Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Saturday, May 10

Starting today all the ports we will be visiting will be new to us.  Rotterdam is one of the world’s busiest commercial ports.  It is the largest port in all of Europe, and the 3^rd largest in the world (behind 2 ports in China).  It took about 2 hours once we entered the mouth of the river at the Hook of Holland until we reached the docks at the cruise terminal, 30 miles inland.  There are sea barriers that protect the city from flooding (not the little Dutch boy with a finger in the dyke).

The sea barrier is 2 big doors on either side of the river.  These doors can slide towards the middle of the river and can close the river mouth in case of a storm flooding.  The doors are as big as the Eiffel Tower and protect all the people in the Rotterdam area.  The photo is an aerial view I grabbed from the internet.

The heart of the city of Rotterdam was destroyed in 1940 by Nazi bombing, but has been entirely rebuilt on a very modern and efficient pattern, which makes it very Dutch indeed.

We arrive in port about 11:00 am.  We wait and wait to be dismissed from the ship.  This is the largest ship to visit the port and it took some adjustments to the gangplanks before we could disembark.  And, it was raining!  And the wind was blowing very strong!  As we headed down the gangplank, there was severe congestion as some people in wheelchairs decided the weather was too bad for them and turned around ON the gangplank to return to the ship.

We looked for our guide for the day—Frank from “tours by locals”.  We are a nice small group of 13 from our rollcall in a very nice coach bus that could seat 45 people.  By touring with many of the same people each day we are becoming good friends.

Terry goofing off with our tour friends

Soon we were off on our tour.  Frank recommended we skip the Keukenhof Gardens.  It is famous for the tulip blooms, which have already passed this year.  Only blooming flowers would be in planters.  So, our first stop would be to see the windmills in Kinderjijk.  As we travelled along, Frank filled us in on a little history of the very efficient water management system for which the Dutch are so famous. 

The land in the Netherlands (Holland) is a delta of rivers and streams making their way to the sea.  When the early Romans came to the area, they did not stay as they felt the swampy land was uninhabitable.  Later, people arrived who devised a pumping system that could remove the water and make the land livable—windmills!  Forty percent of the country is below sea level, so they dug ditches and canals to remove the water to the sea with the aid of the windmills pumping the water along.

Typical home is about 650 square feet

Typical tourist souveniers

The nineteen mills of Kinderjik were constructed around 1740 as part of a larger water management system which prevented floods. Now they are a symbol of Dutch water management.  We were able to go inside one of the mills to see what life was like for the ‘miller’ and family who lived it in and kept the water pumping.  Today was National Windmill Day and we were fortunate to see ALL 19 of the windmills turning their blades.

Our tour guide, Frank, explaining the water management system

Inside the "millers" living quarters in the windmill

The only tulips we saw were wooden ones

The Dutch have a saying:  “God made the earth but the Dutch made Holland”.

Our next stop was at Delft, a beautiful city known for Delftware pottery, the painter Vermeer (famous painter of the girl with pearl) and William of Orange.   The rain stopped and the skies soon cleared.

Delft Blue is the world-famous earthenware that has been produced in the city of Delft since the 17th century.

Frank took us to a Delftware workshop where we saw a demonstration of the very laborious process of creating the beautiful earthenware.  It is a 4^th or 5^th generation family-run business and is only one of three true Delft manufacturers.  The pottery is beautiful and expensive!  Every step of the process is handmade and one of a kind. Unfortunately it is a dying art as the younger generation does not want to undergo the long and difficult training process.   The cheap stuff seen in tourist shops come from China or made in Holland but is machine-made.

The 6 steps of the same type of vase

The marks of true Delftware

The kiln

The lady is the painter on the pottery; the man does the molding/glazing, etc.

The name of the shop means candle holder

Just a few pieces that we really liked...

Frank took us on a walking tour of Delft.  We stopped at the “New Church”, which isn’t really new at all but is newer than the “Old Church”.  The Dutch don’t like to change names, I guess.  Inside the church we saw magnificent stained glass windows, a huge pipe organ and the Royal Crypt.  This is where the royals are entombed and there is a monument to William of Orange. 

The organ pipes

The current King, Queen and daughter

Now this stained glass I really like

William of Orange was an ambitious nobleman who grew into a rebel leader and was later honored as the “father of the country”, as the founder of a new Dutch state.

After the walking tour of the old city of Delft, Frank took us to the William of Orange café and treated us to a slice of “Dutch” apple pie and tea or coffee.

City Hall...it was once a prison

Canals throughout the town reminded us of Brugge, Belgium

Our guide said Delft has its own "leaning tower"

Bikes, bikes, everywhere

Couldn't talk Terry into buying a pair of Dutch running shoes!

Our "Dutch" apple pie

In the restaurant was a copy of the famous painting of The Girl with Pearl by Johan Vermeer, who lived in the town of Delft and specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life.

On our way back to the ship in Rotterdam, we passed through The Hague, which is the parliament buildings, the peace palace, and the city palace of the King.  It was just a drive by the buildings. 

We finally got a chance to take a photo of our ship from a viewpoint across the harbor.  Notice the tug boats along her side.  They were pushing against the ship to keep the gangplanks steady.  The winds were very strong.

We all agreed that our tour today with Frank was fantastic and would highly recommend him for anyone wishing to experience Rotterdam and the surrounding area.  It was a great day!

With one day at sea where I was able to catch up on these blog postings, we then reach Copenhagen, Denmark.  This is the final port for some 1,800 on the ship and many new passengers will be getting on the ship in Copenhagen.  We will continue on with the next leg of the voyage, going to the Baltic cities as far east as St. Petersburg, Russia.  Then back in Copenhagen we will disembark and stay 3 nights in Copenhagen before flying home.

The second voyage of our cruise

Since we will have 9 ports in 11 days, it’s most likely that I won’t be making any new posts until after we return home.  I’ll be just too busy siteseeing…