Dordrecht and Rotterdam Were Rocking!

Today was a twofer - Dordrecht and Rotterdam - consisting of two Dutch cities that couldn't have been more different than each other, and in a good way, I guess.  They're about 10 miles apart.  Today was King's Day celebrating the ruling Dutch monarch with revelry everywhere in both towns, marked by the color orange (as the original monarch came from Orange, France).

In World War II, the story was very different for the two cities.  The Germans gave each town 48 hours to clear out or face utter destruction.  Those in Dordrecht were in despair over their beautiful city being destroyed and agreed to leave quickly.  Those in Rotterdam, a key port on the Rotte River, debated a bit too long and the Luftwaffe bombers were flying with death and destruction before they had finally agreed.  Too late for Rotterdam.  It was totally destroyed while Dordrecht's medieval streets and beautiful canals survived.


Dordrecht is one of the oldest cities in The Netherlands, and is essentially a 10 square mile island unto itself. Here, as in other Dutch cities, they learned to battle the water and keep it out despite occasional flooding. The people were in a party mood with open street celebrations, speeches by dignitaries at the Town Hall, music everywhere, and people having a good time - all before noon!


We saw many beautiful 14th. century (and older) homes, some leaning slightly toward the street, but apparently passing muster in terms of keeping them alive.   Of course there was the requisite cathedral and other churches, one of which had been converted into a beautiful "Church for Art".  But the best part of the morning in Dordrecht was the general energy and party atmosphere.  People, statues, virtually everything was festooned in orange!  Several on the tour remarked that they wished Viking was turning us loose there to spend the day.  I agreed.


One of the fun parts for me was happening upon Syrian Delights as we were walking through the city streets.  There a proud Syrian husband and wife were sharing treats with passerbys, and I couldn't resist through out my 50% Syrian lineage, and trying out the snippet of Arabic I know ("Kayf Halak" which means hello!) and getting a big Syrian smile and "Al Hamdu Lillah" (which means Fine, praise be to God) greeting in return.  It was wonderful and just one example of the multitude of other nations and peoples that live in The Netherlands, seemingly in harmony.


Rotterdam was much more like Manhattan, not surprising given its history as described before.  Lots of tall, modern buildings along the waterway.  Cheryl and I walked to the shopping district after lunch but it was largely closed for King's Day celebrations.  We saw equal enthusiasm for the holiday, though, among the people of Rotterdam, so clearly this holiday is a big deal in The Netherlands. 

Tomorrow is Friday and we're headed to Kinderdijk, The Netherlands . . . .into the home stretch and seeing Jenny, Dave, Ava, and Niamh in Amsterdam.  That's a couple days we're really looking forward to, so more tomorrow from lovely Kinderijk and the beauties it holds.

Comments

  1. MarianApril 30, 2023 at 10:49 AM

    Of course you're making friends with all the Dutch Syrians! Hope the sweets were yummy.

    ReplyDelete

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