein Tor und ein junger Mann wartete auf jemanden.... doch die Tür war offen.
      Frech wie ich bin, ging ich einfach rein.
      Hier ging mein Herz wieder auf und ich wurde für gestern etwas entschädigt.

      So liebevoll gerichtete Gärten, die Flora und Fauna ist hier schon sehr weit. Buntes erfreut mich🙃😁.

      Nach dem Rundgang komme ich wieder am Tor an und..... es ist abgeschlossen!!
      Ooooohhhjeeee! Weit und breit kein Mensch zu sehen🤔.

      Dann fuhr aber ein Auto her und der nette Herr schloss mir auf meine Bitte hin auf👏. GLÜCK GEHABT 😊🙏🕊️🌹
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    • Day 53

      Rotterdam Cycle

      July 30, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      Started the day with a leasurely run, and a quick self-serve breakfast at the hotel. We picked up a couple bicycles from the hotel and set out for our day's adventure. Although the hotel was nice enough to provide a tour map, it felt a bit too contrived, so we threw it out the window. 🤠

      J had found a museum on the history of Genever, and this took us over to town of Schiedam. The trip was not long, about 20 minutes on bicycle, but there were some good gusty head winds to overcome. Is that the virtual Dutch hill? The museum building used to be one of the many Genever distilleries, but it required a lot of repair work to bring it back to its glory. The lower level retained the original stills. It was quite fascinating to learn the history of the spirit, how it shaped the area, and how world events affected its trade. We also learnt that milling was very closely tied to the production of Genever, and a separate sister museum was near by, and part of the entry fee! Strangely, no samples as part of the tour 😕
      https://www.jenevermuseum.nl/

      Once we finished reading about the spirited history of the area, we stopped by the windmill museum. It was quite fascinating to find out these mills were built extra tall to rise above the buildings. There used to be 20 mills (now only 7), and they were dedicated to milling grains only for the production of Genever! They had run 24 hours a day, as did many aspects of the genever industry. The mechanisms are primarily wood, with a few metal parts, and the top of the windmill can rotate 360 degrees on rollers to follow the wind. The resident Miller has been working in windmills for 45 years, and very passionate in thier operation.
      https://www.jenevermuseum.nl/museummolen.html

      We headed back along the route we rode earlier, but ducked in to Lloydkwartier, where we had a late lunch by Schiecentrale in the shelter of the building as the wind was impressive. The original building used to be a power generation station that is now an eight building complex of commercial and residential sections, and has some very eccentric perspectives...
      https://schiecentrale.nl/

      Peddling by the Euromast, we found our way to the Maastunnel Noord Fiets- & Voetgangersingang, a pedestrian and bike route tunneled under Nieuwe Maas to the Charlois district. It felt like a trip into a movie set, see the video attached.

      We followed the canal edges to the Katendretch area where the SS Rotterdam, a decommissioned Holland-America cruise ship is permanently berthed as a hotel, restaurant and event space. A local historical group had a display on in the lower deck as part of Holland-America's 150th anniversary. We were lucky as it was only on exhibit for two weeks. They had gathered decades of private memorabilia to showcase.

      The final segment of our bike loop tour took us across Erasmus bridge and around to Markthal. Markthal is a very impressive open building with closed glass ends and many vendor stalls, similar to Grandville island market. We caught a glimpse of the unique Kunstkubus building (yellow cube building).

      The varied architectural elements around Rotterdam are very unique, but not all eye catching in a good way, nor are some practical. Atleast your eyes won't get bored of the many juxtapositions of old and new!

      With the weather looking more and more dreary, decided to return the bicycles, and head out for a hearty dinner. A found a nearby Argentinean Steakhouse, but they were full, so we enjoyed Japanese Ramen and currey instead.
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    • Day 43

      Rotterdam Teil 2🇫🇷

      May 25, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Wir sind wieder frühs gestartet und waren den ganzen Tag im wunderschönen Rotterdam. Für Marcel war es das erste Mal in dieser Stadt, ich war schon mal hier und habe etwas den Reiseführer gespielt 😁 definitiv eine Reise wert ❤️ Wir sind über die Erasmusbrücke gelaufen, welche sich dann auch noch direkt vor unseren Augen öffnete, waren in der Markthalle, haben lecker gegessen und haben uns durch die Stadt treiben lassen 🥰Read more

    • Day 38

      Day 38: Van Nelle Factory

      January 12 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

      A hidden gem in Rotterdam! UNESCO World Heritage, Van Nelle Factory, is absolutely underrated. It was built between 1925-1931 as a factory producing tobacco, tea and coffee. Since the location is closed to the canal, it facilitated the transport very easily. After the factory ceased production, it became a UNESCO world heritage for its unique design and construction. Now, it is a huge building with different office spaces. Everyone is welcome to come and check it out, you can walk around freely inside the factory.Read more

    • Day 1

      Rotterdam, Holland

      July 6, 2019 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Unsere Reise durch das Vereinigste Königreich beginnt!

      Doch bevor wir heute Abend auf unsere Fähre von Rotterdam nach Edinburgh gehen konnten, machten wir eine Hafenrundfahrt mit der Spido. Der größte Hafen Europas hat seinen ganz besonderen Charme mit wendigen Brücken und rießigen Schiffen. So eine Tour lohnt sich definitiv. Ob oben an Deck oder unten in der Kabine, die Spido hat für jeden ein Plätzchen.Read more

    • Day 7

      Der Hafen von Rotterdam ⚓

      July 24, 2020 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      Am Nachmittag haben wir noch eine Hafenrundfahrt im grössten Hafen von Europa gemacht. Der Hafen gehört zu Rotterdam wie das Amen in die Kirche. 😆 Das Hafengebiet reicht knapp 40km von der Innenstadt bis zur Nordsee. Er sorgt in den Niederlanden für 385'000 Arbeitsplätze.Read more

    • Day 45

      Rotterdam

      May 30, 2015 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      The ferry was great. The sea was smooth, and I have to admit it, the band were good too. Really good, in fact. I think I may have witnessed the next Beatles. OK, not really, but they did know what they were doing.

      I went to bed around 12 and slept like a baby. That was, until, the captain (who liked the sound of his own voice, it must be said) came on the tanoi at about 6am to inform everyone that breakfast was now being served on level 8, should anyone be feeling hungry. Well I wasn’t feeling hungry, and so I went back to sleep. I slept from about another hour before rousing myself, and making my way out to the lounge.

      What a pleasant surprise to look out the window and see blue skies. Given that we had set off from Hull under a dark, black cloud, I was fully expecting it to be raining in the Netherlands too. Far from it. The sun was gleaning of the barely rippling sea. Rotterdam is a huge port - by the far the largest in Europe. Up until 2006 -- when China finally woke from a 600 year sleep -- it was the largest port in the world. And as we sailed along at a languid pace, the shoreline was nothing but miles of containers. There were hundreds of pristine white wind turbines, all in a perfectly straight line, like poplar trees lining a French road.

      I wanted to stand and watch for longer, but I had to go and change the last 30 quid I had in my pocket into Euros. Man did I get ripped off. 30 pounds, on a P&O ferry, gets you 27.30 Euros. That is called getting stung. Then (again!) the captain came on the tanoi; this time he was asking all car drivers to return to their vehicles. I did, and twenty minutes later I was driving the Up off the pride of Hull.

      I showed my passport to a security guard and hit the road. I didn’t know what to expect driving on the right hand side of the road, but everything seemed to be intuitive and natural. That was until I got to a roundabout. Roundabouts are squeaky bum time, very confusing. Anyway, I was soon on a motorway, heading towards to Rotterdam and all was well. The Dutch roads are silky-smooth, like a baby’s bum. It was easy.

      Five minutes down the road, halfway across a bridge, there was a traffic light on red, instructing me to stop. I stopped, and down came a barrier. Then the middle section of the large, four-laned bridge started to rise, vertically. The whole of it, even the lampposts. It crawled up vertically, and a huge cargo ship -- stacked high with crates -- passed through the gap. What an impressive sight - it was the first time I’d been glad to get stuck at a red light for as long as I can remember. The whole thing took about 15 minutes, then I was off again.

      Just as I was getting the hang of driving on the right hand side of the road, I came to a barrier with a ticket machine on, of course, the left hand side of the car. Normally, you’d simply wind the window down, press a button and be on your way. Obviously I couldn’t; I had to get out the car, walk round to the machine and start faffing about with it. For whatever, reason it wasn’t working. It wanted 4 Euros off me, but didn’t like my card. An elderly Dutch couple stopped their car and came over to help me (the Dutch are super friendly). After a minute or two, the three of us had figured out, and the barrier raised. I had to run, through, quickly round to the other side of the car, climb in and head on before the barrier came back down.

      Why was there a barrier in the first place? My sat-nav showed a river ahead, and I presumed it was for a toll bridge. However, when I got to the shore, it was obvious that there wasn’t a bridge. This was a river crossing by boat (another ferry!). There was myself, a tractor with a trailer full of hay and a few other cars. We sat waiting for the ferry to return. And, as we were doing so, I noticed we were parked next to a cafe. As soon as I saw the cafe, I felt a pang of hunger. It was breakfast time. I decided that once I’d crossed the river, I’d find a place to stop and eat.

      Lucky for me, then, that on the other side of a river was the beautiful little town of Maassluis. As soon as I drove off the boat I was greeted with a picture of utter Dutchness: canals, bikes, windmills, bridges, boats and men with moustaches. I parked up and went in search of a cafe or a pub or anywhere where I could sit down, drink a coffee and eat a bit of food.

      The first place I found was a pub alongside a canal on what I think was called the Havenstraat (harbour street?). I entered and everything, suddenly, went dark. Outside was bright, inside wasn’t, and my eyes found it hard to adjust. I could just about make out a snooker table in the far corner and a bar to my left.

      ‘Hello, sorry, spreekt u Engels?’ I asked what I thought looked like a human figure.

      ‘A little,’ came the response.

      My eyes came round, and in front of me (behind the bar) was a middle aged woman. I ordered a cheese and ham toastie and a cappuccino. The bar was lined with brown, green and clear liquor bottles, and the decor of the rest of the pub was a dark, varnished wood; wood decor in the quintessentially Dutch style. This town -- this whole town -- was Dutcher than a Dutch place. The toastie came and I wolfed it down. The woman asked me where I was from. Manchester, I told her.

      ‘Oh yeah,’ she said. ‘I’ve been to the UK before, to Middlesbrough.’

      ‘Oh really,’ I said, ‘have you been anywhere else in the UK? London, for example?’

      ‘London? Oh no, I’ve never been to London. Just to Middlesbrough.’

      Fair enough I guess.

      I finished my cappuccino and felt a million dollars. I was in tune with the place. I left the pub and wondered about the canals, taking pictures of the boats, the wooden sail boats, the windmills. There is no such thing as Europe, I thought to myself, if, as is the case, people wander languidly alongside the canals of Maassluis while at the same time Putin shells the streets of Donetsk.

      I couldn’t believe a town so quaint could be just 12 miles from Rotterdam, but it was. After exploring it for about two hours, I made my way back to my car and left. Maassluis, what a beautiful town.

      I was in tourist mood now. I hadn’t been on the road for more than another 15 minutes, when I saw a cluster of red eye symbols on my sat-nav (red eye’s mean there is something of interesting to see). I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by, so I took the next turn off and head towards, what I came to find out, a town called ..dam.

      ..dam is larger than Maassluis, so not as quaint, but equally as beautiful. It’s windmill galore - I think I counted six or seven of them. The canals were wider than Maassluis’, but architecturally the buildings were of the same 17th century style. I spent another wandering them, until I felt canaled-out. What a beautiful place small town Holland is.

      So: after 18 miles, four hours, one boat trip, and two excursions later, I’ve finally made it to Rotterdam. Check in is at 2pm, and here it is currently 20 past one, so I’m sat in the lobby. And what a posh lobby it is, too. Far too posh for me. I have a suspicion that I smell like cheese. And given that I’m wearing yesterday’s clothes, I don’t think that’s an altogether unjustified suspicion.

      Now, I’m just writing a quick blog, waiting for 2pm to come around. And when it does, I’ll check in, shower, and head off out to Rotterdam zentrum.

      P.S. My sat-nav and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but so far it has been more than impressive. A nice touch was that, after turning it on, it proceeded to tell me all about the quirks of Dutch motoring; what the drink drive limit is, the various speed limits, etc. Top marks VW.
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    • Day 49

      Rotterdam

      June 18, 2019 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Rotterdam - eine Hafenstadt mit ganz viel modernen und teilweise futuristischen Gebäuden. Die Stadt hat nicht viel Charme (wurde ja fast alles im 2.WK zerstört ☹️) und doch ist sie irgendwie cool . Das Wetter hat bis zum Nachtessen durchgehalten und so konnten wir bei etwas Sonnenschein am Rjinhaven aperölen und chillen.
      Empfehlung: die Fotoaustellung „Lust for Life“ von Ed van der Elsken 👌🏼
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Schiedam, اسخیدام, Skiedam, Շխիդամ, Schidamas, Схидам, สกีดาม, SCI, 斯希丹

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