Well, as we found ourselves with a relaxing week at home and wondered what to do to get ourselves out of the house and enjoying summer. Beaches here are crowded silly and our fridge and closets were full... So, what better way to pass some days than play the tourist in our own city?
The first day was so spontaneous that I even didn't think of my camera until our bike wheels bumped us up and down some brick roads lined with lovely historic buildings and out into a tiny harbor. That's exactly when I realized I didn't have my camera along, but it is imprinted in my mind, so if you're willing to read the next thousand words you may get an idea of the picture I saw...
Just kidding. But seriously, it was a beautiful moment; wooden sailboats lined the docks, their masts creaked gently as the boats swayed. Beyond the small harbor the Maas River glistened gloriously in the bright sunshine. And in a darling moment two children "helped" their grandfather and father unload the sailboat after what looked like some time at sea. Their orange life jackets still fastened, the little boy and girl carried some beach toys as they ran down the dock exclaiming "Opa! Kijk eens Opa." "Kom hier, Opa." Their opa (grandpa) followed slowly behind, patiently pushing a wheelbarrow full of supplies from the sailboat.
As I watched the kids stomp out a run on tiny legs, I was glad they were still wearing their life jackets. The way they were running they were either going to need the jacket for padding when they did a face plant or for flotation when they tripped off the edge. Amazingly, they managed to get safely to the side and we strolled on to be entertained by the barges that were gliding down the glittering river.
The next day of touring I towed my camera along with.
It took some bike riding to get there, but we found Delftshaven-- an old part of Rotterdam that escaped the bombing. While it looks like it could be part of a traditional Dutch town, this view is extremely rare in the high-rise, modernized Rotterdam. And a visitor to Delftshaven can't help but wonder just what Rotterdam would have looked like if it hadn't been hit so hard in WWII.
We enjoyed the view of one of the two remaining windmills in Rotterdam, but even though it is from the 1700's it wasn't the oldest building there. We found a few from the 1600's. Plus, fun fact for us Americans, the English pilgrims of 1620 stayed in this area for a time while preparing for their Mayflower trip.
See the clock tower? That's a part of the church where the Pilgrim Fathers worshiped while staying in Rotterdam.
Just checking out the old buildings and enjoying the shade for a time...
Until we set out on our bikes for our second destination...
. . . the Euromast.
I neglected to take a photo of the Euromast itself, but it pretty much looks like a space needle jutting out of a grassy knoll. If you want to know more about it you can follow this link .
The whole point of the Euromast is to give you a good view of Rotterdam and the surrounding area, and I have to say, it serves its purpose well.
Supposedly, on a clear day people can make out towers from the Belgian city of Antwerp, south of Rotterdam. The horizons were a bit fuzzy for us to claim the same, but we were able to easily distinguish some cities even though they were a 30 minute train ride away.
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The next time you're in your hometown without much of an agenda, or tired of all of your old haunts, stop and step inside the store/restaurant/cafe that you've never gone in or find a new spot to scope out. Play the tourist for a day and you never know what new perspective you'll gain.
We spent two great days getting off our beaten paths and it was a blast.
Wow- the view from the Euromast is fantastic! So glad that you got to see some new sights in Rotterdam! So much history in the old section too.
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