Rotterdam

Cubic Condos

Kinderdijk

May 30, 2011- Who Knew?

We slept like babies and feel human again. I continue to molt but there might be some improvement. I forgot to tell you about the lecture we heard on the EU after the chocolate talk. It was informative but not anything new. And there was no free food involved.

The sun was shining and the high today was over the predicted 74. Tomorrow there's a return to the nasties so we'll enjoy this weather while we can.

There were no bumps in the night so we must have docked smoothly. We opened our curtains to the land side and a view of half a wall and people's feet. We're docked across the New Maas River from where the Mayflower set sail in 1620, eighteen miles from the North Sea. For some reason no one has thought to build a replica and make money from tourists. Very un-Dutch of them. Perhaps it's because Rotterdam isn't a tourist destination. Founded in 1250, late for Europe, Rotterdam constructed its buildings very close together. It took the Germans ten minutes to level it destroying 24,000 buildings. It was re-built after the war as a modern business center with more open spaces.

We met our guide after figuring out how to get off the boat. There are as many gangplank configurations as ports on this trip. Today we had to go to the top deck to get to the pier. As we adjusted our receivers and earpieces it sounded like a massive Verizon commercial with everyone answering the guide’s question, "Can you hear me now?"

So, the history is thus. My knowledge of European history is so faulty. I'd never heard of Spanish Hapsburgs let alone that they ruled Holland & Belgium. That said, they eventually lost Holland to the House of Orange (of which I'd heard) ceding the area to Protestants. A republic was formed and the freedom provided by that governance enabled the Dutch to flourish economically. Napoleon came along years later and with him came his brother who was made king. The Netherlands is still a kingdom today under the House of Orange. Check out the color of their soccer team uniforms. Now a diverse community, our guide pointed out that Dutch cuisine may have been saved by Indonesians. Speaking of that, it's what we had for lunch.

Our city walk was very brief and ended at a shopping street where we were introduced to Hema, a local Target wannabe. We'd passed a building called the Cube House built in 1984 by Piet Blom, known for the bridges he built. After he designed the cube-like condos, he never built bridges again. We toured a model and it was almost like our accommodations on the boat. only spread out The unit was 1,000 square feet & sold for $350,000. The floors were level but all walls leaned out. Special furniture was designed to be used in it. There were three levels and the steps were winding and each tread very narrow. Dutch people are big and have big feet so I wondered at the configuration. It was compact and efficient but we'd be hitting our heads frequently on the slanting ceilings. Now that I think about it, I'm reminded of a model log house I was in.

We found our way back to the boat following beer signs the guide had pointed out to us. She's German so made jokes about the Dutch. She pointed to a sign and said that Heinekin tastes like a good German beer with water added.

We sailed down the river to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage town established in the 1100's that evolved into a pumping station helping farmers drain the fields. Today volunteer millers live in the windmills but have paying jobs in town. The ground is made of peat and a side industry is growing reeds used for thatched roofing. The advantage of thatch is it's lighter and lessens the chance of a building sinking into the peat.  Sheep are used to keep the grass short on the dikes and patrols constantly check for holes. Dogs are used to catch rats wthat are notorious for digging into the dikes. Sandbags and cowhide are among the materials used to waterproof the intricate system of barriers snaking through the country. Established 750 years ago, district Water Boards (of the political persuasion) were the first democratic governing bodies here & still wield a great deal of power.

I just negotiated a solution to protect the jigsaw puzzle I'm working on. Whoever cleaned last night dumped what we'd put together in the box and put it back on the shelf. I'm now using a large tray from the bar to assemble the pieces and have made a sign (Do Not Disassemble) to put on it when I take a break. The puzzle has become a center of interest for passers by and a great way to meet people. Many sit down and help with a piece or two before moving on. Tonight I took the tray to our room for safe-keeping. This puzzle has 500 pieces. We'll finish it soon and when I start the 1000 piece puzzle I'll need a larger tray. I know just where to find one; the kitchen.

Tomorrow we'll dock at Nijmegen (Nye magen).

Toby