Today we left Munich and Germany to head to a new country and city, Rotterdam in the Netherlands. However, to get there, we had to take an 8-hour long train ride that took up most of our day.
During the train ride, I noticed we passed by several major German cities that I saw out my window, such as Frankfurt am Main or Cologne. Frankfurt has a distinctive skyline of modern buildings, while Cologne has the twin spires of the Cologne Cathedral.
We had to transfer between trains twice. One of our transfers was rapid, as our train was delayed going to Frankfurt station but the other train’s departure stayed the same. The other transfer we were given a fairly decent time frame to wait.
After slightly over 8 hours, we finally arrived in Rotterdam. The first thing we noticed was that Rotterdam was a modern city on the harbor. Rotterdam lacked the traditional architecture that characterized the past two cities we visited. Instead, Rotterdam is full of modern architecture and tall towers, something usually seen in a North American, Chinese, South Korean, or Japanese city.
We embarked on a walking tour of Rotterdam. During the tour, we had an assortment of Dutch snacks and learned of the background of Rotterdam. The city was bombed and completely destroyed during Would War II, leaving only a few buildings left that could be successfully restored. Some of these buildings included the old church or the city hall. Otherwise, all the buildings are very modern. Rotterdam is also a vital port city and still one of the top 20 port cities in the world.
Even though traveling was exhausting today, I’d say I liked my trip to Rotterdam. I got to get a background for the city as well as what makes it unique.
– Dylan Vergara