Thursday, July 23, 2015

Day 11 Our Adventure to Rotterdam

Today the marketing class was very adventurous; Dr. V took us to Rotterdam. This was about an hour train ride from our hostel, all the way south to Rotterdam. Rotterdam was once the largest port in the world, but now Hong Kong holds that record spot; leaving Rotterdam the largest port in Europe.Once we arrived to the train station in Rotterdam we went down stairs to the bicycle shop to rent some bikes. Once we all got our bikes we rode for just a small distance across the town to the port. From there we got on a ferry, and in just the nick of time for a boat tour of the port and a much closer view of the cargo ships. After the ferry ride we got back on the bikes and headed to The Horseshoe. It is called this because of the shape of the building and a sliver structure that makes the entire building stand out as in the shape of a horseshoe. The Horseshoe is actually something similar to a food court, where there are several different selections and types of food. The Horseshoe is actually more than just a food court; there is also a grocery store, market and even apartments inside on the upper floors. Dr. V bought us all lunch and I tried a few new things that I had never had, such as a special type of meatball and a crab salad sandwich. About half way through our ride Dr. V stopped by one of his favorite spots in Rotterdam, a café right on the lake, and then to an enclosure where deer are kept.  After our petting zoo experience and a six-hour day (on bicycles) we were more than ready to head back to the train station and come back to the hostel. Once we got back to the hostel we were just barely in time for dinner before they locked the doors on us. I was so absolutely exhausted that after dinner I went up to the room took and shower and was just lazy after that.