Ringing in the New Year in Rotterdam

Welcoming.

I really think that's the one word I would use to describe Rotterdam.  To be completely honest though, this word has some personal bias to it due to my wonderful stay at the Ani & Haakien Hostel.  Not only were they friendly and helpful, they were also very inclusive and had a refreshingly different look to most hostels I have visited in my travels so far.  Without a doubt, this hostel definitely helped to shape my outlook on Rotterdam itself.

Not so busy Centraal Station during the New Years period.

With its architectural beauty and its clean streets, Rotterdam really was a sight for sore eyes.  Although there wasn't too much to do in terms of activities and rather more to see in terms of sight seeing, it was still very much worth the visit.  The day after I arrived was my birthday and so I decided to simply spend it wandering the city and checking out the Fotomuseum down by the water.  On the way to the Fotomuseum, my new friend Ruby and I stumbled across the Markthal.  This exceptional building houses both a community market for fresh food as well as apartments.  With the splendid view of the Markthal's ceiling, we stopped to test out the Dutch cuisine for lunch.  Since Ruby had no knowledge of the delicious, sweet dish named poffertjes I decided to buy a plate and share it with her.  Once we had satisfied our taste buds, we walked towards the Cube Houses.  The Cubes Houses were some extremely interesting buildings designed by an architect that simply wanted to try something different.  The photo alone (below) shows how unbelievably outstanding the architecture is.  I stood for a while confused at how people lived in them but soon enough came to understand the inside design.  Once we exhausted all of the opportunities to look at Rotterdam's architecture we headed towards the river to check out the boats and anything else we came across.  All in all, I enjoyed my birthday thoroughly and couldn't have asked for a better city to spend it in.  I even returned to the hostel to receive some chocolate as a birthday present from my new friend Claude.

The Markthal Ceiling

     

 The Markthal from the outside               Cube houses facing inwards

The dutch dish - Poffertjes!

     

 The Beautiful River Views

After the numerous hours spent sightseeing, there were just as many spent relaxing in the Ani & Haakien Hostel.  The main attraction of course was Suzy Lacubanita, the hostels' very own kitty!  Unlike my cat back at home (sorry Phoenix), Suzy was very playful and cuddly - I couldn't think of a better place for a cat to live.

Suzy Lacubanita curling up to sleep

Although Suzy was so cute I could barely stop cuddling her, there was plenty of celebrating to do!  After all, I was going to be ringing in the new year in Rotterdam (and what a perfect place to do this).  Unfortunately though I didn't take my camera along to the New Year's celebrations therefore I can't showcase any brilliant fireworks photography.  What I can tell you though is that I'm so thankful I could count down to 2015 with two new friends - Leoni and Anna.  I was also able to celebrate the first few hours of 2015 with a whole bunch of new friends - Miranda, Steph, Nando, Sam, Sara, Mareike, Marie, Theresea, Charlie and many more!  I definitely appreciate the many new friends I've made in Rotterdam and in 2015 so far.  Here's to the various exciting adventures and friendships that are still to come in 2015 and a big HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of my readers/followers.

Tram Lights | Rotterdam

Centraal Station | Rotterdam

I look forward to all of the new follower/readers that join me in 2015 and I especially look forward to the many new changes that are going to happen for me this year.  I hope you're all starting your year with enthusiasm and excitement!