I will be following my wife on a business trip to Europe next month, and Rotterdam will be one of our stops. I don’t have too many details yet, as they depend on exactly when her clients want to meet, but it appears that we will arrive in Rotterdam early afternoon on a Wednesday, and then probably leave Friday night (maybe first thing Sat). I suspect that we will be staying in the city center, likely at the Hilton or similar place that caters to the American business traveler. I will basically have all day Thurs. and Fri. to myself, and would like to experience Rotterdam’s “greatest hits.”
I’m pretty good at navigating mass transit in foreign (to me) cities, and I don’t mind a lot of walking. I’m generally interested in all things historical and cultural, and would prefer to avoid the obvious tourist traps, unless there is something distinctive/remarkable/awesome enough to overcome the usual kitsch that accompanies such places.
I don’t know if my wife and our friend will be occupied at dinner time or not. Regardless, restaurant suggestions are always welcome. I don’t really have price restrictions in mind (hey, I don’t get to travel internationally every day), and would prefer to have local cuisine. I’m equally comfortable in dark, smoky local joints and upscale, fine-dining establishments. Good beer and wine are definite areas of interest.
I realize that this is a kind of broad post, but hopefully with some back-and-forth we can help me develop some loose plans. Unfortunately, most of the guide books I’ve come across seem to focus on Amsterdam - the rest of the Netherlands gets short shrift.
Well, which Wedesday? DO you know what month it will be in? This will narrow it down a fair bit.
Rotterdam is something of a boom town in Dutch terms; it lacks the city center with the feeling of the dust of centuries which most other Dutch towns/cities have for the simple reason that the city center was, well, bombed nearly to dust not so very long ago. It has good music, a thriving theater life, good shopping. The harbor of course is justly famous.
WHat they say in Rotterdam (translated) is that “Money is earned in Rotterdam, divided in The Hague and spent in Amsterdam”. What they say outside of Rotterdam is that you go to Amsterdam to party, The Hague to live, Rotterdam to work. They are very close to half non-native Dutch (the Dutch say they are over half, this is because they do not count people born in Holland as native Dutch). So it has a certain dynamism which it derives from that.
There is a very fun SMS game (or was) called “Get Lost in Rotterdam” in which you go to various nifty, famous, little known places in Rotterdam following a series of SMS messages – sort of like a scavenger hunt. But I have to look to see if it’s available in English. Dutch directions will not help you, I assume.
If you want more specific ideas other than what’s already on the tourism sites, I do need some more direction though.
That would have helped, huh? Tentative plans are to arrive mid-to-late afternoon on Feb. 11.
The SMS game sounds like fun, but I’m not sure if I’ll have a functional cell phone or not. I do not speak Dutch, just some high school German. Probably not enough to parse anything more than the most rudimentary of instructions.
It’s a very nice and walkable city. My first memorable experience in the city was while trying to locate my hotel after I got off the train. A guy asked me if I needed help; after he got me going in the right direction, he then asked if I needed some heroin. Even the pushers are helpful.
The Maritime Museum has a ton of great ship models if that interests you.
There’s a “walk of fame” with cement handprints of a lot of singers/artists/actors ranging from the great (Johnny Cash) to the ridiculous (Meat Loaf) and everything in between. A fun way to spend 30 minutes.
There’s an interesting outdoor sculpture museum (I can’t remember the name of it but a tour book should get you there).
I had a couple good meals there, most places I picked (at random mostly) were quite good.