Rotterdam and The Hague
Sunday June 28, 2026
We departed Antwerp to the west, with a very specific destination in mind: the Belgian/Dutch border at Zeeland. Sure enough, my research using Google Street View was correct, and we, two New Zealanders, stopped at a small parking lot of trucks to take a photo of a Welkom in Zeeland sign, the entrance to Old Zealand.
As we drove through, we saw hundreds of wind turbines scattered throughout the many islands of Zeeland, as well as storm surge barriers like the famous Oosterscheldekering to prevent flooding during high tides. Eventually we reached Rotterdam; I notice immediately the buildings are all so modern-looking, that they have some interesting and varied designs. Andrew tells me the majority of the city was wiped out during World War II and as a result, had to be rebuilt. Our first stop was the main Market Hall for lunch, but also a chance to admire its spectacular dome roof mural. We stopped by the Cube Houses too, and then we split up. I continued to the Erasmus Bridge, the shopping district and Rotterdam Central station before heading back to meet Andrew and continuing onto The Hague.
We went out for a fancy dinner because it was Andrew’s birthday. The concept of rijsttafel, or “rice table”, dates back to colonial times when the Dutch were eager to show off their conquests by having a meal that displayed all sorts of different flavours, colours and textures. Most of the food is based in Indonesian cuisine, so the both of us were very familiar with the dishes and flavour profile, as well as the spice level, which took me by surprise because some of the dishes were genuinely spicy and I didn’t think the Dutch could handle that. We were so stuffed at the end that we couldn’t even fit in dessert, so we waddled back to the hotel and tried to cool off in the air conditioning.
The next day, we covered the Peace Palace and International Court of Justice before heading into the city centre. I got Dudok’s famous apple tart for breakfast, and then worked it off by climbing a lookout tower next to Binnenhof. We checked out Chinatown, had a brief lunch, then went to the Escher Museum. I’m no artist, nor am I particularly familiar with or appreciative of much art. But MC Escher is different. His works are incredibly famous, and there’s something about the geometry and tessellation and illusions that piques my interest. Learning about his life - especially that he only died in the 1970s - as well as seeing some of his original works and notebook sketches was fascinating.
We went to collect the car and I picked up one of Maison Kelder’s famous hazelnut cakes before heading to the Video Game Museum. Unfortunately because of the extreme heat, they were closed for the next two days, so with nothing else to do, we just headed to Amsterdam. Dinner was burgers from Burgerbar and ice cream from Casa Infante. The next morning, my last day in Europe, we headed to Albert Cuyp Market, where I got to meet the famous chonky orange cat who loves hanging out on the street and in the market stalls. We got some breakfast from Layers Bakery, then headed home so I could pack. I left for the airport around 11am so I had time to grab some lunch on the way. I arrived at Schipohl with plenty of time to spare and was able to clear security and immigration without any problems.
It’s genuinely been a nice time these past few weeks. The heat has made it exhausting to walk around for sure, but this has meant we were forced to take it easy and relax more. When I was in Italy, I was suffering from some pretty bad heat rash due to just walking everywhere and trying to do too many things, but had no problems with that on the road trip. Seeing Andrew as well was a highlight. We reflected on having known each other for more than 20 years now, as well as our journeys away from New Zealand and our lives in different countries. But it’s time to go back to Toronto, time to start looking for a job again, and time to get back into the swing of things. It’s rare to have opportunities to travel like this, to see and eat and experience these things, and I’m deeply thankful to have the chance.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:36pm on Sunday June 28, 2026 :: 0 comments :: 