Rotterdam, The Netherlands

[El_Greco]

Rotterdam is remarkably clean: the Dutch even wash the outside brickwork of their houses.

Mary Shelley.


Rotterdam is well known for its busy port, however in the last few decades it also has become a byword for architectural innovation and experimentalism which is best exemplified by buildings like Koolhaas' Kunsthal and Bloms' Cube House. Yet this was made possible only by the terrible destruction wrought by the Nazi bombs in 1940. After the war the pragmatic Rotterdamers opted for reinvention instead of reconstruction, but despite all that the city does not lack old stuff - theres loads of that in Delfshaven as well as in the elegant residential districts to the west of the city centre. But I came for the modern stuff and even though the weather was absolutely horrible, with constant rain and strong winds, I enjoyed Rotterdam nonetheless, it is perfect for walking and theres no shortage of drinking and eating places of which I made quite an extensive use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotterdam

1. The elegant Erasmus Bridge across the Nieuwe Maas, designed by Ben van Berkel and built in 1996.



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3. Rotterdam is still a busy port, in fact its Europes busiest and until 2004 was Worlds busiest too, so the river is filled with ships.



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5. Delfshaven, now a suburb of Rotterdam but until 1886 it was a town in its own right. It was founded by the people from the city of Delft (as the name implies) to avoid tolls being levied by Rotterdam.



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9. Regentessebrug, a rather grand bridge built in 1898.



10. Rotterdam is filled with fantastic buildings, here we have Shipping and Transport College, designed by Neutelings Riedijk Architects, surrouned by warehouse conversions.



11. The weather was absolutely terrible, so I spent a few hours in The Euromast sipping tea and just watching the city.



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23. Montevideo tower, all 140 metres of it.



24. The 165 metres tall Maastoren.



25. Netherlands Architecture Institute, I wanted to go there, but it was.....er not open.....



26. The Art-Nouveau Witte Huis built in 1898, it was tallest building in Europe when built. Willemsbrug can be seen in the background.



27. Cube House designed by architect Piet Blom in 1984.



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29. Inside one of the flats in the Cube House.



30. Minimalist corridor in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.



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34. The Red Apple, 124 metres.



35. De Brug, the new HQ of Unilever Netherlands. Apparently the steel and glass bit is a pre-fab.

[Wapper]

Impressive. Rotterdam is really a great place for pictures.

[Eduardo L. Ramirez]

Amazing pics!

[Ni3lS]

Nice pics. I hope you enjoyed the city despite the weather. Did you do a city/river tour at all? Splash tours is pretty cool. It's a bus that can turn into a boat as well, so you drive across the city and then you just hit the water.

[christos-greece]

The city of Rotterdam seems to be/is a great very nice city in all seasons; great shots El_Greco

[Pansori]

Excellent. It is so nice to see effort put into your photos. Even in such bad weather it looks great.

[dutchsnookerfan]

Perfect!

[maartens]

Great pics! Thanks for visiting 'our' city . Be sure to visit Rotterdam again in summertime!

[EPA001]

Indeed a fantastic series of pictures of "my city". Too bad the weather was not really cooperative. Some of your pictures are shot from places where the usual photo updaters do not take them. So it is nice to see this rare perspective. Well done!

[Skyscrapercitizen]

Seen the weather you did a great job taking such good pictures! And it's nice you visited many different parts of the city! At the moment I work at the Rotterdam Tourist info center, and many tourists are to lazy to visit Delfshaven or even to walk the Erasmusbrug. That's a pity, there is so much to discover in Rotterdam in and around the center...

[Rotterdam Fascinates]

Hey great to see somebody taking the trouble to visit Rotterdam.
What a pity regarding the weather. At the moment we´re having days of clear skies. I agree on all skyscrapercitizen said, many people really have no idea of the existance of older neigbourhoods like Delfshaven or Delft which is situated on a 10 min train ride. Though I like some of your pictures, 3 is my favourite with de hef/ lift bridge.

Number 26 is pretty nice as well, is wish to had such a painting on my wall.

I´m enclosing a photo I shot today. I didn´t see the HAL on the peninsula included in your collection but I thought you would appreciate the contrast.
image hosted on flickr

[Eric Offereins]

Despite the rain, really good pictures. Better luck next time with the weather!

[Oranje Strijder]

Too bad you didn't come a bit later. The weather is nice now. Clear and blue skies.
And I hope you will come back in summer and shoot some more!

Nonetheless your photo's look amazing.

[El_Greco]

Originally Posted by Wapper

Impressive. Rotterdam is really a great place for pictures.

It certainly is! Thanks man!

Originally Posted by Ni3lS

Nice pics. I hope you enjoyed the city despite the weather. Did you do a city/river tour at all? Splash tours is pretty cool. It's a bus that can turn into a boat as well, so you drive across the city and then you just hit the water.

Oh yes I did see that, it looked like great fun, will have to do it someday.. when I come back (most likely when the Market Hall is finished ). How good is it anyway? Do they take you all over the port or just cross the river?

Originally Posted by Pansori

Excellent. It is so nice to see effort put into your photos. Even in such bad weather it looks great.

Aww

Originally Posted by Skyscrapercitizen

Seen the weather you did a great job taking such good pictures! And it's nice you visited many different parts of the city! At the moment I work at the Rotterdam Tourist info center, and many tourists are to lazy to visit Delfshaven or even to walk the Erasmusbrug. That's a pity, there is so much to discover in Rotterdam in and around the center...

You know I had to force myself to cross Erasmusbrug, the weather was so horrible that I just didnt want to leave the cafe I was in!

Thank you people youre the best. Hugs all round!

[El_Greco]

Yes, well heres the full set if anyones interested!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4153421...7626176239780/

[Svartmetall]

Really great photos! I have to say Rotterdam looks like a more interesting place than I first imagined.

[El_Greco]

Thanks, yeah its very much an underrated city, which is a crying shame.

[SASH]

Wow, really good photo work! As 'EPA001' already said: 'Some of your pictures are shot from places where the usual photo updaters do not take them. So it is nice to see this rare perspective!' I totally agree with that.

[Dr.Seltsam]

Amazing pictures and interesting city! Thanks for uploading!

[julesstoop]

Very nice indeed. Thanks for sharing!