Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Hoek von Holland and Rotterdam arrival
Arrived in Hoek van Holland Wednesday morning, greeted by mixed industry (manufacturing, shipping, power, and wind turbine)
and a beautiful little Dutch port town on a blustery day
Twee koffie, alstublieft (nee slagroom)
We headed to Rotterdam because 350+ years ago, Lesley's great great great great great great great grandfather, Mathias Nafzger, left here for Philadelphia. Already we are finding that there is something incredibly invigorating about traveling with a mission---we are letting our family guide the way, with few expectations, leading to happy surprises all along the way. Admittedly, we didn't plan our itinerary before we left the States (except the big loop) and the making-it-up-as-you-go has been an excellent way to explore a place.
Joe loves boats
Rotto
Crazy cool art and architecture
Zalm sandwich and kroketten (think fried gravy ball, spread on toast)
Stainless steel skate park, an award winning public space in the center of town
Lesley's pointing at the slide rail installed on park benches
Rotto is the same size as Seattle (@600,000), and has a tram, metro, buses, bike paths, and a well-signed walking rotterdam path that takes you all over without having to think about it. People are out and about all day and night. It's a diverse new city, almost entirely rebuilt after WWII and with over half the population from outside the Netherlands.
Our home in Rotterdam, the Room hostel
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