“I’ll be in Holland working on a project if you’d like to come over during spring break,” my friend Annet casually mentioned over the phone.  Annet is from Rotterdam, a port city in South Holland, and had often spoken about her hometown during our time together at university.  I was curious to see it because, as I understood from Annet, Rotterdam had very little in common with the typical architecture of other Dutch cities.  During WWII, Rotterdam’s historic center had been destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing. Because the damage was so extensive, a decision was made to demolish what little remained. Instead of historical reconstruction, Rotterdam became a showcase for bold, innovative (and sometimes controversial) architecture as many famous architects left their mark on it.  Annet and her husband Dan were ensconced in her cousin’s ultra-modern penthouse overlooking the Nieuwe Maas River Channel.  From its lofty height, we had a fabulous view of boat traffic heading into the Port of Rotterdam/Europoort.  Annet and Dan were working, so I explored the city each day via Rotterdam’s efficient tram service and returned each evening to the airy apartment where, together, we prepared dinner and caught up on the day’s activities. I borrowed Annet’s bicycle to explore the nearby Delfshaven neighborhood, an area of Rotterdam that escaped the destruction of bombs. With its quiet boat-filled canals, narrow bridges, winding cobblestone streets and reconstructed windmill, I got an impression of what 17th-century Rotterdam must have looked like.  As I made my way around both the old and new parts of the city, I began to appreciate Annet’s enthusiasm for it.

With a strategic location just off the North Sea, Rotterdam was considered at one time the world’s largest port (one of the main reasons the Luftwaffe wanted to destroy it).  Situated at the mouth of the Nieuwe MaasRiver Channel, which leads into the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt River deltas, an extensive system of rails, roads and waterways along these rivers provides access to the heart of Western Europe.  Although now considered the biggest port in Europe (and the tenth largest in the world), Rotterdam is the “Gateway to Europe,” with an incredible convoy of water traffic passing through 24 / 7.  Loving anything to do with boats, I took a harbor cruise, a tour that went deep into the working heart of the port. Motoring throughout the immense dry dock area, we could observe the massive hulls of ocean-going ships being worked on; passing by cargo loading areas, we watched as huge cranes hoisted hundreds of shipping containers onto waiting freighters; and finally, glided past the “Rotterdam,” the flagship of the Holland-America Line instrumental in the transport of many hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the Netherlands to North America. Exploring the Maritime Museum’s vintage ships and exhibits, I learned more about the city's seafaring history and the enormous influence that being the world’s largest port had played on Rotterdam’s development.  A number of excellent museums fed my interests in art and daily walks took me past a wide range of interesting architecture as well as the memorial to the bombing of the city.  Created by artist Ossip Zadkine, the sculpture portrays a man with outstretched arms and a hole in his torso, symbolizing the once-destroyed heart of Rotterdam.  This city has had a remarkable rebirth. 

Train service from Rotterdam’s Centraal Station provided an excellent means for day trips to towns north and west of Rotterdam, and an impressive array of museums awaited me in each town, including Leiden’s De Valk Windmill Museum; the national archaeological museum of the Netherlands at The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden; and the Botanical Gardens (Hortus botanicus) at the University of Leiden, the oldest university in the Netherlands.  There, a spectacular orchid display brightened the early-darkening skies.  In The Hague, the Mauritshuis housed a splendid collection of paintings by Dutch and Flemish artists including Brueghel, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Vermeer; the Gemeentemuseum had an excellent collection of modern art; and Escher in the Palace featured the work of graphic artist M. C. Escher.  Housed in the Lange Voorhout Palace, fifteen chandeliers made by Rotterdam artist Hans van Bentem hang in each room.  In Delft, the Vermeer Centrum presented fascinating information dedicated to the painter Johannes Vermeer and the work of his contemporaries.  As I wandered around Delft’s historic city center by way of canals and small bridges, the sky suddenly darkened, the wind picked up considerably and within seconds, it was hailing!  People scattered in all directions and I found myself sheltering in a doorway with several British tourists, who commented dryly on the weather.  Just as quickly, however, the storm passed, the sky brightened to brilliant blue with fluffy white clouds scudding across a low horizon, and I was mentally transported into a Dutch Old Masters landscape painting.  Parting company with the Brits, I made my way to the Oude Kerk (Old Church) to pay homage to Johannes Vermeer, buried beneath a church stone bearing evidence of the touch of many lovingly hands. 

Although Annet was in the midst of an intensive project with a rapidly approaching deadline, she and Dan nevertheless took an afternoon off from work to drive out to the province of Zeeland (southwest of Rotterdam)to show me the Oosterscheldekering (Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier).  Part of the DeltaWorks designed to protect Holland from periodic flooding, the Oosterscheldekering is the largest storm surge barrier in the world.  A vast coastal defense system built within the three rivers that lead to Rotterdam, the plan for DeltaWorks was developed following the terrible North Sea flood of 1953, which occurred during a disastrous combination of high tides and heavy winds.  Powerful storm surges reached 18 feet above sea level and overwhelmed the dikes, which then gave way.  Most human casualties occurred in low-lying Zeeland as rising sea water inundated villages, destroyed thousands of acres of rich farmland and killed 30,000 farm animals.  Several small islands were totally submerged as the flood became the largest post-war natural disaster in the Netherlands.  With twenty percent of Holland below sea level and more than half of the country lying less than three feet above sea level, a plan was needed to keep Holland safe from another calamitous flood.  Exemplifying Dutch ingenuity in dealing with water, the Oosterscheldekering consists of dams, large valves and enormous sluice gates, which can be closed in advance of high tides or storm surges threatening the coast.  Located on an artificially built island within the delta, Neeltje Jans Deltapark presents an overview of the DeltaWorks system and explains the local ecosystem that supports fishing and mussel farming within the delta.  It also enables visitors to experience the tremendous power of water as it surges through the sluices.  This is truly a wondrous feat of engineering and I was grateful to have seen it.

My stay in Holland was nearing an end and it was time to say goodbye to Annet and Dan before making my way to Rotterdam’s Centraal Station for the last time.  On the drizzly ride to Amsterdam, flashes of color from fields of tulips whizzed past the train’s window.  These ubiquitous Dutch flowers are much loved for their hardiness and cheeriness on even the coldest and dullest of days.  Late afternoon sunshine broke through the clouds, as did the faint beginnings of a rainbow as I arrived in Amsterdam.  After checking into my hotel, I made my way over numerous bridges and canals to the Oude Kerk, whose bell tower afforded wonderful views of the city.  The next day, after observing a long line of people winding around the block waiting to enter the Anne Frank House, I mentally rearranged my priorities and headed to the Van Gogh Museum, where I had to take in the wonderful collection through considerable crowds.  After lunch I made my way to the Rijksmuseum which was only partially open due to renovations but which proved to be more than enough ground to cover in an afternoon.  I had just enough time the following morning to have a canal-side breakfast before catching the train to Schiphol Airport.  As I sat in the weak sunlight drinking strong coffee, I admired the quaint architecture around me but had to admit that part of me missed the vibrancy and newness of Rotterdam’s architecture and its busy port traffic.  But perhaps I was being unfair, having spent the bulk of my week in and around Rotterdam and only a day and a half in Amsterdam.  It was, after all, a bit of a jolt to go from the modern into the antique.  Perhaps I will have to do it in reverse upon my return to this beautiful country.