Yesterday I took the train, well actually if you count it out I took 5 trains (total, there and back), to Rotterdam. The other day I mentioned that it was largely destroyed by bombings during WWII and as such the city is much more modern than other areas of the Netherlands. In fact I kept forgetting that I was in fact in Holland. It was disorienting.
I tried to follow a walking tour of the city that was in my Lonely Planet The Netherlands travel book but it was quite confusing because the streets weren't labeled very clearly and I was too cheap to buy a map. Sometimes guided tours are great, but other times I think that they just confuse the joy of discovery. Anyways, I found most of the items on the walking tour rather uninspiring. I think that if you were a fan of architecture, well new architecture, you would have liked it but to me it was just a lot of tall office buildings.
There were a few things that had me stop and take notice but generally I felt like all the walking was for not. Rather unrewarding. I skipped a lot of the things I was supposed to see. Not like it was awful, but I think if you go to Rotterdam you need to take your bike or rent one. It isn't really a walking city. There were some really nice parts though.
After I walked around the city for a few hours I boarded a waterbus that would take me in the direction of Kinderdijk, a Unesco World Heritage site that has maintained 19 windmills, some of which date back to the 18th century. All of which is surrounded by canals. It really was a sight to see. So you take this waterbus for about half an hour, then catch another smaller ferry boat to Kinderdijk - which I think is actually a town?
It was great, I guess in the summer time when tourist numbers are high almost all of the windmills will be running. They are all kept in working order. I'd say, from where I went you could see about 4 or 5 running. They wooshed and just looked majestic. They were also scattered, or at least looked scattered. I'm sure there was some order to them but having them all over facing different directions added to the charm.
By the time I made it to the park area my back was dying and I was tired. I didn't walk too far in but it was ok, they had benches so I just relaxed and took it all in. Seeing these windmills definitely made my trip to Rotterdam worth it.
Eventually I made my way back to the ferry to catch the waterbus. Although there was a park I wanted to see, I wanted to get home more - it is about 3hours on the train and it was almost 5:30 at this point.
I caught the train just after 6pm. Lucky that on the way back I only had to switch trains once. It is kind of nice riding the train, I get insane amounts of reading done, and the book I'm reading held my interest the whole way. I love that, when you can read a book forever and never get tired of it. Some books become tiring to read. I will admit that the last two hours on the train always seem exhausting and I always want to just be home already but its ok. You see there is always at least a 2 hour train ride between me and any travels I do. That is an exhausting thought.
I made it home, watched more Mad Men, and went to bed.
I was actually quite excited to be able to have a quiet - sit around - morning/day that didn't involve me getting on a train. ha. It is tiring sometimes.
So back to my book; it is Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, which is her memoir of growing up Somalian and moving around in Africa to avoid wars until she eventually runs away to the Netherlands to escape an arranged marriage. I heard about her on CBCs Q. I didn't realize how influential she was in the Netherlands when I started reading the book and didn't really think about it much, I was more interested in her personal story but she's actually been mentioned in my classes here. She has since had her Dutch citizenship removed and lives in the US, she is a activist for women's rights. It is eye opening, thought provoking, and shocking book. It was interesting to read because her ideas are controversial so it really makes you look at yourself and consider your own point of view and knowledge on the matter.
I'm practically done and I'm looking for something else to read. Suggestions? Keep in mind that it'll have to be a popular book in order for me to find it in English here so I don't have to pay high shipping prices from the UK.
Otherwise, here are some pictures from yesterday (facebook for more):
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