Posted on by Peter Rettig

European Travels 13 - Rotterdam memories and Jeff Bezos

Koningshaven Bridge, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsLately, our Rotterdam memories were rekindled by news about Jeff Bezos' new Super Yacht.

Several international newspapers, including the New York Times and The Guardian as well as Boat International reported on it.

The Dutch shipyard where the Yacht is being built is located just a few miles upriver on the Nieuwe Maas/Noord. The builder reportedly asked Rotterdam officials to be allowed to temporarily dismantle the historic Koningshaven Bridge.

It's the only bridge before the open sea that does not open completely and does not have enough clearance for larger sailing vessels with their masts up. (Setting the masts AFTER passing the bridge was certainly discussed, but apparently not found practical by the shipyard.)

Here is the excerpt from the Times:

“The city of Rotterdam’s decision to remove part of the bridge was reported on Wednesday by a regional Dutch public broadcaster, Rijnmond. Boat International, which publishes articles about the superyacht industry, reported that the 417-foot sailboat is set to become the largest sailing yacht in the world when it is finished later this year, surpassing the Sea Cloud, a 360-foot sailboat built in 1931 and owned by the Yacht Portfolio, an investment company based in Malta.”

The reported displeasure by the public and some activists about the - even temporary - dismantling of a landmark for the benefit of a rich man's pleasures, may continue to keep this story alive for a while.

Another Dutch Family Reunion

Lift Bridge on Canal near AmsterdamThe news clip about the Koningshaven Bridge brought back memories of our Dutch Family Reunion in Rotterdam a couple of years ago and canal boating in the Netherlands (when we passed under similar lift bridges, see picture left).

The city is wonderful to explore on foot, and you can get around easily by tram. While Amsterdam is overrun by tourists in the summer, Rotterdam is off the beaten path for many, and well worth a visit.

Rotterdam is located in the province of South Holland, at the mouth of the "Nieuwe Maas" Channel which connects to the Rijn-Maas-Scheldedelta at the North Sea. (in English: Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta)

As the name Rotterdam suggests, the town goes back to the construction of a dam along the Rotte river (built in 1270), one of the delta rivers then. Rotterdam was granted city rights in 1340.

In discussions at the family reunion with Ulrike's older Dutch cousins, we heard accounts of the German bombings of May 14, 1940.

The center of Rotterdam was almost completely flattened. The destruction caused by the bomb raid lead to the capitulation of the Netherlands the following day. (In some historic accounts, communication errors in the German air force may have prevented the transmission of the raid's stop order.)

Different from many German cities that were destroyed during the war and were rebuilt quickly – often with poor city planning and cookie-cutter buildings – Rotterdam took its time.

This gave architects and planners opportunities to design avant-garde structures and expand the harbor for the 21st century. That kind of city rebuilding is still happening today.

Here are just a few sites that are worth seeing and exploring:

Rotterdam Central Railway StationRotterdam Centraal Station

When you arrive at Rotterdam's railway station – Rotterdam Centraal - you're immediately struck by the design of the large entrance hall. Subway, buses and and trams are right there for you. (Download the RET Barcode app and you can buy tickets online for the entire system.)

Erasmus & Koningshaven Bridges, RotterdamErasmus Brug and Hotel New York

Walking from Rotterdam Centrum across the Erasmus Brug (a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge, completed in 1996), you'll see the Koningshaven Bridge to your left. (in background in picture left)
Then turning right after the bascule bridge to get to the Hotel New York, you'll pass the new Cruise Ship Terminal.

Hotel New York was the former headquarters of the Holland America line. From where the cruise ships now dock, the Ocean liners of the Holland-America line used to leave for the New World. (Ulrike and her family left from there on their emigration voyage to Canada.)

There's a pleasant Garden Cafe in front of the Hotel now. We enjoyed a "vers fruit sorbet" (fresh fruit sorbet) during a sunny afternoon while watching the river traffic.

In late afternoon, we would sit in a beer garden right below the Erasmus bridge and enjoy watching the many barges go up and down the Maas river.

Rotterdam Cube Houses Cube Houses & Market Hall

You'll certainly want to visit the Cube Houses. Designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom, they are based on the concept of "Living as Urban Roof": high density housing with sufficient space on the ground level, since its main purpose is to optimize the space inside. The homes are literally cubes, tilted over by 45 degrees.

You can visit one of the cubes – the other units are occupied - and decide whether living in one of the 38 cubes would be for you! (The original group of 18 cube houses was built in 1977 in Helmond in the southern part of the Netherlands.)

Rotterdam Market HallThe new Market Hall (opened in 2014) is just across the square from the Cube Houses and features another innovative design: It is the country's largest indoor market and includes a multipurpose retail and residential development.

Besides the large Market Hall, the complex houses 228 apartments, over 40,000 sq ft of retail space, 8 restaurants and a 4-story underground parking garage with a capacity of 1200+ cars.

Food lovers will find all kind of international and Dutch food specialties in the large hall, which will overwhelm you by its sheer size and the colored murals!

Kunsthal Rotterdam - Art Museum

Joana_Vasconcelos_Exhibit_Kunsthal_RotterdamAnother discovery was the Kunsthal Rotterdam. Built by the architect Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA in 1992, and located in Rotterdam's Museumpark, the Kunsthal itself is stunning in its use of space.

During our visits, we saw two amazing exhibits: “I'm your mirror” by Joana Vasconcelos and “Street Dreams: How HipHop took over Fashion”.

Joana's installations surprised you by the materials she used and assembled. Can you tell what was used for the one on the picture above?

The Street Dreams exhibit traced the fashion trends in the HipHop community from the late 1970s to now, and how they impacted on the culture of mainstream fashion.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Art lovers will enjoy the works of many Dutch painters from the 14th to the 16th centuries. There are paintings by Rembrandt and Bruegel, van Eyck and Hieronymos Bosch. But beyond that, you'll also find works of Monet and Gaugin, Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso.

Rotterdam Maritime Museum exhibitMaritime Museum

For ship and boat lovers, the Maritime Museum is a must. There are ships and barges for you to visit in the water right at the museum.

The Netherlands has a special relationship with the sea – about a third of the country lies below sea level. And as a premier trading nation for many centuries, the Netherlands had developed a special expertise in ship building.

The museum takes you through the country's maritime past and explains in many - also interactive - exhibits how to tackle the new challenges of maritime construction with climate change and rising sea levels.

Rotterdam Port

SS Rotterdam HotelOne of the special memories from our family reunion was the harbor tour. This included sailing by the SS Rotterdam, one of the older Ocean liners which is now permanently moored. It has been repurposed as a hotel and you can access it also via water taxis as shown in the picture. (You can book rooms there directly or via most of the popular travel sites.)

However the real highlight was the tour of the Europort Rotterdam which is not part of a typical harbor cruise. It was organized by one of the family members who had special contacts. We had our passports and identities verified, then transferred to a bus and were driven through what is now the largest port in Europe.

Munich Maersk in Europort RotterdamConstruction of this deep-water port started in 2008, Phase 1 opened in 2014, Phase 2 will only be completed in 2035.

We stopped at one of the docks and saw how one of the largest container ships of the world, the Munich Maersk, was being unloaded.

Driver-less container carts at Europort, RotterdamOf the about 23,000 containers only a few thousand were to be unloaded. They were placed on electric, driver-less carts and driven to a storage location.

Others were loaded and driven back to the ship. There were many of these driver-less carts picking up and delivering containers.

Several cranes were operating along the 400m (1200ft+) ship loading and unloading.

Nearby we saw containers being placed directly unto a canal barge.

It was all an amazing spectacle – nearly ghost-like: This is what harbor logistics looks like in the 21st century: loading and unloading 24 hours, 7 days a week with very few hands-on workers needed.

Indeed Rotterdam would probably not have become the largest European port without the Maas River and its connection to the Rhine. With the Main-Danube canal, barges can travel to and from the Black Sea and the European canal system allows access to/from the Mediterranean Sea via the Rhone river.

Maas River Storm Surge Barrier

Maas Storm Surge Barrier Closing in 2019During our Europort visit on a Saturday we learned that the Maas storm surge barrier (“Maeslantkering”) would have its annual maintenance operation that same afternoon.

The river traffic was interrupted for several hours for the closing. Our group joined the many onlookers to watch how the gigantic gates (see picture) slowly closed.

After its completion in 1997, the Maas storm surge barrier was first tested during the November 8, 2007 storm and prevented, together with two other surge barriers the flooding of the entire Dutch coast.

See a description of this engineering marvel, one of the largest moving structures on earth, in this Wiki entry. You can also find further details for a visit at the Keringhuis website.

Walking Around

Last but not least, we also enjoyed just walking around, e.g. in the Delfshaven district, one of the few areas which were spared during the WWII bombing. You can have a beer at the brewery De Pelgrim or visit the Pilgrim Father's Church.

Or just walk through Rotterdam Centrum and study the many different building with their unusual angles and facades.

You can always find a park bench, or an outdoor cafe or bistro where you can sip your favorite beverage and people watch.

And if you liked Rotterdam, you may even want to learn more about the Netherlands and the Dutch Language.