Our last day was spent back in central Rotterdam, this time in (mostly) lovely sunshine instead of pouring rain.  Cities on weekends are very different to cities on weekdays – the vibe is relaxed, people are strolling instead of rushing, and there are lots of little things going on – a hurdy gurdy playing music on a street corner, a fresh produce market where everyone is doing their weekly shop.  We headed back to Blaak, to stroll around and see whatever we happened across.

The best thing about Dutch markets are the cheese stalls, because they have samples. I’ve tasted some delicious cheeses over the past couple of days. Sadly we can’t buy any to take home or eat on the ship.  The market at Blaak was huge and very busy.  Beside the acres of fresh fruit and veg, it had lots of stalls selling an assortment of electrical goods, home appliances, clothes, books and records.  Ian even offloaded our 30 year old guilder coins to a collector – better than chucking them in a fountain.

The adjacent Cube Houses are unmissable. These cheery bright yellow boxes on jaunty angles are meant to look like a forest.  People live in them – I don’t know how. Apparently there is a lot of unusable space.  We thought that if you could actually map the complex, it would be a fantastic 3D sprint.  We had no idea where we were once inside, as everything seems to twist in on itself.  Fun!!

It was now lunchtime, and we tried out Venezuelan “arepas” from the Markthall.  They are a type of bread made from cornmeal so naturally gluten free, and you order them with whichever filling takes your fancy.  They are only small but rather yummy. Who knew we’d be eating Venezuelan street food in Rotterdam. We also took a look at the small but interesting archaeological display in the parking garage, showing fragments of items that were unearthed when the Hall was being built.

Nearby is the lovely Oude Haven (old harbour) and the famous Witte Huis (White House).  This was buzzing with people looking at the old boats and enjoying lunch at the waterside restaurants.  From there we followed the waterfront, starting at a bright red bridge which had views of the more famous Erasmus Bridge.  We could see a cruise ship docked there.  Using my camera zoom, we discovered it was a Holland America ship, the Nieuw Statendam (not ours, which will arrive early tomorrow morning).

We headed west, following the waterfront, which was heavily bombed in WW2 (like many other parts of the city).  The buildings are all very modern here.  We passed a parade of international flags, and paused at the National Monument to the Merchant Navy. 

From there we walked through Museumpark, to the amazing Art Depot Museum.  All over the world, museums have been opening up their storage facilities to the public, to let people see pieces that are not on display.  These depots have become hugely popular.  This one is an enormous urn shape, which reflects the city skyline and its surrounds, to dazzling effect.  We had fun taking silly photos as we circumnavigated it.  See if you can spot a horizontal and vertical Ian in the same photo.

Our day was almost done – but no visit to Rotterdam is complete without paying homage to Santa Claus.  He is meant to be holding a candle, but for obvious reasons the statue is known universally as the Butt Plug. Having ticked this off our list, our status as Rotterdam tourists was complete.

Comparisons between the three cities are inevitable, but Rotterdam was easily my favourite. All that is left to do now is eat our bodyweight in leftover food, pack our suitcases, attach our luggage tags, and head for the cruise terminal.