2019

[Netherlands 2019] Rotterdam

Rotterdam is definitely my favourite city on my trip in the Netherlands!!

It's hard to explain my feelings toward Rotterdam. I just love here, although it isn't as popular as Amsterdam, as "Instagrammable" as Zaans Schans, and also rather too peaceful (or boring XD) to be a touristic site.

However, it also has some main tourist attractions that suit typical tourist tastes, like the quirky cube houses, market with delicacies, artistic sculptures and museums around the city. Oh but my favourite spot will be Het Park, where the locals walk their dogs and have a nice stroll in the morning. (Well, I was there in the morning so I could only come out with this haha)

Overall, I would say it is a residential-friendly city as it's surrounded by greenery and fresh air, but not too quiet as there are some good shopping and restaurant districts, especially where our hostel located - a street with late-night food and pubs. At the same time, transportation is very convenient. As bike lanes are everywhere here, you can have a lovely bike and cycle around without worrying about the pedestrians. If you opt for public transportation, I can see trams everywhere too. Lastly, Rotterdam is more local-based from what I observed, as Amsterdam is totally crowded with tourists and I believe it annoys the locals a lot.

We arrived at Rotterdam (took 30 mins train from Amsterdam airport) at 12am midnight and amazed by the beautiful canal.

First meal! (super late supper hahaha)

In a Surinamese fast food shop, open until late night down at the pub street.

Suriname is a Dutch former colony in South America, therefore there are so many Surinamese food (and also Indonesian food) shops around the Netherlands.

I forgot what this snack is called, it's fried yam stick + something like ikan bilis (spicy anchovy). Quite yummy!

Here's my favourite Het Park, our first spot on the second day.

The sun was so bright that made every photo look adorable! :D

The sunlight made every photo look soooo gooood so we just couldn't stop selfie hahaha.

Euromast, one of the touristic sites in Rotterdam is just a stone throw away from this park.

Feel like K-drama heroine while walking down this lane haha!

Bridge was a bit shaky but still safe...I guessed...

We actually spent like 1 hour in this little park because we enjoyed the chilling vibes a lot, and of course, we took a lot of good photos! :P

We walked to a harbour nearby and found a massive, fancy-looking Chinese supermarket! Out of curiosity we decided to explore inside and found the widest range of Asian food and ingredients...even Malaysian brands!

After a 20 mins walk we finally arrived in the market... Starving us were ready to eat a lot!

The fact that it's an indoor market surprised us because from the pictures on the Internet it actually looks like an open-air plaza. The ceiling is stunningly beautiful with the flower art.

The famous local food - Harring!

(Dutch sashimi we called)

Also we had a pineapple yogurt ice cream...

It's nothing special but we craved something icy and sweet! :P

The local favourite - Stroopwaffle!

The most authentic way to eat it is with syrup, but we've already tried so many of them by grabbing the food samples hehe... So we chose Nutella! Yum yum!

Valentine's day was just a day ago so these cute posters were everywhere!

The market looks like this from outside.

There's also a Ferris wheel nearby.

Cube houses area is just opposite to the market. They are really strange and cute at the same time, and there are people actually living in them. You can pay $4 to see the interior but we didn't do so to save on budget.

You can see this view from the cube houses area.

There are restaurants and pubs along the canal.

Again, the natural lighting is perfect so selfie is a must!

In fact, one half-day is more than enough for a trip to Rotterdam as this is the end of the main attractions lol.

Since there was nothing else to do, we decided to get some good food. From Google, we learned that Felix Food Factory is a place that perfectly suits our needs. And we walked 30 mins to get there...

Look how clear the sky is!!

All #nofilter

There was another park on the way.

We were sooooo excited while we saw this giant slide!! We even climbed up the slope to see if we could play it! However we chickened out because...it's kind of creepy isn't it...what will happen inside the loooong slide... ><

We waited for a while to see if the guys nearby would try it but they didn't :(

These are the floating trees on the lake...

Must be very pretty in the spring/summer, but now they are just corpses :(

Hotel from New York?

Finally we arrived this Felix Food Factory!!

The long walk was soooo tiring lol -_-

Although we weren't hungry, still must get some good food!!!

It's like a food bazaar inside, many stalls and shops. There are Indonesian food shops, bakery, cheese & yogurt shop, grilled meat shop, beer & cider bar.

This bar!!! I still couldn't believe that I didn't get a tap............

NOOOOO I FEEL SO MUCH REGRET T_T

We got a bottle of flavoured yogurt drink & a set of cheese platter ($5)

There are 5 different kinds of cheeses and fruit jams.

Hmmm except the last one with super-strong taste...

Others were all delicious with bread! Even the jam is good!

Someone came to lit this candle in beer bottles.

On the way back, I've seen the prettiest sunset. :)

We lingered so long on the bridge...

Looking at the gradient sky slowly darkened down... it was so peaceful...

Eventually the sun disappeared behind a building.

While walking on the bridge, it was our first time seeing so many cars on the road lol.

Like, wow traffic jam does exist in this country...!

But only during the peak hour and it didn't last long too.

The sky was way too gorgeous...

I felt like I'm somewhere doesn't belong to earth for a moment :)

After walking for 30 mins (again), we decided to reward ourselves with something good.

JUNK FOOD + BEER OF COURSE!!

Fries is everywhere here lol.

We ordered a box of chicken wings, but found out the staff gave us the better one - Drumsticks!!! Lucky~ Chill out in the hotel after a long day really feels good hehe~~