Cassie's Series of Adventures: Belgium & Netherlands, part 4. Rotterdam.

Dear Anonymous Readers,

02/08/18 10:37 PM

A couple things I can already tell you about Rotterdam...

1) During my spontaneous journey this was one of the two cities (the other one was Ghent) that I had a pleasure of seeing in more that one time of a day and for more than a couple of hours. I spent here two nights and a considerable portion of a time in between - which does not necessarily mean that I know it any better than the other cities in this series. 

2) For me it felt like Rotterdam was much more modern in terms of architecture than Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp. The city vibe was also completely different. Perhaps a bit industrial. 

3) The full hostel experience. During my stay I slept at the Sparks hostel (a great location, 2 minutes from the main train station, no breakfast included). This hostel had its pluses and its minuses, and to be honest, I am not sure where the tipping point lays. I loved the interior design. I liked the people I met there and the long night conversations we were having on the sofas in the shared living room. I learnt a lot of things about the area, had some food and drink, laughed. There was a British man there who always made sure there were snacks and tea on the table, even though he didn't have to. And there was a Japanese woman who came to Europe with a quest to find her one true love. On the bad side: I thought the worst thing to expect in mixed dorms was inevitable snoring but I was wrong. Apparently watching a TV show in your bed on your speakers at 3AM is normal. Apparently singing in your sleep is normal too. Apparently smoking in a tiny toilet is also acceptable even if after that each single time you go to bathroom the smell makes you sick as there are no windows in there and room stays closed. I cannot blame the hostel for it but I can blame the universe.

The Sparks Hostel in Rotterdam 

03.08.2018 / 10:39 PM

The Case of "Pictures Lost!" Panic Attack: I am coming back to you today - strangely, at a very similar time. Where did my story end? Oh yes, The Sparks. This hostel is also where the night before my final day I was panicking that the famous app HUJI deleted all my photos after it rebooted on its own. Thankfully, my boyfriend was there for me (at least virtually) when I sat on the stairs in Amsterdam, buried my face in my hands and started questioning my whole existence. He kept telling me there must be backup in some invisible HUJI cloud and even though in the beginning I didn't believe him at all, after coming back to Rotterdam I spent two hours fixing the issue at the sofa in the living room, simultaneously talking with people that gathered there. If you encounter this problem any time in your life, don't loose hope, don't cry, just deny HUJI the access to your photos. Then open the app again and restore a problem by downloading all of your invisible pictures onto your camera roll. Voila! 

The Sparks Hostel 

The Case of the Big Bang: P.S. A propos this whole situation... It would really help me if I kept my photos organised. However, as I mentioned, I had some issues on my way and so the photos, after I got them back were not in chronological order. Instead, they resembled the universe after the Big Bang (a complete chaos). Then I turned it into an even bigger mess by distributing them between my two laptops. This is why preparing these posts takes me so much time! 

My Trio 

The Case of the Apps: By the way, HUJI, the recent trend, is actually a pretty cool app. It revolves around the nostalgia vibes of the analog 90s. I won't be too innovative by recommending it to you now but I don't care. Also, if you wonder how your friend suddenly got these cool analog pics, this is probably the answer you were secretly looking for. Retrica is another interesting app I like to use. Finally, RNI Films. Now you know all of my dark secrets. 

→ Back to Rotterdam

The Sad Case of Sexual Harassment: My first evening here started quite terribly as a random group of teenage boys nearby my hostel started following me, making loud and uncomfortable comments about my body despite my visible resentment (approach: "I am in a hurry and I wish to be left alone"). At some point one of them randomly put his arms around me and licked my cheek - an action to which I responded with anger (I would be surprised if any girl responded in a different way) and so everything was pretty much stressful and disgusting. When I reached my hostel (that was thankfully just behind the next corner) I told the desk man about my unfortunate experience. The man was shocked. He comforted me and made sure I was safe throughout the rest of my stay, occasionally cracking some jokes about the whole situation. If you are a guy and you're reading this, never (NEVER) lick girl against her will. If you do, you're a pig, and that's all I have to say about this subject. 

What Followed: After this, I spent the rest of the evening in a relaxed environment chatting with people in the living room. It was great. When it comes to the night, I wish my roommates were more considerate (keeping the light turned off, not smoking in closed rooms, not singing in their sleep or playing TV show on speaker at 3AM), but what happened stays in the past. In the morning, after waking up, I knew I am in a desperate need of comforting breakfast and so on my way I stopped at Poffertjessalon Seth on Hoogstraat. There, sitting at the wooden bench and staring at Anton Piek's painting, I ate some traditional Dutch poffertjes. 

Poffertjes

In a way pofferjes resemble little fluffy pancakes. However there exist savoury variants of them (with gouda cheese), they are typically served as a sweet treat and this is the option I went for, choosing fresh strawberries, whipped creme and icing sugar. I got a "normaal portie" but ended up struggling with the last two or three. They were tasty but very filling. The restaurant also offers waffles and dudok appelgebak cake. 

Markethal - Horn of Plenty.

After eating my poffertjes, I paid a visit to the so-called Horn of the Plenty, the Markethal in Rotterdam, filled with quite exotic food. The walls inside the market hall are covered in the imagery of flowers and grains, evoking the mythological cornucopia - a symbolic, hollow horn filled with the inexhaustible gifts of celebratory fruits, given to baby Zeus by the divine goat Amaltheia. If you ask me, quite a fitting name for a food hall. 

Inside the Markethal. 

Green Cheese with Pesto. 

Goat Cheese Lavender. 

After admiring the Markethal, I crossed the big plaza towards the Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen/Kijk Kubus), designed by Piet Blom. Now, I have to confess something: I'm pretty much in love with both Scandinavian architecture and interior design. One part of this affection was fully satisfied with the view onto these dynamic yellow houses. I do not, however, recommend coming inside the Show Cube. Not only you have to pay to see the interior but also you are gonna go out very disappointed. What you will be able to see is a perfectly average bed, a desk and a kitchen, but forget about the Pinterest-worthy Scandinavian type of rooms. It looks like somebody just put the unwanted 80s furniture inside to suggest how the place could potentially be utilised. I wish something was done publicly to make the interior of Cube House more creative and engaging. 

Having said that, the exterior was simply wonderful. And definitely impressive. 

After seeing the Cube Houses, I strolled towards the river. On my way I passed the Witte Huis / White House. It was built in 1898 in the Art Nouveau style and it is important due to the fact that is was a first "hoogbouw" (high-rise buidling) in Europe and, simply, because of its age and style.

Witte Huis/ White House. 

I then ended up taking a couple of unintentional detours on my way to Erasmusbrug, but in the end it was worth it as I accidentally saw some interesting sculptures (one of them made from actual magazines combined together) and was drawn to a mural of a sinking ship.

This bridge made me think of San Francisco. And yes, it's because it's red. 

Fork, knife and spoon sculpture.

The mural nearby Erasmus Bridge.

Erasmusbrug/ Erasmus Bridge. 

On the other side of the bridge I would undoubtely find Fotomuseum and De Rotterdam building (both architecturally interesting) as well as the Lost Luggage monument (Jeff Wall). However, with my phone dying and ankle swelling even more, I decided to start my walk back. My path took me through Kunsthal's park with its surreal sculptures, Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Chabot Museum and Het Nieuwe Instituut where I mostly photographed the baby ducks. Then finally, I came back to Westersingel Street which after a few stops led me to my hostel. 

Random architecture. 

I knew that before I travel to Amsterdam, I need to charge my phone's battery. Quite nearby my hostel I saw Elevazione Tree and some curious shapes on the ground at the other bank of the river fork.

Views from the bank of the river.

Elevazione tree by Giuseppe Penone.

Overall, I spend a really great time in Rotterdam, despite the few disappointments. If I could do something differently, I would go an extra mile and get to Fotomusseum on the other bank. Perhaps next time ;)

Yours,
-A.