Rotterdam –The Directors Cut

 

Well here we are nearly 10 months on from the original Megalitres of water under the bridge but still looking ahead. Due to technical reasons we cannot give you the original soundtrack by the Rolling Stones but they were never any good anyway – They have enough material for two hours in the World’s big stadiums but they lack consistency though they have been responsible for some great tracks.  One of those ones where you check out the greatest hits CD and not the back catalogue.  Only joking boys but I’m not really a fan.

 

I just did the sound for a laugh but realised afterwards that if I were ever interviewed I could say that it typified the city at the time hard and a little angry but at the same time dealing with global businesses.

 

 

As you know I do get in trouble in certain circles for including pictures of this type so I’ll gloss over it but for the record this is The Great Western Hotel inspired by the Chrysler Building in New York.  The picture was taken from Centraal Station which was coincidentally designed by an American architect and resembles the front of Washington Dulles airport (Now renamed after Ronald Reagan.)

 

 

The Unilever building.  Note the folding bike in the foreground.  I had it about a month before it was stolen.  I think it was the rather cheeky combination of red and blue that proved irresistible to bike thieves.  I realised and did plan to paint in but never got round to it.  Still it played havock with my knees but it was brilliant for taking on trains and riding short distances.

 

 

You’ll probably remember the previous caption but I wonder if he used the line about the Discovery Channel.

 

 

De Lijnbaan Europes first shopping precinct (mall.)

 

 

The famous cube houses at Blaak one of my favourites.

 

 

The underground railway and metro station at Blaak with appropriate clock.

 

 

We cross the Maas Meuse via The Willamenabrug.

 

The floodlight pylon at De Kuip home of Feyenoord. 

 

 

Looking back towards the stadium the view most supporters see as they drive in from the Ring Rotterdam though the statdium does have its own railway station.

 

 

The van Brienoordbrug seen from the South Side.  I have to admit that I was gasping at this stage – the temperature was around 30 and the sun was a daemon.  I did find sutable shade however in a street of old houses that seemed a million kilometres from the stadium and the CBD.

 

 

 

As I said I was gasping by this stage but realised that you could take a folding bike on the metro despite the fact that ordinary bikes are not allowed thereby saving around 7 k.m.

 

 

The bike.

 

 

The bottom 80% of the Erasmusbrug.

 

 

Looking back towards the city we see the old railway bridge now by a four track tunnel.

 

 

Even in the World’s Biggest port the planners have seen sense and allowed a few old bridges and windmills to stay.

 

 

 

The Euromast – built for the 1960 Floriade flower exhibition.  There’s a really nice park nearby but I have to report that there was a kickabout going on and by the way they were playing assumed they were English but they turned out to be Dutch – perhaps a foreign trainer could shake things up a bit.

 

 

Het Kasteel The Castle home of relegated Sparta Rotterdam.

 

I managed to make it back to the centre of the city without expiring and took refuge in probably the worst example of an English pub outside of Bedfordshire.  I slagged it off in “The Road to Leiden” but fortunately for me the poor write-up had not affected trade when I returned in the Autumn (Fall) to check.