rotterdam architecture & sightseeing

rotterdam has been one surprise after another. from the food to the beaches to the people, we enjoyed them all equally. the most noticeable trait about the city is that which stares you in the face… its bold and modern architecture. we arrived in rotterdam at the central station and the complexion of the city was immediately apparent.

rotterdam_architecture010 — rotterdam centraal train station

rotterdam_architecture011 — completed in 2014, rotterdam’s main station looks like a supersized lasagna tray

rotterdam_architecture001 — erasmusbrug bridge aka the swan

rotterdam_architecture002 — 44 floors and 160,000 square meters of space make up de rotterdam’s layout

rotterdam_architecture038 — the former head office of the holland america line

rotterdam_architecture034 — the city’s cubic houses. residential, hostel and a museum all rolled into one complex

rotterdam_architecture033 — we didn’t make our way into the museum but you can see the interiors of the units very clearly from the street

rotterdam_architecture027 — located at blaak station, the cubic houses are very central

rotterdam_architecture028 — also at blaak station, rotterdam’s mecca for food stalls is markethaal

rotterdam_architecture029 — the biggest market in the city takes place outside markethaal on sundays and is worth a stroll through to see all the fresh produce, cheese, meats, flowers and antiques

rotterdam_architecture031 — build it and they will come. not true for travel blogs but definitely true for food markets.

rotterdam_architecture030 — many a calorie was ingested with this view

we didn’t make it to the euromast, one of the highest structures in the city which overlooks the shipping canal but instead, i snuck out for a few hours for a mural hunt and found some paintings around town.

considered one of the most modern cities in the world, rotterdam wears that tag proudly. beauty is in the eye of the beholder and while i would guess that not everybody appreciates the modern style, it’s hard to argue against it making the city unique.