Honestly, when I began my visit I knew more about neighboring Belgium than I did about Rotterdam. I did know that sometime less than a thousand years ago, the Rotte River was dammed and presto! Rotterdam. I knew that Ghent (as in “The Treaty of”) was where America ended the War of 1812 with Great Britain and was just across the border. I recalled that the movie “In Bruges” was filmed in Bruges (enough said) and was just across the border. Then there was Antwerp (still in Belgium) with its famed diamond bourses. But Rotterdam?
Now that I have been though, here’s a SIXTY-SECOND HISTORY OF ROTTERDAM. It’s a delightful little town. The people who settled here a long time ago were ruled by the Holy Roman Empire (of course). Then they weren’t.
Three hundred years later they went to war with Catholic Spain because being Protestant meant not having to pay the Pope to go to heaven. They won. Then they formed The Dutch East Indies Company and the Dutch West Indies Company and told the Pope that he should (and I am paraphrasing here) “Go to Hel!” (that’s with one “l”).
Holland became super-duper rich by copying (among other things) the majestic cobalt blue pottery designs from China. To avoid copyright infringement which did not yet exist, they cleverly changed the name from “China” to “Delft” and continue to this day to charge WTF kind of money for a plate.
Napoleon Bonaparte came and went leaving behind some very good brie.
Then the Germans invaded in WWII and Rotterdam was bombed as flat as a Dutch pancake by the Allies. It eventually rebuilt itself into a cool, modern, hip town with bakeries, coffee bars, real bars, and a food palate so diverse you can throw a dart at a map of the world and find a place here serving that cuisine. In fact, it is so wonderful, you will soldier through the cold, the rain, the thunder and the wind and not give a salted herring. So quit reading and go and get your Grolsch on! Guy Sibilla