NL, Sept 2022
Rotterdam and den Haag.
Contains 414 photos, the last of which were added 3 years, 9 months, 8 days, 7 hours, 34 minutes, and 35 seconds ago.
My first trip out of the UK since I got back to the UK in 2020. What a radical lifestyle change I had. It wasn't far. I took the Eurostar to Amsterdam, arrived late and stayed in a hostel, then the train to Rotterdam the next morning.
Rotterdam was much more of a Big City than I expected! I had a picture in my head based on nothing in particular. I stayed in a hostel in the Cube Houses, which were pretty cool, although extremely loud due to the proximity of a large road and nightlife.
After checking in, I visited the Cube House museum, which only takes a few minutes but I'd definitely recommend. Then I went for a wander around the general area. The Markthal is excellent architecturally, and also has lots of good food.
I ate ice cream while I waited for a walking tour, and then followed that for a couple of hours. There are really a lot of interesting buildings in Rotterdam.
I ended the day with copious amounts of junk food at the Vegan Junk Food Bar.
On a rainy Rotterdam day, I took the water taxi to Kinderdijk. Saw the museum learned the history of water management in the Netherlands, wandered among the windmills, went on a boat ride, and walked miles along the water and back.
I stopped by Florentina's for a hot chocolate and discovered a ton of unexpected vegan options. I bought fancy truffles and chocolate and hot chocolate to take home, and enjoyed a croissant and a soft serve chocolate-dipped ice cream as well!
Went for a wander and ended up in the museum quarter. Yet more amazing architecture. Some lovely parks. Stumbled upon the totally unexpected Depot, which reflected the city skyline in the most epic manner. And I got to ascend to the roof garden in time for a cracking sunset. Peering through the glass interior from the lift, I could not fathom what this place was. I looked it up later - art storage facility! Super cool.
Enough big city, so a retreat to the woods. I walked up to Kralingen area, to the botannical gardens. There was a harvest festival/fair happening, so nice vibes in a beautiful place. Lots of mushrooms. Including a massive amount of (finished) chicken of the woods around the corner from one of the cafes! Probably they have to leave it alone though.
I had vegan bitterballen and a cup of tea there.
Then walked on, to do a loop around an enormous artificial lake that was lined with woodlands and trails around three sides. The city skyline glimmered in the distance, reflected in the still water.
Yet more mushrooms everywhere. A big splat of old chicken of the woods on the ground at my feet; I looked up, and 20 feet above me in a tree was a huge amount that was probably still good.
After some hours wandering the trails, I had a fantastic Brazilian-style brunch at Veggies cafe.
Journey onward from Rotterdam to Den Haag. Met D for dinner at Leaf vegetarian Chinese restaurant.
A busy week in Den Haag at the Rebooting the Web of Trust conference. I was mostly on the registration desk and helping people with any issues as they arose. Oh, and organising good dinner venues of course.
Pictured: Dim Sum at Full Moon City. Pizza from Vegan Pizza Bar. Breakfast at Club Vers. Also one evening was a trip back to Rotterdam Markthal (and I detoured to Vegan Junk Food Bar again).
Lots of walking on my last day in Den Haag. A visit to the Peace Palace. Then, to Vegane Glorie for an excellent brunch, and then to Scheveningen and along the beach and through the dunes until the sun began to set. At which point, we hopped on buses to reach the Hook of Holland port, and boarded a ferry back to the UK.
