Looking for a short holiday? A citytrip? Not too far away? Try Rotterdam. Vivid and colourful.
20 years, that is how long it has been when I was in Rotterdam. And i must admit I was positively surprised. The city had a successful transformation during that period of absence. Like Antwerp, Rotterdam is a harbour city, the largest of Europe. Unlike Antwerp the city has canals and lots of green to offer. Architecture is modern and even eccentric. Big chunks of R-dam city centre have been rebuild after WWII. On May 14, 1940 most of it was destroyed due to bombing by the Luftwaffe.

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Rebuilding the city was done with guts, out of the box ideas, lots of creativity and resulted in several landmarks.
Like the Maastower, Erasmus bridge, cube houses and the recently finished Markthal.

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On our way to the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum, which was sadly enough closed for renovation, the Arminius church grabbed our attention. An open door and a wink from a host is always a great invitation.
Construction started in 1895 and 2 years later the church was consecrated in 1897. Just recently the church was sold to the university because the maintenance/repair cost went sky-high. In the 19th century, the area where the church is build was actually polder land and therefore swampy. As a result, the entire foundation was damaged.
Currently it is used a congress room.

A bit further on you have the Chabot museum and House Sonnefeld. Both not big, but more than worth a visit. Especially House Sonnefeld is interesting for the building on its own. The moment you set foot you’re time travelling. Everything is kept the same as in 1933. The owner was Albertus Sonnefeld, one of the former directors of the Van Nelle factory.
Chabot has a small collection and is an ode to sculptor and painter Henk Chabot, a leading Dutch expressionist artist.

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What makes the city interesting is the water. Unlike Antwerp, where all canals were muffled, they kept them open and flowing. It contributes positively to the atmosphere of the city.

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While strolling in the city we were attracted by the compelling rhythm of a bunch of street musicians. Only afterwards did we find out that it was actually a band from Belgium! Locomotiv

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