Today the Zuiderdam is visiting Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It’s my first time visiting this country and our journey’s turnaround point. It is also the end/start of the two segments for passengers not doing the entire itinerary.
Rotterdam Morning
The alarm woke us at 5:45 and we were already approaching Rotterdam. We went up to the crow’s nest for coffee.
When we came back our laundry had been delivered. I got a bag ready to go out and then we headed to the MDR for breakfast.
I had Irish cut oatmeal and a bagel with cream cheese.
Steve had the buckwheat pancakes with eggs and turkey sausage. After finishing we got ready for our tour meeting at 8:30 in the Rolling Stone lounge. Based on the weather report I went with a short sleeve shirt and light jacket. Steve had a long sleeve and his windbreaker in his backpack if needed.
Rotterdam Excursion
This excursion was a complimentary one sponsored by our travel agency, Cruise Specialists. The title of it is “Royal Deflt and Delftware Factory”.
Description: Begin your exciting day in the Netherlands with a 30-minute drive by comfortable motorcoach to Delft, also known as “Miniature Amsterdam” because of its canals and the grand remaining monumental merchant’s
mansions. The city center, with its rich historic and cultural heritage, is one of the best-preserved examples of a medieval Dutch town. Stroll along the canals and discover the most beautiful spots of historic Delft with a guided
walking tour through the historic city center. Enjoy an outside visit of the Old and New Church, which are both of great importance for the city of Delft. All of the Royal family members are buried in the New Church, including Willem of Orange. In the Old Church rests Johannes Vermeer and great ocean commanders such as Piet Hein and Maarten Tromp. Admire the spectacular stained glass windows created by the famous artist Joep Nicolas. Pass by the street where Vermeer painted “The Little Street”. Afterwards, relax at a café with a drink and light snack. After some free time, a short drive will take you to Porceleyne Fles (Royal Delft), one of the two original Delftware manufacturers in the world. Enjoy a guided tour with an opportunity to purchase some original Delftware before returning to Rotterdam to rejoin your ship.
There were less than 50 of us going. We headed out about 8:40 and walked through the terminal where I found a map in case we wanted to walk around afterwards (haha).
Our guide, Monika, let us know it was a 30 minute drive to delft where she lives. Most of downtown Rotterdam was destroyed by Nazi bombing during WWII. Somehow the original Holland America headquarters survived and its old buildings are very nice. Here’s the side view of the headquarters building (now the Hotel New York) that I got from the bus.
Here’s a photo of the much more scenic front of the hotel/old headquarters.
This sculpture was done by Dutch artist Atelier Van Lieshout in 2010. It is made of Polyester and is named Cascade.
One description I found says it depicts the Dutch people’s spirt. The next sculpture is from 1957 and represents modernity.
It is untitled and was made by Russian-American artist Naum Gabo.
Along the way we saw the zoo, cows, sheep and horses once outside Rotterdam.
Deflt City
By the time we parked in Delft and debarked the temperature was low 60’s and sunny so I took off my jacket. We had a map of the town in case we wanted to explore independently.
Monica walked us to the old town square. We learned to look out for bicyclists as we crossed roads and canals.
The “new” church is what we would refer to as an old one at home. It was completed in 1496 and is very beautiful. This is the rear view.
The sculpture in that corner is the Milkmaid in the Vemeer painting.
It was sculpted much later by Wim Schippers. Vemeer was born in Delft.
The blue heart sculpture is honoring three things: the heart of the city, blue delft pottery and the local technical university.
The town square was quite large.
One end has the “new church” and the other town hall. Here’s a front view of the new church.
The logo in the town hall building is the Duke of Hollandia’s with its lion. The building dates back to 1620 while the belfry is from the 13th century (it survived a fire that destroyed the original building).
The rest of the square is filled in with charming shops and restaurants (including Subway and Dunkin Donuts!).
Behind the town hall is another street which includes the cafe we have a snack later, the butter house. That is not to be confused with the historical butter house monument.
It was where Delft butter used to be traded. The decor at the top has butter churns.
Below is the original meat hall. Notice the cow heads on the exterior.
The cellar was built sometime between 1295 and 1413 with a wooden hall on top. After it burned down this stone one was built in 1650.
Below is the smallest house in Delft. I can’t imagine living in it.
The second door is a gate to the side of the home so it isn’t even that wide inside!
The canals in this city are quite peaceful and scenic.
This is the old church tower below. My photo isn’t crooked; the tower leans about 2 meters to the side.
That’s understandable when you’re so old; the tower was completed in 1350!
I thought the man cleaning windows across canal was interesting.
We noticed delft tiles in the cobblestones as we walked. They historically marked the path to pottery merchants in the market square.
Then back to butter hois where we had beverage of our choice.
I went with herbal tea while Steve had a beer (9.5% alcohol!).
We were served bitterballen with mustard.
This was followed by bags of hot bread with oil, butter and salt.
The bread has something baked in it and was quite good. Afterwards we made out way back to the bus and headed to the Delft factory. I passed a restaurant with tulips on their outdoor table.
They were the only tulips I saw in the Netherlands.
Deflt Factory
We had a tour through the factory seeing the beautiful works and learning about the history. This is one of the walls in the visitor entrance.
The old main entrance had this stairway and wall sculptures.
All of it was made in the factory. First we walked through lots of displays thematically grouped. Below is a setting of the royal family’s china.
The kingfisher, orange blossoms and geometric pattern represent the connection between the monarch, family of Orange and society. Here’s the Night Watch by Vemeer in Delft tiles.
Ther was even a demonstration of how to make a vase. Some of the process I recognized from my pottery experience. 🙂
The factory now has 10 employees which is such a small number but modern techniques have helped cut down on how many are needed.
Also since that limited production the hand painted items are quite pricey. The pieces with transfers are cheaper of course.
All too soon it’s as time to head back to Rotterdam. While waiting for the bus I met this lady.
Our host took a group photo.
I spotted this clever integration of plugs for ebikes.
Back in Rotterdam we passed the Witte Huis ( White House) building which was built in 1898 and survived the bombing.
It was the town’s first skyscaper. In modern times the tallest building here is only 60 stories. We got stopped by a drawbridge while two boats went through. I couldn’t get a good picture of that bridge but I did find this bridge with the center going up interesting.
A local charm! This is a beautiful mural we passed.
I later learned it was done by a local artist, Judith de Leeuw, who has painted murals worldwide.
Rotterdam Afternoon
By this time I had about 9,000 steps and we were hungry as it’s as 1:30 so headed onboard for some lunch.
We decided on dive-in grill. I had the burger while Steve had chicken sandwich.
We both had fries and I ordered a strawberry smoothie.
Then we napped. We were awakened by the Captain and the safety briefing for the newly embarked 200 or so passengers. He also said that departure is delayed until about 6:15-6:45 due to amount of supplies and lifeboat getting uploaded.
The good news is two of the forward elevators are repaired. We got ready for dinner and had a drink at the ocean bar.
Rotterdam Evening
It was just four of us at dinner tonight. I wonder if it will stay that way.
I started with the French onion soup.
Steve had the salmon.
He also had a Caesar salad. My entree was veal Parmesan; not much cheese on it.
It wasn’t tender but was tasty. Steve had the lamb and really enjoyed it.
For dessert I had the NS added chocolate delight.
Steve had opera cake. Our tablemates took a photo of us.
We headed to the showroom for the comedian, Stevie Jo.
It was an unusual comedy show; okay but don’t need to see him again as Steve said. Tonight clocks move back an hour so we stayed up until after 11 pm.
NOTE: Today is Sister M’s first day of palliative chemotherapy. My thoughts were with her today.
Below is today’s daily program. Click the image for the full PDF.
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