Rotterdam

I find Rotterdam a maior port city, to be none of the above. IT's a big city alright, but it is clean, friendly, and picturesque in many ways. Rotterdam is a sprawling metropolis , built around several islands on the massive maas river, the maas is massive, much wider than the rhein. it is so big that by afternoon it seems almost as rough as the sea .There are over a dozen ports along the river, and large canals run inland toward the city center. the Schouwburgplein is a major shopping mall and concert ground. i foundthe aluminum flooring of thi square amusing , until i got tired of sounding like i was walking on old stadium steps. It's not all newness in the downtown.  in fact, there's quite a number of old buildings that have been preserved that add a degree of color.The Stadthuis borders the shopping district to the East, and has a beautiful market square loaded with restaurants and cafés.  Not far from it is the Binnenrote, which was hosting its traditional Sunday market while I was there -- it was huge, probably about a full block huge, with thousands of people there.  Bordering around the shopping district were several residential streets with plenty of 17th and 18th century red-brick architecture.Closer to the water is the Wijnhaven,  which is probably Rotterdam's best-known hangout.  The Wijnhaven is home to Rotterdam's maritime museum, and the harbor is filled with old relics, all surrounded by the area's trendiest bars and clubs.  The Old Harbor, Oudehaven, is off the photo to the left, and is a regular marina for the locals.  The area was pretty quiet when I went by because the majority of people populate the shopping district by day, then shift over to the Wijnhaven at night.

I was pleasantly surprised.  I expected to see a lot of new -- but not so much character in such a big city.  I rather enjoyed my trip there, and can see why it is a popular place for big-city-oriented foreigners.