Rotterdam

9th May

Today we got up early to catch the bus to Rotterdam. We walked to the accommodation (stopping at the Information Centre along the way) and dropped our bags.

After a bit of research we decided to start with De Martkthal (The Market Hall). After a 30-40 minute walk we were there. It had a wide selection of food and we sampled some of it.

Rolls for lunch 

Lunchtime View! 

Right next door were the famous Cube Houses. We wandered around looking at them from the outside. Very unusual architecture.

From there it was another thirty minute walk to the Eramus Bridge. It wasn't really worth seeing. Right by it was where all the boats left from.

Sights along the way

We bought a ticket for the Cruise on Port of Rotterdam. The cruise was very average.

The Bridge (as mentioned above) 

After our average day we walked home stopping in at the supermarket to buy dinner.

What we saw on our walk back to the accommodation 

 10th May

After our average day yesterday we felt we'd covered the city of Rotterdam so we bought a transport day ticket that allowed us to explore further afield.

It was a public holiday and we started our day reasonably early so when we arrived at Schiedam (a suburb of Rotterdam) it was quiet.

We followed the signs to the windmills, admiring the beautiful architecture as we walked. We saw Liduina Basiliek on the way. Outside the church a market was being set up.

The windmills here are the tallest ones in the Netherlands. Their bases were brick.

Birds building a nest

After enjoying the windmills we took the metro to catch a ferry to see more windmills! The lady at the ferry said our pass didn't work on the ferry but then thankfully another staff member said it would and we were able to board.

Kinderdjik is famous for it's windmills. There were alot there. Unfortunately it was quite windy and a bit grey so I felt it made it less enjoyable.

We caught the ferry back to the city and caught a metro and a trams to get to the city of Delft. There we saw many buildings:

Old Church

Old Gothic House

Delft Museum
 (no photo)

State House

New Church

It was a holiday and people were supporting their friends and family who were running 

De Beesten Markt

Maria van Jessekerk

People on balcony watching the festivities below 

Delftware / Delft pottery

Then we caught the tram to The Hague. There we saw The Peace Palace, Beach and H Jacobus de Meerdere through a combination of trams, walking and the bus. The beach was freezing due to the wind so it was a short visit.

Peace Palace 

The Beach 

H Jacobus de Meerdere 

After that we caught the metro back to the city and walked home. Dinner was easy as we had leftovers from the previous day.