Rotterdam (Netherlands)

Rotterdam: Ditching Amsterdam

Barbie and I have officially landed in Rotterdam to kick-start Year 3 of our round-the-world journey!

On our last visit to the Netherlands about a year ago, we based ourselves in Amsterdam for two weeks.  We stayed in a killer Airbnb condo in the Jordaan area, living like locals.  During that trip, we took a quick 20-minute train ride out to the relaxed town of Haarlem just to hang out.  While we were sitting in a Haarlem cafe chatting with some locals, we mentioned how much we loved the low-key lifestyle of their small town.  They immediately got enthusiastic and told us we absolutely had to check out Rotterdam, the second-largest city in the country, on our next pass through the Netherlands.

It turns out there is a massive, brewing city rivalry here, very similar to what we’ve run into in other countries—think Sydney vs. Melbourne or Hanoi vs. Ho Chi Minh City.  While we absolutely loved the over-the-top action and frenetic pace of Amsterdam, the laid-back scene in Rotterdam was a deeply welcome change of scenery.  This time around, we booked a one-bedroom townhome right on a canal for a week.  Take it from me: holed up in a local Airbnb is a way better option than staring at the walls of a sterile hotel room.

Amsterdam vs. Rotterdam: The Ultimate Dutch Showdown

Amsterdam is famous for its super-cool historic canals, centuries-old architecture, ubiquitous coffeeshops, and legendary liberal attitude.  Rotterdam might not be as popular or packed with tour buses, but it has a few massive cards up its sleeve.

Thanks to its striking futuristic architecture, a total lack of gridlock, and significantly fewer tourists wandering around like stoned lost sheep, Rotterdam is way more relaxing to navigate.

When you break it down, Rotterdam holds some serious advantages over the capital:

• Cost of Living: Amsterdam is significantly more expensive. In Rotterdam, our accommodation pricing was nearly cut in half.
• Food & Groceries: Eating out was way cheaper, and even green vegetables at the markets were priced much lower.
• Traffic Sanity: While both cities have equally mind-blowing, bike-friendly infrastructure, I was amazed by how little car and bicycle traffic there actually was in Rotterdam. It was incredibly nice to navigate the streets without the constant, looming risk of being mowed down by the thousands of bikes zipping around the Amsterdam canal loops.

The One Edge for Amsterdam: I have to be fair—Amsterdam still wins hands-down when it comes to aesthetics. Its picturesque, horseshoe canals are an official UNESCO World Heritage site for a reason.

Rotterdam is the definition of an up-and-coming city, and its modern look has a dark history.  The city was basically razed to the ground by heavy bombings during World War II.  When the war ended, city officials made a bold choice: instead of rebuilding the metropolis to look exactly like the old days, they chose a completely modern design.  It gives the whole place a sleek, space-age feel.

My advice?  Visit during the summer.  Just from walking and biking around, I can tell you that exploring these wide-open streets under the summer sun is a million times better than enduring the notorious, drab, and freezing Dutch winters.

The oBike Experiment

Like every city in the Netherlands, the bicycle is king in Rotterdam.  If you take one tip away from my blog for visiting the Dutch territories, let it be this: rent a bike immediately.  It is the ultimate local mode of transport, and it was our primary way of getting around for the entire week.  Being on a bike makes you feel instantly plugged into the city.

Rotterdam features a brand-new, ultra-convenient dockless bike-sharing system called oBike.  The setup is simple:

1. Download the oBike app onto your iPhone.
2. Load some moolah into your account.
3. Find a bike, scan the QR code on the frame, and it magically unlocks via Bluetooth.

The coolest part about this system is that you don’t have to hunt down a designated station to grab a ride.  The bikes are scattered organically all over the place.  Anytime you spot one of those bright yellow frames on the sidewalk, you are free to hop on.  Even better, when you’re finished with your ride, you can park it mostly anywhere public.  You just slide the physical lock shut, it alerts your phone that the session is done, and you walk away.

[Spot a Yellow oBike] ──> [Scan QR Code to Unlock] ──> [Ride for 50¢] ──> [Lock & Drop Anywhere]

The cost for all this absolute convenience?  A measly 50 cents per half hour.

Mastering the oBike Behavior Rating System

The rate stays that dirt-cheap unless you try to game the system and screw up.  The app features a built-in behavioral rating system.  Everyone starts with a perfect score of 100 points upon signup, and you are actively rewarded for good behavior or penalized for fouling up.  If your rating drops below 80, your rental rates skyrocket.

To give you an idea of how the math works:

• -2 Points: Deducted if you get caught riding a little too stoned or parking like an asshole.
• +1 Point: Awarded for not being too big of a stoner and successfully remembering to lock the bike when you’re done.
• +2 Points: Added to your score if you report a broken bike or rat out another user for being a dick and blocking a public walkway.

Basically, if you’re a righteous dude and follow the basic rules of the road, you’re good to go.

When you inevitably find yourself wandering the streets with a healthy buzz, there is one mandatory visit you need to make: The Markthal.

This is a massive, newly constructed indoor food market shaped like a giant airplane hangar, covered in vibrant artwork.  The market hall quickly became one of our favorite spots in Rotterdam. It is constantly buzzing with action, has an incredibly cool atmosphere, and most importantly, features an endless variety of ethnic food stalls that perfectly satisfied our continuous bouts with the munchies.

The Big Doug Rotterdam Blueprint: The absolute best thing you can do here is exactly what you should do in any Dutch town—hit the pavement and just wander aimlessly. Rotterdam has museums, great local coffeeshops, and tons of wide-open green parks where you can ride your bike, park on the grass, and completely cool out.

Because Rotterdam always seems to sit directly in the shadow of Amsterdam, it remains a fantastic hidden secret.  It simply isn’t on the radar of mainstream tourists, meaning you can enjoy world-class infrastructure without the suffocating crowds.  That alone is the main reason we fell in love with the place.

Delft: The Perfect Small-Town Day Trip

If you want a change of pace, the quaint, historic town of Delft is a super easy 20-minute train ride outside of Rotterdam.  It makes for a fun day trip.

Because the old town center is so compact, we had more than enough time to cover the majority of the sights in a single afternoon.  That said, it’s the exact kind of picturesque place where you could easily spend a few days lingering at a slower pace—checking out the local coffeeshops and sampling the various canalside cafes and bakeries.

Honestly, basing yourself out of an Airbnb in Delft for a few days wouldn’t be a bad strategic move at all.  Because of the incredible rail system out here, you’re sitting right in the middle of everything, with Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Haarlem, and Utrecht all just a short train ride away.

Next up, we are wrapping up our time in Europe and packing our bags for an extended tour through Japan.  But to survive that brutal long-haul flight to Tokyo, we are taking a little detour through Bangkok, Thailand first to get our muscles and glutes stretched out.