Beyond Amsterdam: Rotterdam and Delft

The second half of our Netherlands tour was no less than a travel in time, sans Tardis or even the Doctor.

ROTTERDAM

Although Rotterdam is just over an hour away from Amsterdam, the cities are centuries apart when it comes to their architecture. While Amsterdam has canals laced with 17th century canal houses, Rotterdam has a river surrounded by modern, almost quirky shaped 21st century skyscrapers with mirror and glass exteriors. While Amsterdam has an old-worldly feel to it, Rotterdam is more hep, with hordes of students and young professionals. And while art and architecture in Amsterdam is confined to buildings and museums, in Rotterdam, art and architecture is ubiquitous and often found in the most unusual of places. We spotted installations near crossroads, next to random tram lines and even on the platform in Rotterdam Centraal station. Even the pipes in the Rotterdam station were painted in rainbow colours, reflecting the vibrance and optimism of the city’s youth demography.

An installation on a platform at Rotterdam Centraal! 

A steel installation next to the tram line right opposite our hotel 

A bit of history here - the city of Rotterdam, although in existence from the 12th century, was destroyed in the Second World War, and had to be rebuilt from scratch, which is why its architecture is radically different from architecture anywhere in The Netherlands.



Swan Bridge

The Swan Bridge...isn't she beautiful! 

Our first sight at Rotterdam was the famed Erasmusbrug, or the Swan Bridge. The many pictures of this bridge, posted online by friends and acquaintances was what attracted me to Rotterdam in the first place, and I was petulantly determined to find a hotel near the bridge so that I could see the bridge anytime I wanted!

The bridge shone like a white beacon in front of us as we lugged our heavy suitcases from the metro station to our modest hotel. It was a full moon’s night, and the bright moon, along with the lit up bridge, glowed amidst the dark blue velvet that was the sky. The illuminated buildings around the bridge twinkled,while a cruise boat passed by the bridge in the shimmering water. We stood transfixed, staring afar at the bridge, our luggage forgotten as the cool wind blew all over us.. This sight stayed with me the entire night, and despite the many pictures I took and many words I used to describe it, I feel I haven’t done justice to it.

Although the bridge still remained a vision of white in the morning, I found myself distracted by the buildings and the vehicles, and noticing other structures that I had missed in the night, like that of an abstract swan right opposite the bridge. The scene was still beautiful - a graceful white swan seemingly stretching its wings, welcoming everyone to the city - but for me,the experience of the night was magical!





Markthall

We’d seen indoor marketplaces, we’d seen luxury residences (well, at least on the internet!) and we’d seen office spaces (duh!), but we’d never imagined we’d see all three combined in the most aesthetically appealing way, that is, till we saw Markthal.

The Markthal 

The Markthal (Market Hall) in Rotterdam is a huge, horseshoe-shaped building, which houses a huge market in its base with apartments and offices in its walls, with the windows overlooking the diverse food market .But the interesting sight wasn’t that of the cheese shops, the supermarkets or even the bakeries in the Markthal - it was the ceiling. I must have spent half my time just admiring the beautiful painted ceiling and the windows laid into the walls, and hence paid no heed to the floor or the people walking around. Being absolutely uninterested in shopping, market places generally agitate me, but being in Markthal was as peaceful as being in a library! Maybe it was because of the music that was being played. Maybe it was just because of its open design, where blue skies and murals of fruit coexist in harmony. Maybe it was because of the overall composure of the market. Or maybe it was because we were one of the first visitors to Markthal that day!

Can you spot the painting inside the Markthal? Forgot to click proper picture! 

Cube Houses

The row of cube houses

Perhaps the highlight of Rotterdam are its row of cube houses, designed for space optimization. Painted bright yellow, these row of cube houses form a striking contrast to the blue sky, and reminded me of daffodils in bloom. The only eyesore was an oddly named but very modest looking casino on the ground floor of the bridge, but that’s just a minor bump These three-floored cube houses, tilted at an angle of 45 degrees, were built in the shape of an abstract forest and also form a rather attractive pedestrian bridge. I’m not really sure whether the houses formed the pedestrian bridge or whether the architect, Piet Blom, was given a brief to build the houses on a pedestrian bridge - I heard both accounts from two very credible sources!

Whatever be the history, I feel the concept of the cube houses are here to stay and might be especially useful in congested cities such as Mumbai. I tried to imagine the life of a resident in the cube houses - waking up to Dutch music being played in the courtyard, sipping coffee to the sight of the majestic Markthal, rushing off to the tram station or the railway station right in front of the cube houses, picking up cheese from the market in the evening and just lounging around the illuminated market square at sunset. Aah, how orderly life can be in a well-connected, planned, architecturally rich city!

A peek of the casino and the tram going right under the cube houses 

DELFT

After travelling half an hour north of Rotterdam, we once again felt we had travelled back in time, as the skyscrapers of Rotterdam gave way to the church spires of Delft.

The picture isn't crooked - the tower is! 

Delft, with its cobbled streets, canals and old houses, is probably what Amsterdam looked like in the 17th century, before the invasion of cannabis and tourists. I didn’t really get much of a chance to get a vibe of the city to be honest, except that it seemed to be a small, quiet place with the old architecture of Amsterdam and the modern art of Rotterdam.

Delft's blue heart 

Delft was also where I had my first glimpse of a town square, a huge quadrangle of sorts boundaried by a row of souvenir shops, cafes, the City Hall and the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church).


Like Amsterdam, Delft also has a New Church and an Old Church, although considering one was built in the 12th century and the other in the 14th, it might’ve been prudent to call them Older Church and Oldest Church instead! The highlight of Delft’s Oude Kerk is its tilted clock tower, whcih does really look like it will topple over at any moment, but I absolutely loved the elegant interiors of the church as well, from its grey pipe organs to its stained glass paintings. The Oude Kerk also serves as the resting place for many a famous Dutch, including the artist Vermeer, whose paintings we had admired in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum.

The interiors of the Oude Kerk 

The pipe organs 

Stained glass paintings in Oude Kerk 

The Oude Kerk 

If the interiors of the Oude Kerk had a elegant, old world charm, the interiors of the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) were grand, with pale lights reflecting off the wooden arches. The Oude Kerk’s wooden pew benches gave way to chic little rows of chairs in the Nieuwe Kerk. The Nieuwe Kerk is the exclusive resting place for the Dutch royal family, beginning from Willem, the Prince of Oranje, who has an elaborate monument to his name to Queen Wilhemina, who passed away in 2004. Multimedia guides near the tombs, especially in the Nieuwe Kerk, make it easy for visitors to understand Dutch history as well as the symbolism behind the design of the tombstones.

The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) 

The interiors of the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) 

The monument constructed on the burial spot of Prince Willem of Oranje 

The multimedia guide at the Nieuwe Kerk 

A visit to Delft is incomplete without a pottery tour, but if like us, you find yourself running short of time, just step into a souvenir shop at the Market square. The shops are full of the famous ‘ Delftware’ - blue and white ceramic pottery - and it is delightful to just spend a couple of minutes to observe the beautiful work. Mind you, being handmade, they do tend to get expensive - a miniature tea set I had my eye on was about 27 euros!- but the usual suspects - magnets, coasters, tiny vases - are quite reasonably priced.

Goodies from Delft 

Our bags were full of small Delft vases, minimalist Rotterdam magnets and memories of an unforgettable time in the Netherlands as we boarded our train to Antwerp, Belgium. As the train approached the Belgian border, we watched wind turbines rotate in sync with each other as the bright orange sun set on the Dutch countryside as well as on our Dutch trip. But there was no time to feel too sad, for we had Belgium to look forward to! More on this next week in Chasing Cartoons: Antwerp & Brussels.

Tot ziens, Netherlands!