Rotterdam, Netherlands

Ted. Judy and I have dreamed of visiting Norway for many years. The first opportunity that made sense came to our attention in November of 2023. That is when we booked a 7 night cruise of the Norwegian fjords from Southampton. Scheduled to depart in July of 2025, we would visit four ports in Norway. You can imagine our disappointment when we received an email from Royal Caribbean in April of this year informing us that, “Based on valuable feedback from our crew, we’ll now visit Rotterdam, Netherlands on Day 2 instead of Molde, Norway.” To make matters worse, we would be there on a Monday, when all of the museums and churches would be closed!

There is nothing wrong with the Netherlands but we felt as though 25% of our trip had been scuttled. So we asked ourselves, "What might this make possible?"  While not on fjord, the city of Rotterdam did offer some interesting sights. 

We knew we were in a good place when we spotted a mural in the cruise terminal building. 

Much of the city was destroyed in WWII but the locals did a nice job of preserving what they could of older buildings.

Old Harbor

The "White House," once Europe's tallest building

The city also put their architects to work to design creative new structures. 

Market Hall

Cube Houses

Erasmus Bridge

Our stroll of the city ended with a delightful lunch and chat with the owner. Judy and I found much to like about the country’s second city. Our biggest surprise, though, was the stretch of the river that was set up with a wave machine and artificial beach. Yes, you can now swim in the river in Paris, but you can surf in Rotterdam!