Tag: Rotterdam

Sightseeing in Rotterdam ver. 2023

ZooksLeave a comment

Tere!

On the trip to the Netherlands, which was the third time in my life, I went to Rotterdam for the first time!

Since “the Cube House” was the only purpose to go to Rotterdam, I attended a walking tour in Rotterdam like in the one in Belfast.

I was glad to have participated in the walking tour as Rotterdam was fairly small.

Table of Contents

     1. The Cube House
     2. Markthal and the walking tour
          a. Architecture in Rotterdam
          b. Everything is “Erasmus”
          c. New centre and old centre in Rotterdam
          d. Weed in the Netherlands
     ★Summary

1. The Cube House

“The Cube House” was something I had wanted to see in Rotterdam.

The cube house

The house literally looked like a chain of dice, and partially it’s a museum.

You can buy Rotterdam souvenirs (like magnets) at a souvenir store in the Cube House.

2. Markthal and the walking tour

The Rotterdam walking tour started at Markthal (market hall).

Markthal has lots of food stands and shops, where you can eat Dutch krokets and chips in addition to other international foods, which I will explain in another article.

Though the meeting point for the walking tour was outside of Markthal.

a. Architecture in Rotterdam

There is lots of architecture in front of Markthal. According to the walking tour guide, people in Rotterdam tend to be fond of naming uniquely. For instance, the architecture in front of Markthal is “pencil”. (You can find this easily as it literally looks like a pencil.)

And Markthal is “pencil sharpener”.

I understood, but Markthal didn’t seem to be as unique as the others in my opinion.

In Rotterdam, there is Rotterdam Laurence church. During WWII, almost the whole city of Rotterdam was burnt, but Rotterdam Laurence church survived. The walking tour guide showed us a picture at that time, and literally Rotterdam Laurence church was left alone.

b. Everything is “Erasmus”

Erasmus is a humanist from the current Netherlands, and at that time people had the name of the birthplace in their name. Therefore, his Latin name is “Erasmus of Rotterdam”.

For this reason, in Rotterdam, everywhere such as a bridge or university has the name of “Erasmus”.







Oi, that’s so random…

c. New centre and old centre in Rotterdam

In the area of Rotterdam, where the above architectures can be seen, is a part of a new centre of Rotterdam, and there is an old centre of Rotterdam.

Since I just passed by the border during the walking tour, I didn’t check the map, and I can’t tell you where it was exactly, but in short, the centre of Rotterdam is different now from then.

The tram line was the border according to the walking tour guide.

d. Weed in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, weed is legal, which is why non-Japanese people think I go to the Netherlands for weed when I tell them I will go to the Netherlands. Based on my own judgement and prejudice, travellers who purely want to enjoy sightseeing in the Netherlands are often Japanese. The Europeans go to the Netherlands for weed. (Of course some non-Japanese whose purpose is not weed go to the Netherlands for mushrooms!)

However, it appears to be prohibited to produce weed as only the use of weed is legal in the Netherlands.

Also, it snows in winter in the Netherlands despite the amount not as heavy as Estonia.

Based on this information, the walking tour guide showed us one picture: There were houses, and one of the houses didn’t have snow on the roof partially.

Even if you don’t know a lot about weed, you can guess what it means.

Since weed grows in a warm place, the house got warm, and the snow melted partially on the roof in winter.






So stupid. 😂




★Summary

Are you interested in Rotterdam now?

I was glad to go to Rotterdam, and happily gave the walking tour guide 10 EUR due to my experience in Belfast.

I feel a walking tour can be a new enjoyment on my trips! (However, they don’t conduct walking tours everyday, so the fact that I will go on a trip does not necessarily mean that I will take part in a walking tour.)

Aitäh! 🙂

Let’s take a train in the Netherlands!

ZooksLeave a comment

Tere!

It was the third visit to the Netherlands in my life. Accordingly, it was the third time taking trains in the Netherlands. I had visited the Netherlands in 2015 and 2018, and each time I stayed at my friend’s parents’ place in the south of the Netherlands as well as I went to Amsterdam from there by train.

This time was the first time since 2018, namely the first time in 5 years to have visited the Netherlands, therefore my memory on how to take a train in the Netherlands was subtle.

In this article I will talk about my learning in terms of taking trains in the Netherlands.

Table of Contents

     1. Buying train tickets in the Netherlands
     2. Types of train tickets in the Netherlands
     3. What will happen if one buys wrong train tickets in the Netherlands?
     ★Summary

1. Buying train tickets in the Netherlands

It is fairly easy to buy train tickets in the Netherlands. The trains in the Netherlands are called “NS”, whose main colour is yellow. I bought a train ticket at the Schiphol airport to go to Rotterdam.

You can also buy train tickets on Omio, and yet the prices are not so different, and should a flight be delayed, your ticket might become invalid. For this reason, in my case I bought the train ticket at Schiphol airport to Rotterdam.

At train ticketing machines, you can select in English, so it shouldn’t be so difficult to buy the tickets.

2. Types of train tickets in the Netherlands

There are a couple of types of trains in the Netherlands: Intercity, Intercity direct and Sprinter.

Honestly I have no idea how exactly they are different, but be careful when buying train tickets because if your train tickets are wrong, you might be required to pay more money.

Plus, the railway staff at Schiphol airport are not trustworthy.

3. What will happen if one buys wrong train tickets in the Netherlands?

As I wrote “the railway staff at Schiphol airport are not trustworthy” above, I will explain the reason.

The train ticket I bought at Schiphol airport to go to Rotterdam was a train that takes a detour. I bought that train ticket because I had enough time and was not in a hurry.

The ticket for the slow NS train (sample)
Slow NS trains require only one train ticket.

However, when I went to the train platform in Schiphol airport, I was confused with which train was for my ticket. I asked a railway staff member there, and told him I wanted to go to Rotterdam. Then he told me to take “Intercity direct”.

I suspected, but I took the Intercity direct train. Then just before arriving in Rotterdam, a staff member in the train asked me to show my ticket and said “Where is the other ticket?”

“Sorry? I don’t know that…” I said, and he said “Your ticket is for the slower train. This train is faster, and you need to pay 10 EUR.”






The guy in the airport deceived me.




I was so pissed in my mind, and left the train station in Rotterdam.

After all, I spent more money than buying the faster train tickets. I wished I could have screamed at the staff at the Schiphol airport:






Give me money back.




So be careful.

Tickets when taking an intercity direct train (sample)
Intercity direct trains require these two tickets.

★Summary

When going to Amsterdam from Rotterdam, I bought the train tickets for Intercity direct, and took the Intercity direct train.

By the way, I felt the train tickets in the Netherlands are so expensive as it cost 20 EUR for a 30-minute distance (from Rotterdam to Amsterdam). It takes around one hour from Kyoto to Osaka, and it costs only 400 JPY (less than 3 EUR) (if you use Hankyu).

Aitäh! 🙂