From Rotterdam with love: Spring Edition – I

Take a walk with VR Composers, visiting some favorite spots of the citizins of Rotterdam, at the first day of spring. Families are leaving their homes, playing with their children, next to the Markthal (designed bij architectenbureau MVRDV), the country’s first indoor food market. Its U-shaped design incorporates glass-walled apartments arcing over the food hall’s fantastical 40m-high fruit- and vegetable-muraled ceiling and scores of artisan stalls and eateries. From March 12 until April 10 you can visit the brand-new, 55m high Giant Wheel “The View”, in front of the Markthal; an initiative of Arend Harms. We continue our walk with a visit of the “Overblaak”, facing the Markthal. This development is designed by Piet Blom and built from 1978 to 1984, with its pencil-shaped tower, De Kolk, and a “forest” of 45-degree-tilted, cube-shaped apartments on hexagonal pylons. The Oude Haven (Old Harbour) area, near the Overblaak, preserves the oldest part of the harbour, some of which dates from the 14th century. It's a decent place for a stroll, especially if you pause at one of the waterside cafes. Do you want to enjoy a good meal and a hot tub, together with your friends or collegues? That’s possible at Light Vessel 11, at the Wijnhaven, not far from the Oude Haven. Got tired? Take a “water taxi” to several places in Rotterdam, or chill out at Leuvehoofd, at the “Nieuwe Maas”, with a view at the Erasmusbridge. At the end of our walk we have reached the “Veerhaven”, the home port of historical sailing vessels, and starting point of the annual “Race of the Classics”. A beautiful place to take some wedding pictures!