Today my group planned on visiting Rotterdam. I woke excited for this mini trip because it was a small group and it will be my first time in Rotterdam. In addition, I did not really have any expectations for Rotterdam, so I was just open to the variety of things that this city had to offer. To start out the day, I did my normal routine of waking up early and getting to breakfast around opening time. Secondly, I did my quick workout and got ready for the day. The things that we had planned for today entailed the Port of Rotterdam, a beautiful eating area, a lake in Rotterdam, and the park.
First, we started out getting our bikes so that we could tour the city. I admit that I was a little hesitant to ride a bike because I haven’t ridden a bike in over 15 years, but I had to reassure myself that everything will be fine. It turned out that everything went just fine. We made it to our first destination at the Port of Rotterdam. This place was very exquisite. I was able to see many skyscrapers and multiple views of breath-taking scenery. When I saw the skyscrapers it reminded me of metropolitan cities in the United States because that was one of the first things that I noticed anytime that I went into another major city. While at the port, we took a boat tour and explored multiple historic attractions such as the Rotterdam cruise ship and the largest ship building area of Rotterdam. It was wonderful just being able to sit on a nice boat and view various attractions.
Secondly, we briefly stopped at a lovely food area and headed onward to the lake of Rotterdam. The food here was some of the best food that I have had during this whole trip. I had Paella with meatballs and fruit, and It was a very delicious meal. The main thing that I loved the most about this meal was that it brought me back to what I enjoy the most about food, which is a mixture of many different flavors. Thereafter, we went to a local restaurant by the lake. This area had such a spectacular view. We were able to simply relax and explore nature. The funniest thing during this part was when our group saw multiple sail boats overturn and even hearing some of the sailor’s comments from restaurant.
After that, we went more within the park towards a little area with deer, ducks, and pigeons. This area kind of reminded me of visiting a zoo, but with a smaller selection of animals. In addition, there was not that many people around there, so it was definitely a better experience to get away from the tourist areas and experience more of the local atmosphere.
Lastly, we headed to the train station and traveled back to Amsterdam. The train ride was another great experience because it gave me the opportunity to reflect on my day. With everything that happened in Rotterdam, I would definitely say that this was the best part of my stay in the Netherlands.
