Categories for Rotterdam

A walk in Rotterdam: the Old North

Today i made a walk through the old north part of Rotterdam. And i did want to make a map of my walk, but the plugin i’m using isn’t working. Grrr. Hopefully with another update the error will be fixed. I did check an old map, which is still working properly. But i do get a fatal error when i go to the make a new map page.

Well, i simply need to talk you through it then.

I started walking past the Rotte to the start of the Zaagmolenstreet. At the Zwaanshals, a good looking square, i made a couple of photos. I turned into the Zwaanshals and walked to the Wilgenplantsoen. This is a small communal garden. The garden where Daniel, who also works at the Peace Garden, works on Tuesdays. I was a bit early. Luckily the garden was open and i walked around and took some photos of the plants and flowers. Quite soon Marion came in, we talked a bit. It turned out she helped setting up the Peace Garden last year. She didn’t have that much free time now though, so she helped at the Wilgenplantsoen now, closest to home.

When Daniel arrived, the children ran up to him and jumped in his arms. That made me smile, lovely to see. I walked with Daniel to the Kinderparadijs, the children’s paradise close by, to get coffee for all of us.

After drinking the coffee, helping some children to get water from the pump in front of the garden and eating some yellow raspberries fresh from the garden, i walked on.

The Bloklandstreet is next. This garden is closed, but it was easy to take a few photos through the fence. I followed the Bloklandstreet to the Bergweg, took a detour through a pet supermarket i had never seen before and walked further past the Willebrordusplein into the Listreet. I crossed the Bergselaan and walked over the Delfgaauwstreet to the Gandhi Garden. I had intended to make some photos there, but it was closed i’m sad to say. Next time i’ll go there on a proper working moment.

I headed to the Bergsingel and walked along it to the Noordsingel. At one point i walked past the street going to the Gare Du Nord, a vegan restaurant. I went up there and made photos of the beds of herbs and vegetables.

After this i headed straight back home and was relieved to lay on the couch for a short while.

Another good walk!

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The Noorderbrug
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The Zwaanshals
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The Zwaanshals
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The Wilgenplantsoen
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The Wilgenplantsoen
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Sunflowers
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The Wilgenplantsoen
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I woke up this cat lying about in the Wilgenplantsoen
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Yellow raspberry
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Not sure what sort of tree this is, a willow maybe? I will ask soon!
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The Kinderparadijs
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The garden in the Bloklandstreet
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The garden in the Bloklandstreet
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Willebrordusplein
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Lisstreet
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Lisplein
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Noordsingel
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Gare Du Nord garden
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Beetles in the Gare Du Nord garden
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Gare Du Nord garden
Published on August 31, 2016 at 6:00 by

A walk in Rotterdam: from Marconiplein to Dijkzigt

This Tuesday morning i woke up early. I was lying there crying for a bit, then i decided to get out of bed. Half past seven.Even though i thought of doing a bit of work today, i decided to go out and go for a walk. I was in the metro half past eight. It was busy. All people going to work. All silent. Within themselves.

I went to the Marconiplein, the place my walk a week ago had ended. I knew about the gardens i wanted to visit. The Voedseltuin and the Tuin op de Pier were my main targets. But while i was walking there, i was thinking of the milieupark which was close to the Voedselpark. The place where you can go and throw away stuff which can be recycled or re-used. I took a look at all the different kinds of material you can bring there: tires, plastic stuff, chemical stuff, metals, building material. I loved the little gallery of little garden gnomes and dragons and fat chinese man standing together just when you entered the park.

I wasn’t allowed to take any photos of the place. I only took one photo of the view. Looking across the New Waterway towards the place north of Heijplaat. Looking right at the place i took the photo at, the one with the text ‘Across the water the three flats of Marconiplein. I used to live close to them from 1985 – 1995.‘ beneath it.

I turned back on towards the Voedseltuin, the Food Garden (Facebook page). There were quite a few people there, around ten i guessed. I walked all around the circles in which all the vegetables were growing. They were still working on building the last ones. They were using old pedestrian footpath tiles, breaking them into two or four pieces. A lot of work!

I talked a bit with Max, the garden coordinator. I told him about this small project, getting to know the collective gardens in Rotterdam and a bit more about their organization and the volunteers involved. The Voedseltuin is quite a bit bigger than the Peace Garden. They have four working times in a week, from Monday till Thursday. It is a bit better organized than the Peace Garden, i have to say. On their website voedseltuin.com i read more about their goals, re-integration and permaculture.

A lovely garden. I might go and do some days of work there, to get to know the place a bit better. Not sure it would be for the long term though.

After the Voedseltuin i walked to the Dakpark Rotterdam. There used to be train rails here. Now there are big shops on one side, and on their roofs this park is build. It is eerily orderly. The grass is properly mowed. It is also very quiet. When i asked someone near the fountain, she said it was because schools had just begun this week. True!

Halfway this park there were some small allotments. Above them a couple of sheep were supposed to graze the grass short. I didn’t really see them out and about. They were also fenced of with electrical wires, not easy to go and see them.

I walked through these allotments and walked out of the park towards the end of the Oude Delfshaven with the mill standing there proudly. I followed the Westzeedijk to the Lloyd Quarter. Old harbour area, repurposed with housing and companies buildings. The Garden on the Pier, Tuin op de Pier is there in between the houses near the water.

I was lucky, there were people there as well. They used circles to plant their crops and flowers in as well. This garden was set up by the people living around it. The area isn’t used yet for housing and it looked derelict in between the high rising new buildings. They set up this garden as a space to relax, grow vegetables and herbs and flowers and a place to meet.

Reading their 2015 annual report, this garden is quite active and financially supported by a group of friends consisting mainly of the people living around it. Yoga, Easter Egg hunting with children, many cooking and eating together evening. The kale and rabbit meal in November stands out for me. Once a year they have a moles catcher with his ferret in the garden to try and catch as many rabbit as possible. Subsequently they bake and eat the rabbit with kale grown in the garden itself. I’m sure i’ll be back in this garden soon!

I did walk to another, smaller garden at the other end. By that time my iPhone was dead, the battery empty. I was also getting a bit tired. It was past one already, i had walked for more than four hours. Time to get something to eat and go home. Where i rested my tired feet for a while on the couch before i wrote this piece.

Great walk!

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Published on August 24, 2016 at 6:00 by

A walk in Rotterdam: the Essenburgsingel

This morning i went for a walk past some allotments, municipal gardens and other such initiatives in Rotterdam. I will make more walks like this over the next weeks. I won’t always find people to talk to, but it is good to see the gardens and its crops anyway.

De Spoortuin
I was lucky. There were people in the Spoortuin. I got an walk through the most amazing woody foresty garden, next to the railway and the Essenburgsingel, so close to the center of Rotterdam. The start of this garden is a municipal garden, with some areas for schools close by. Next a small building for the tools, with grapes growing outside of it. And then a narrow woody path besides the water, mint growing beside it. Some trees form bridges over narrow water inlets, good for fish, birds and frogs. A magnificent tree fallen down, with new trees growing straight up into the sky from its trunk. An extremely wide tree with thick ivy stalks grwoing up into its crown of leaves.

Rinus told me a few years back there was the intention to build houses in this place. The people living around it joined up together to fight this plan. They won! The garden is wonderful. I’ll go back there to make a couple more photos.

Links and photos
Wilde natuur in hartje Rotterdam, bestaat dat?

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The rest of the walk
I was less lucky for the next part of the Essenburgsingel. Both gardens there were closed, the Educatieve Tuin Essenburgsingel and the Pluktuin. I did make photos of the entrances. All three of these gardens are part of the bigger Essenburg Park. I’m not sure how this area will develop, i will do more searches and hope to talk to people over there soon about this lovely area.

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I walked further on, over the Mathenesserbridge and along the Mathenesserweg to the tube station Marconiplein. My old neighborhood. Some new housing, like my old house, demolished years ago. But other than that basically still the same. I took the tube back home. A good walk!

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Published on August 16, 2016 at 6:00 by

Summer

Vacation time is over.

I had to get used to relaxing. Only the final few days i took it easier. Thursday i spent at home watching a the Hills rerun on MTV. I loved it. Going to the garden as well and enjoyed spending time there.

I did get quite a few ideas for posts. Some for songs, some for cooking, some for video’s. I made drafts for them. Ready to fill up with content and make final. As i did with this post, with the photo’s i made during these past two weeks. Not too many though.

So yes, i do feel a lot more relaxed now. Also ready to work again.

Hugs 🙂

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Published on August 8, 2016 at 6:00 by

On the roof

Today, Thursday 19 May, i went to visit my mother. We went out for a bit of shopping, got some herring for lunch and talked for quite some time.

After i got back in Rotterdam i walked up the stairs, made in front of the Central Station, going up to the roof of the Groot Handelsgebouw. It was quite a walk. I did feel my legs ache a bit. I did stop for a bit and looked around halfway. Eeew… i’m a bit scared of the height. I walked away from the side and stuck to the inside. Up on the roof it was lovely. You can walk around the whole roof, viewing the station, the north part of Rotterdam, Schiedam at the west side, the river to the south and the high rise buildings close to it.

I did film. Walking up the stairs, walking down. Looking around at the roof. I will go back early next week and film some more. After i watched what i have got now and look for more types of shots i want to use. Letting the idea come to live slowly.

For tonight, some views. The sun came out while i was walking up there. Yay!

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Published on May 20, 2016 at 6:00 by

Spring

A walk in the Kralingse Bos. The weather was lovely. I made a familiar walk, ate my sandwiches with avocado, drank my water, bought an icecream. I watched the geese with their young, the coots, the ducks. Listened to so many birds whose names i do not know. Watched so many new and fresh plants all fresh green and bright.

I felt happy.

And now, photo’s i made. Many flowers!

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Published on May 10, 2016 at 6:00 by

Looking out

On my way to Rotterdam, this afternoon, sitting in the train.

Only when i got home i saw the windows itself, the reflections, the dirt.

Great!

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Published on March 29, 2016 at 6:00 by