Tag: Netherlands

Embarkation Day

Saturday, September 16, 2023

So, we both went to sleep very quickly. I woke up about 6:00 p.m. I was surprised I wasn’t hungry. We could have ordered room service, but I guess I was still full from lunch. Chuck was still sleeping. I removed all the airline tags and tagged the bags with the ship tags. Was also glad I remembered my European adapter so I could charge my electronics.

I read until 10:00 and then went back to sleep. Woke up fifteen minutes before the alarm. Chuck was already awake. I didn’t toss and turn too much during the night, so I was grateful. Watched our ship, the Rotterdam, slowly make its way to the berth next to the hotel. Our home for the next 36 days.

We put three of our bags outside of our door to be picked up and delivered to our stateroom. We kept one rolling bag and our backpacks to bring on ourselves.

We went to the breakfast buffet that was included in the price of the hotel. I was fascinated by the huge honey comb that just oozed honey out of it. You could scoop it out and use it on the different breads or yogurt they had. They had all sorts of food offerings. The cold European selections – sliced meats and cheeses and the hot American selections – eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns. Chuck got two eggs made-to-order, sausage, fruit, and a pastry. I got fruit, bacon and a piece of the thick dark brown bread that I discovered and loved the last time we were in Amsterdam.

The coffee machines gave you several choices. Chuck had the espresso, and I had a latte. You had to press the button twice to get a full mug. I also had a glass of blueberry juice which I had never had before. It was very good.

At 9:30, went to the HAL hospitality desk to verify with them about the number of bags that had been picked up to be delivered. I was glad that our numbers matched. The representative said we could walk to the terminal any time after 10:30. Our paperwork said our check-in time with the ship was 11:50 and boarding would be around noon. We decided to stay in our room until 11:30 as the chairs in the terminal lobby are usually uncomfortable so why sit there for an hour and a half when we could stay in a very pleasant room.

We checked out at 11:30 and walked over to the terminal. We quickly made it to the passport scanner station where we hit a snag. Chuck’s passport would not scan. Had to go to the main desk area. Turned out that his security photo was attached to my information and vice versa. Also his passport number did not match their records. First time those problems have ever surfaced. The attendant called a supervisor who was able to enter the correct information and we got our photos taken. After that, we never stopped walking until we reached our state room. Very easy.

We listened to the safety video that was playing on the TV as we unpacked our backpacks and my carry-on. After that requirement was finished, we went to our Muster Station to check-in and then to the main dining room for lunch.

We sat at a table with a couple from Florida and a couple from California. Pleasant company and a delicious lunch. Just be aware that if you order all appetizers, they will bring them all at once instead of spacing them out or bringing some of them for the main course unless you specifically tell them to do so. I didn’t order any appetizers, but one person had ordered several. I had the Cobb salad and Chuck had the Arctic Char (similar to salmon).

We went back to the room and the other three pieces of luggage had arrived. I told Chuck I could get the suitcases unpacked and would meet him at the Mariner’s reception at 3:00.

It was a nice reception. We were greeted by some ship officers and were offered wine, champagne, mimosas or orange juice. Also brought some hot appetizers. I ate one bitterballen.

Afterwards, we went back to the room to finish the unpacking and storage of the empty luggage. We met our room stewards – Anang & Pram. Pram looked familiar and I realized he was one of our stewards on our March cruise.

We went to the sail-away party on the Sea View deck. The DJ got us all up and dancing.

We went to the Lido for dinner and we each got the steak dinner. I added an order of mussels with mine.

We then spent time in the Rock and Roll Lounge and the BB King Lounge. We were happy to see several BB King band members who performed when we were on the South Pacific cruise and the Antarctica cruise. Found out that they would be staying on the Rotterdam until it arrived in Fort Lauderdale. Knew we would be in for some great music.

Travel Trivia

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

It is true that there are more bikes in Amsterdam than inhabitants. There are roughly 900,000 bikes. This is much more compared to 800,000 (a bit more) people, who live in Amsterdam.

Since 2014, there are around 185 Coffeeshops in Amsterdam, stretched out over the whole city. Coffeeshop is the name of their cannabis shops.

There are around 165 canals in Amsterdam, which are almost as many as in Venice with 177 canals.

One main attraction of Amsterdam is their houseboats. More than 3000 houseboats in Amsterdam and stretch out over their canals.

Amsterdam is a city which is built on poles. It is built on eleven million poles. The city is three feet or so below sea-level. The train station of Amsterdam Centraal alone needs 9000 poles to be supported whereas a normal house needs about ten. These wooden poles of 45 – 60 feet are placed in a sandy layer which is around 33 meters deep.

If a person dies in Amsterdam but doesn’t have any family, friends or acquaintances, then a poet will write a poem and recite it at the funeral.

The Red-Light District is well known for its red lights, however, there are also blue lights. When the lights are blue, there is a transgender woman in the room.

There is a cat boat in Amsterdam. Visit the Poezenboot. It’s an animal shelter where they have more than fifty cats.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the only airport in the world that has a museum. It is located behind passport control and the entry is free.

You can find swarms of parakeets in the Vondelpark. More than 4000 parakeets can be found here. They are not native to The Netherlands but were brought here as pets. A few escaped and decided that they liked Amsterdam.

*Trivia provided by Wikipedia

Amsterdam Arrival

Friday, September 15, 2023

The plane boarding was relatively efficient although it would go much quicker if they would just board from the back. Lots of stopping, with people struggling to get their luggage in the overhead bins. We took off at exactly 5:30.

The flight was fairly smooth with only a couple of bumpy moments as we made our way around Hurricane Lee. Everyone in the main cabin received a pillow, blanket, bottled water, headphones, and a sleep mask as soon as we sat down. Chuck and I had two seats together – he by the window, me on the aisle.

I watched Guardians of the Galaxy III, and we were served dinner about 7:30. Chuck had the chicken, and I had the pasta dish. We both thought the blonde brownie was the best part of the meals. Once the movie was over, I chose some soothing spa music from their music choices and put on my sleep mask. We both dozed on and off until they raised the cabin lights as we were nearing Amsterdam.

They served us breakfast of a hot egg and cheese wrap with a side of fruit. I chose orange juice and Chuck chose coffee. We touched down at 7:20 Amsterdam time but it was a long taxi to the terminal, so we were not disembarking until about 8:00 a.m. Of course, my body was still six hours behind, so I felt it was 2:00 a.m.

The last time we landed here, we were right at the terminal. Today, we had to walk down some steep metal steps from the plane onto the tarmac and then get on a tram that took us the rest of the way. However, the tram dropped us off right at the customs hall which was convenient. I wondered how they got the people who needed wheel chairs down to the tarmac. Maybe they replaced the steps with a ramp.

This Customs procedure was much smoother than the last time. Last time, we ended up in a big crowd in the terminal as the airport officials were only allowing a few people at a time to go downstairs to Customs and there was no organization about it at all. At least today, we were all in an orderly line, and it only took about 20 minutes to get our passport stamped.

We found our luggage at the carousel and went into the Arrival Hall. We finally spotted two men holding Holland America signs. There were also other cruise lines picking up people – Avalon and Viking. Both of them doing river cruises.

We waited about 20 minutes for our van driver to arrive and he took us directly to the Movenpick Hotel which is the hotel that a number of cruise lines use as their preferred hotel for their guests. Today, a Norwegian ship was docked where our ship will would be docked the next day. Really can’t get more convenient from hotel to ship.

Of course, our room was not ready since it was only 10:00, but I got some information about embarkation tomorrow from the Holland America representative at the hotel – included breakfast at 7:00, bags you want delivered to the ship out of the room by 8:00.

We had the hotel store all of our bags and we proceeded to walk into Amsterdam. Our route took us along the river and then through the shopping area of the train station which was pretty interesting. We walked down one of the main streets past the palace and then past stores and restaurants. I bought some crackers at a little grocery store. Of all the food the ship provides, they never have crackers to go with their cheese. Seems weird to me.

I was soon feeling more fatigued, and my phone battery was getting low, so we made our way back to the hotel, stopping once to watch the river cruises load passengers and other action on the river. We ate lunch in the hotel bar splitting a club sandwich and having two beers each – total of 39 Euros. Never had a club sandwich that included egg salad as part of the layers. Our fries were served with both mayonnaise and ketchup for dipping.

Our room was finally ready at 2:30. It was on the 18th floor and the view just breath-taking. But as beautiful as the scenery was, I was ready to take a long nap face down in the comfortable bed.

Travel Trivia

The Netherlands

Dutch men have come out on top as the tallest people in the world in multiple studies throughout the years, at an average 6’0”. The women were also found to be tall, with an average height of 5’6, losing as the tallest only to women in Latvia (5’6 ½”). Average height of U.S. men (5’9”) and women (5’4”)

The Wilhelmus is the country’s national anthem. Although it did not become the official anthem until 1932, the music dates back to approximately the year 1572, making it the oldest melody used in a country’s anthem. The origin of the lyrics is uncertain, but it is said that the words are at least 400 years old.

Carrots are known for their distinct orange coloring. However, they weren’t always this way. Dating back to the 10th century, the vegetable was originally white or purple. William III of England, who was often known as William the Orange, helped the Dutch gain independence from Spain in the 17th century. According to folklore, Dutch farmers turned their carrots orange as a tribute, and the new color became more popular than before, and continues to be the Netherland’s official color today.

The Netherlands is known for its tulips. However, tulips are not native to the Netherlands, but instead Turkey. A period known as “Tulip Mania” in the 17th century gripped the Netherlands, where the price of bulbs rose and fell. Tulips only became synonymous with the country after World War II when the Dutch used the bulbs as a food source. Today, the flowers have become a large part of Dutch culture, and tourists travel to the country every year to visit the Keukenhof tulip gardens, the largest flower garden in the world.

People are often confused about whether to refer to ‘the Netherlands’ or ‘Holland’ when talking about the country. To clarify, the Netherlands consists of 12 provinces, and Holland is an area that is made up of two provinces: North-Holland and South-Holland. Historically, Holland was the area that contributed the most to the Dutch kingdom’s economy and wealth; thus, becoming a common name to indicate the entire country, although used incorrectly. However, in January 2020, the Dutch government officially dropped its country’s nickname, ‘Holland’, referring to itself as the Netherlands, in an effort to rebrand its international image.

*Trivia provided by Wikipedia.

VOV: Rotterdam, Netherlands – Day #2

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

I guess because people were still out in Rotterdam or possibly Amsterdam, they consolidated the dining rooms again and we were served on the 5th floor. Even still, it was nearly empty. We had very fast service. I chose the sea bass and Chuck had the chicken Kiev.

Being in port, the shops and casino were closed. The Ocean Bar band had the night off. The main stage was showing the movie – West Side Story. We opted to sit on the balcony and watch the boat action – cargo ships, yachts, water taxis, sailboats, and jet skis all vying for space on the water. It was a pleasant way to end the day.

I was up at 5:30 again. Since today’s tour left later than yesterday’s tour, I was able to get us some coffee from the Coffee Bar. We were also able to eat breakfast in the Lido.

I knew today would be hectic for the crew because some people on this voyage only took the first half of the trip and they would be disembarking. New passengers would be taking the second part of the trip back to Boston and they would be embarking later today. The rest of us would be taking tours or relaxing on the ship.

Our HAL tour today was titled “The Windmills of Kinderdijk.” The tour description:

The windmills of Kinderdijk, built in the 1700s, are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 19 windmills that remain intact today are lined up along the riverfront, and were used to pump rising water to the canal and thus keep the village dry. Incidentally, the name of this charming village comes from the time of the St Elisabeth flood in 1421, when the villagers found a baby (kind) on the dike (dijk).

Walk along past the windmills and take look inside one of them for an up-close appreciation of how these simple machines harness the power of the wind in order to work — it is really quite ingenious.

You’ll have time for plenty of photos of the windmills and the countryside before returning to the ship.

Notes: This tour is available only to guests whose cruise does not begin or end in Rotterdam. Tour does not operate on holidays.

It was the same bus tour company today as it was yesterday, but I guessed they learned their lesson and we did not go over the bridge today but used a different route to leave the city. Our guide gave some of the same information as yesterday mostly focusing on the complete destruction of Rotterdam during WWII and its subsequent rebuilding. There are very few old buildings left.

Few left like this one
More that look like this one

It wasn’t long before we were out in the rural area. She talked about the great flood and how that disaster brought about the water management / canal system still in place today. Of course, electrical pumps have replaced windmills used to pump the overflow to the North Sea. However, she did say that if it was truly necessary, the government has said the windmills could be brought back into service. She was skeptical.

We passed a ship building factory and could see a portion of a huge yacht being constructed. She said the factory workers were under orders never to reveal their clients; however, “rumor” had it that this yacht belongs to Stephen Spielberg.

When asked about the Jeff Bezos yacht fiasco, she said that the government and Bezos had reached an agreement. The government acknowledged that the current bridges in question needed repairs and expensive maintenance. Bezos has agreed to pay for all new construction of bridges in order to get his “too tall” yacht out to sea when it is ready. Yay! Problem solved. 🙄

Once we arrived at the windmill area, we first watched a movie about the different theories on how the town got its name, how the canals were developed, and how the windmills worked. The movie was shown on multiple screens around the room like they do at Disney or Universal when you are standing in line waiting for the ride to start. Each screen would feature a character and they would speak to each other and to the audience about the topic at hand from their point of view. The main screen in the front would show the movie that they commented on.

We had to sit on backless chairs that I said were basically buckets turned upside down. The guide said it was so you could easily turn from screen to screen. “Easily” is a relative term.

After the movie, and a restroom break, the guide walked us up the path to the visitor center.

Sculpture depicting the baby and cat found floating in the flood

She told us the time to meet back at the restrooms. She said the visitor center had a cafe and gift shop. Then we walked to the 300-year-old windmills.

We were allowed to go inside one of them to see how a windmill keeper and his family lived and how the windmill worked. To go to each level of the dwelling, you had to climb up and down very narrow ladders. I had to stay stooped over most of the time while inside. I don’t know how they did it day after day.

But what really surprised me was the fact that most of the windmills in the area were private residences now. I would have liked to have seen inside one their homes to see how they were renovated and livable.

The private windmill residences had signs at their driveway entrance saying “private – do not enter”. Of course, we had some who were oblivious and started to walk down their driveways. The guide had to blow the whistle at them to get them to turn around.

It started to drizzle, and I was glad we had on our rain gear. We walked back to the visitor center. We had our picture taken in the wooden shoes. The guide said that some farmers still wear wooden shoes while farming. The shoes withstand the wet spongy ground, they are cool in the summer, and warm in the winter.

Chuck had an espresso while I shopped for a Christmas ornament.

I saw our guide making her way to the restroom area, so we knew it was time to get back to the bus. Chuck decided to go to the restroom. I said I would take his backpack and go on down the path to the bus since it had started to rain harder. Unfortunately, all Chuck heard was that I would take his backpack.

I’m sitting on the bus. More people are getting on the bus. I begin to wonder what is taking Chuck so long. Just before I am going to get off to go look for him, he gets on the bus. First, he had been looking for me around the restroom area. Then, he asked the guide the name of the bus to look for at the drop-off point. However, she told him the name of the company which was not the same as the name on the side of the bus. When he got to our bus and didn’t see the right name, he went back up the path (it was a long path) – all in the pouring rain. When he got the right name, he came back to our bus. He was not a happy camper. (I wanted to remind him that HAL tour busses always have the tour name in a sign on the front window, but that particular moment was not the time to do so.)

After we left the windmill area, we drove through the town of Kinderdijk. It has 25,000 people and considers itself a suburb of Rotterdam. To get to Rotterdam to work, most people take the water bus or a regular bus. If they take their own car, they try to park outside the city. If they park within Rotterdam city limits, it is $4.50 per hour per day. The guide said to park within the city limits of Amsterdam, it is $7.50 per hour per day and the government is thinking about raising that rate. No wonder so many people ride bikes.

We stopped in Delft.

Delft ceramic statue in the town

We walked to old harbor area. We saw the church that the Pilgrims left in order to find religious freedom in the New World.

We also saw old boats that are now used as permanent residences.

I just found this building humorous.

Once we got back to Rotterdam, we passed the Cube Houses. The guide said They were designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom in the late-’70s intended for lower to mid income families. They were built on concrete pillars with wooden framing, over a busy street, and designed asymmetrically to resemble an abstract forest, each triangular roof representing a treetop. She said the people for whom they were intended refused to live there – the 45-degree angle houses “were weird.”

Today, they sell for around $350,000+ euros each and, if ever one is for sale, never stays empty for long.

We had a short photo stop to be able to take a picture of the old HAL Rotterdam which now functions as a hotel.

As we were making our way back to the ship, the bus had to make a very tight right-hand turn on a sharp corner. It didn’t. The bus scraped hard down the side of a light pole and knocked off a hubcap. I’m glad it didn’t knock over the post as I assume we would have had to wait for the police. Instead, the driver retrieved the hubcap and we continued to the ship.

I have to believe he got into quite a bit of trouble from the company as the bus was dented and the paint all scratched up on one side. Our guide was already mad at him for his taking too long at our harbor stop for a restroom break so I feel sure she gave him no support on the accident.

Once we got back on the ship and out of our rain gear, we headed to the Dive In burger restaurant near the Lido pool for a late lunch. It has very good grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken sandwiches. I’ve never had their meatless vegetarian burger, but I heard it was good also. Their fries are always hot and crispy too. You can order a milkshake and pick it up at the Lido bar which we have done in the past but not today.

It wouldn’t be long before the sail-away party. At least the weather was clearing up.

FLOWERS (and a duck) from KINDERDIJK

VOV: Rotterdam, Netherlands – Day 1

Monday, July 25, 2022

Regular pre-dinner activities. Played a couple of slots and listened to the pianist in the Ocean Bar. We ate in the main dining room tonight. I had lamb chops and Chuck had roast beef. Another great meal.

HAL was showing the BBC Movie: Planet Earth II with the Ocean Bar band doing the background music. I’ve seen it on previous cruises and while I like it overall, I don’t like the scene where the snakes are trying to get the baby lizards as the lizards run for the safety of the rocks. Too much Mother Nature.

The piano bar singer had the night off, so we listened to the Ocean Bar pianist and then made it an early night in anticipation of our early tour to Amsterdam.

I got up at 5:30 and watched some of the scenic cruising down the canal as we headed to our port of Rotterdam. The ship’s bow was open to passengers, but I did not go up there. The canal was busy even this early in the morning.

We passed the Holland America Volendam ship which has been temporarily taken out of service in order to shelter Ukranian refugees. It is the sister ship of the Zaandam. They are the only two left of this size in the fleet.

We docked right next to the Erasmus Bridge aka Swan Bridge.

Our breakfast was delivered at 6:45. I’ve been impressed that the delivery has always been on time. Everything that is supposed to be hot is hot and everything cold is cold. I just wish there was a little more variety to the menu. However, it is wonderful not to have to stand in line for breakfast when you have an early tour.

Our HAL tour today was titled “Full day Amsterdam on Your Own.” The tour description was

This transfer may suit you if you would like to explore on your own. It consists of a motor coach ride from the ship in Rotterdam to central Amsterdam.

You will be dropped off at Museum Square, where the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum and the most famous shopping street are all located. The coach escort will provide you with city maps and information and will advise you of the pick-up time for the return journey. You will have approximately five hours to shop and explore on your own.

Notes: This tour is available only to guests whose cruise does not begin or end in Rotterdam. Guide service, taxi transfers, entrance fees and lunch are not included in the transfer price. It will be your responsibility to be at the pick-up point at the given return time. An English-speaking escort will be aboard the transfer motor coach to answer questions en route. Travel time to Amsterdam is approximately 1½ hours each way. Traffic can be unpredictable. The driver will do his/her best to keep moving safely. Your patience is greatly appreciated. Delays occasionally extend tour duration.

We enjoyed Amsterdam so much when we visited in 2019 that we wanted to see it again. We figured taking the HAL bus would be easier than trying to find and figure out the train station location and schedule in Rotterdam.

Our first clue that we had chosen unwisely was the stop and go traffic trying to get over the Swan Bridge. What should have been no more than a 5-minute drive took 20 minutes. Bicyclists were flying by us in their lane, not to mention the joggers that waved at us as they ran by us in their lane.

The escort tried to keep up a running commentary as we slowly made our way through the snarled traffic of Rotterdam. Once we finally made it out of Rotterdam, we were able to pick up some speed.

We passed by several towns – Delft – famous for its ceramics; the city of Hague where government including ambassadors and the Royal family reside, and Leiden – home of the oldest Netherlands university and the birthplace of Rembrandt. In the countryside, you could see the canals were higher than the farmland reminding you that a lot of the Netherlands is below sea level.

We briefly stopped for a photo of an old windmill. I was more interested in the nearby stork and the two tiny horses. We are going to see several windmills tomorrow.

As we got close to Amsterdam, the escort said we would be parking near the Amsterdam train station. Since the description said we would be parking in the museum district, people started complaining because they had tickets to museums and the museums were still under a time system. If you missed your time window, you didn’t get to tour.

He said he was sorry but there was no bus parking in that area and busses had to park at the train station area. He said it would be easy to catch a cab to the museums. As people didn’t count on that expense, they were not mollified. Poor communication between HAL and the people that run these bus shuttles.

We didn’t care where the bus parked because our plans didn’t include any tours. We were just going to wander back to the area of the Banks Mansion. It was the hotel where we stayed in 2019. But this time, we would take streets we hadn’t walked last time.

We assumed that the bus would leave Amsterdam later than published since we were so delayed getting out of Rotterdam. Wrong again. The bus was still going to leave at 3:00 which cut down the time spent in Amsterdam by an hour. More grumbling from the passengers. I just know some people headed directly to the Shore Excursions desk to register their feelings as soon as we got back.

Since the ship wasn’t leaving until tomorrow, there was no danger of missing it, but they were sticking to the departure schedule. Some people talked about just staying and catching a train back to Rotterdam. Since we had no idea what the train schedule was like, we opted to still take the bus back.

There was a lot of construction near the Amsterdam train station and the workers did not want the bus to stop there to let us off. The escort had some heated words with the workers until they relented. I am sure the escort did not want to hear any more grumbling from us if we had to go to a different spot.

Once we got off, the escort pointed out the cab area to those who needed it, and then walked the rest of us to the designated pick-up point at the Victoria Hotel. It was so crowded in this area because people were swarming in and out of the near-by train station – many dragging luggage with them. It was chaotic and claustrophobic. We were glad to start walking away from it.

With the help of Google maps, we meandered down different streets and along the canals. Periodically, we would stop at an outdoor cafe for a refreshment and to people watch.

Unfortunately, at one of these stops, Chuck left his backpack that contained all of his and some of my rain gear. When we realized he didn’t have it, we rushed back to the cafe to where we were sitting but it was gone. I assumed gone forever and had already started thinking about where we could replace the items.

However, fortune smiled upon us and the waitress who had waited on us came out of the restaurant, spotted us, and said that she found the backpack and it was behind the counter inside. Though she said she didn’t want any compensation, I pressed it upon her and thanked her profusely. While the stuff inside the backpack wasn’t valuable, replacing it would have been a very big hassle.

Soon it was close to 3:00 so we started back to the Victoria Hotel. I needed to use the restroom and didn’t want to use the one on the bus, so I went inside the hotel hoping for a lobby restroom. Of course, you couldn’t access it without a key. I went to the desk and told him we were meeting our tour group here and could I please use their restroom? Sometimes it pays to resemble people’s grandmothers because he said he was supposed to stay “no” but he would make an exception for me.

I assumed the ride back to the ship would be much smoother because the escort said they would take a slightly different route when we reached Rotterdam, avoiding the bridge area. I have got to quit assuming. We hadn’t made it that far down the highway when we came upon a 5-car accident that blocked both lanes of traffic. The cars were a mess, but we saw people walking around and there were no ambulances, so I hoped there were no injuries.

We were an hour late getting back to the ship but at least we got back safely.

This morning we had been let out off the ship directly into the bus parking lot from the gangway on level 2. However, to enter the ship this evening, we had to go around to the front of the building and enter like we were embarking – through security screening and up the ramp to the ship on level 3. There were a number of crew members and guests using the free WIFI in the port lobby area. I didn’t blame them. The ship’s Internet has been abysmal.

As it was now nearing 6:00 and we hadn’t eaten much since breakfast, we were definitely ready for dinner.

FLOWER from AMSTERDAM

Travel Trivia

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

The extensive distribution system including rail, roads, and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nicknames “Gateway to Europe” and “Gateway to the World.”

During World War I, the city was the world’s largest spy center because of Dutch neutrality and its strategic location in between Britain, Germany and German-occupied Belgium.

During World War II, the German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. Adolf Hitler had hoped to conquer the country in just one day, but his forces met unexpectedly fierce resistance. The Dutch army was forced to capitulate on 15 May 1940, following the bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May. The city was almost completely destroyed by the Luftwaffe.

Rotterdam has the tallest residential building and tallest office building in the Netherlands.

Snert is the Rotterdam term for pea soup.

Rotterdam is also known as the “City of Architecture”. It has the highest number of architectural firms in the Netherlands.

*Trivia provided by Wikipedia and Holland America documents.