We spent the last day before flying back home within Rotterdam. It's really a marvelous city, and easy to get around. We booked a boat tour of the harbor, and took a leisurely walk after breakfast to the departure dock. Along the way, we saw some nice murals, stopped in at a great bookstore, walked through the old harbor which was full of old ships, cranes, rail cars, wood and metal workshops. We got a good look at the Erasmus bridge, and made it to the dock in time to enjoy a fire ship exercising it's safety gear.
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Boekhandel Donner, three floors of reading enjoyment
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Erasmus Bridge
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An Iconic mixed use tower by Rotterdam's celebrity architect, Rim Koolhaus.
With an name like that, how can he but become famous?
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I always find it astounding to see huge ships in the middle of the city
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BYD Chinese EV's invade Europe
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The old steamship Rotterdam, now a hotel and restaurant
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The smaller building is the old headquarters of Holland America Line
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Our boat tour was only one hour, and we visited just the part of the harbor that was close to the city. The newer and larger ports are further down the Maas river towards the North sea. A full day tour is available to see this area. Tour operator's name is Spido Tours, and they have been doing this for over 100 years.
After a quick lunch, we took a slow walk back to our hotel, and passed some beautiful homes, green parks, an area called Museum Park (most of which was closed on Tuesday.
We finished our day with a hearty dinner at a Brazilian Rodizo near the hotel. Great meal, and we had a short chat with our server, who was from the Cape Verde Islands, and had been to visit family on Cape Cod. It's a small world and a big world at the same time. Get out and see it!
Now I am really homesick for Holland! Masstrich ,Den Bosch, Utrech, Gronnigan, Nymaken. Aida, Gouda, it's all incredible.
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