Party time on the Maas: Rotterdam has something for everyone

By Thomas Burmeister Aug 3, 2010, 13:09 GMT

Rotterdam - Anyone who says 'A' in The Netherlands should also absolutely say 'R' as well. For, A - as in Amsterdam - is not everything that the kingdom has to offer urban travellers.

Those who want to experience a super-modern, young, loud, trendy and even avant-garde Holland need only to type in the letter 'R' in the ticket machines at Amsterdam's main train station to book a spot on the train to Rotterdam.

The cost is 13.5 euros (16 dollars) and after a good hour-long train ride a traveller can submerse himself in the life of the exciting port city on the River Maas.

The Netherlands' second-largest city is worth a visit even without going via Amsterdam. But Rotterdam's people enjoy inviting comparisons with the elegant capital and cultivate a spirit of competition.

One need not experience a football classic like Feyenoord Rotterdam versus Ajax Amsterdam in order to grasp the mixture of mutual aversion and attraction between the two cities.

Small talk with locals over a few 'Biertje' or 'Wijntje' (beer and wines) will quickly turn more heated when the stranger lets it be known that he has just arrived from Amsterdam. Or even worse - that he is about to travel there.

'We have had to work a little harder than the Amsterdamers,' says Jesse Kazemier. The young boat-builder is to be found in Oude Haven.

This is where Dutch hospitality merges together with the audaciousness for which the entire country became famous through its seafarers: cozy cafes stand in contrast to the daring, sharp-edged architecture of the cube houses which architect Piet Blom set up here in 1984.

On weekends, Jesse Kazemier pursues his passion of building canoes by hand. He'll gladly give tips to tourists, but without taking a break in what he is doing.

'After all, we're in Rotterdam,' Jesse says. 'Our motto is 'Niet lullen maar poetsen!' (Stop jabbering, get to work).' In Rotterdam, so they say, shirts are sold with their sleeves already rolled up.

So it is no wonder, then, that hard work and a healthy maritime commercial sense have helped to create what is by far Europe's largest harbour. Visitors can explore it in tours with the modern glass-enclosed Spido boats, or in bicycling tours along the quaysides, for which one should plan to spend at least half a day.

'Niet lullen maar poetsen' - this was also the attitude which helped Rotterdam people not only to survive the difficult times after the devastating bomb attacks on their city during World War II, but also to resurrect it, like the legendary phoenix rising from the ashes.

'The destruction was looked on as an opportunity to re-invent our city as a modern, open metropolis,' says young architect Marcel Geerding. 'Backed by the city fathers and thanks to such huge talents like Rem Koolhaas, architecture became a second pillar alongside the harbour.'

Geerding, as a side-job, works for a tourism company showing visitors the architectural gems of his home city.

The range of landmarks starts with the iconic Erasmus Bridge by Sir Norman Foster above the World Port Centre to the 'tilted' central headquarters of the telecom concern KPN by Renzo Piano, and all the way through to the two newest skyscrapers, 'New Orleans' by Alvaro Siza and 'Rotterdam,' the creation of Rem Koolhaas.

These frame the venerable old-style New York Hotel, which was once upon a time the headquarters of the Holland-America Line.

The best view of the 'Manhattan on the Maas' is the Euromast. Built for the Floriade gardening show in 1960, the tower does not measure up so well in comparison with others around Europe, at just 185 metres in height. But the location is a dream, with views reaching to the North Sea.

Down below, one is best advised to head to a nearby pier where water-taxis are moored. These yello-and-black boats, often piloted by old harbour workers, zoom across the harbour waterways at breathtaking speed.

Often, one the main destinations is an old ocean liner. The 'SS Rotterdam' began in 1958 to transport well-heeled passengers to New York, and later on for cruises to various exotic destinations.

After renovation work costing millions, the liner is now permanently anchored in the Rotterdam harbour - as a hotel, museum, restaurant and party venue.

A favourite of the party-going set is also the stretch of taverns and eateries on the Witte de Withstraat street, where everything ranging from first-class Italian cuisine to fast-food dishes served up by Indonesian snack shops is on offer.

And the club scene in the city has made a significant contribution to the fact that Rotterdam is considered a metropolis of young people and ever-evolving new dance-floor innovations.

Among the hotspots are the large disco 'Off Corso' and the live music club 'Rotown.' And the same principle applies to these places: people are keeping an eye on what's happening in Amsterdam in order, if possible, to do things one better.

The constant pressure to do something new is also the reason why in 2008 the world's first ecology-minded 'Eco-Disco' was opened.

'We want your energy' is the slogan of 'Club Watt' in which some of the power needs of the place are produced by the guests themselves, in that their energetic dancing is converted into energy by an electro-mechanical dance floor.