July 16, 2014
Amsterdam Day 4 (11 of 21)
Wednesday, hump day in Amsterdam. Ironically, I did
not even spend the day in Amsterdam, but in Rotterdam. The Independent Studies
class went to the Port of Rotterdam. It was amazing! I had a spill from a bicycle
today. I didn’t get hurt, didn’t even get the skin broken on my knees. Thank
God!
The Port of Rotterdam was spectacular in that it is
the third largest port in the world. In some degree I would like to say that if
it is being shipped, it probably is passing through Rotterdam. I learned that
this port is 25 Km from the North Sea. It is fascinating to me that the port
does not only ship containers, but crude oil flows through there as well. My
group took the tram to the station then took a train to Rotterdam. I would tell
you about the train, however I went fast asleep.
Once we arrived in Rotterdam, Dr. V rented us
bicycles. I do know how to ride a bike. I want everyone to know it is not a
game here in the Netherlands. Bicycles have the right away over pedestrians and
cars. The tram trumps both of them though. Anyway, up we go. We all adjusted
our seats and got our bearings. We pumped and pumped gliding through the
streets of Rotterdam like Netherlanders. Wow, we really did this today.
Bicycles, trains, trams, and please don’t forget
walking have been my forms of transportation for the past 11 days. It seems
like longer than this, but it is great. I am always optimistic in most
situations and nothing was different today. Not only did we use those
transportation methods talked about earlier, but we also took a cruise around
the Port of Rotterdam on a lovely sailing vessel. We had our lunch on the ship
and even had ice cream. This Rotterdam excursion could very well be the best
one on this trip. We toured the port and afterwards we cycled over to the radio
tower, Radio Rijnmond FM 93.4. Amazing again! I was proud of myself that I did
not complain about the stairs. I was a bit slow getting up to the lift, but it
was well worth it. I had a panoramic view of the city of Rotterdam.