Unusual – Page 3 – Rotterdam Daily Photo

December 1st theme day “Rainbow”

It’s december 1st! Themeday again of the City Daily Photo community! First on my mind for this theme was the pedestrian crossing in our (shopping) center of the city at Churchillplein. In 2015 they painted a rainbow crossing beside the ordinary crossing to draw attention to sexual diversity in Rotterdam. The unveiling of the pedestrian crossing coincided with the Rotterdam Pride in September of that year. Unfortunately, there are now many works on the square and the shine is a bit off! But who doesn’t want to go “Over the rainbow” now!

Rotterdam is one of the 41 Rainbow municipalities and the fourth city in the Netherlands that received such a pedestrian crossing after Utrecht, Maastricht and Tilburg. The rainbow crosswalk is a worldwide initiative. There is one in Sidney and Brighton, among others.

A yellow canary or just beer?

Its friday and most of us are looking forward to a few days off! So I thought it was appropriate to have a photo of this cafe, The Yellow Canary (in Dutch – de Gele Kanarie). With its own brewery beer or as mentioned in Rotterdam, a yellow canary! You can find this cafe at the Goudsesingel. Have a nice weekend!

A unique landscape for small wheels

In the section between two roads there’s a unique landscape for skaters. New opened in 2015, located at the Westblaak and 1.200 m2 big, designed by Finnish skate park and landscape architect Janne Saario, who used to be a professional skater himself. Concrete structures, special polished asphalt and many trees, fresh grass etc. make this skate park interesting for street skaters but also for non-skaters. This part is also a nice place to walk or just sit down!

P.S. This picture and the yesterday’s one are made with a filmcamera, a old Minolta Dynax 5.

Drop me a line

Every country has their own kind of mailbox (brievenbus) and this is ours. A redish/orange colored one. There are two drop-in openings, one for local mail and one for the rest of the country or abroad. There are about 25.000 left in the Netherlands and about 339 are located in Rotterdam. And you can find the photographed one at the Meent, beside the former postoffice. I still use the postal mailservice regularly to send but receive almost nothing besides bills per postal services 🙂

45 Degrees of living

And finally a touristy picture, maybe you already recognized them, the Cube houses (in Dutch; Kubus woningen). Designed by architect Piet Blom and based on the concept of “living as an urban roof”. Build between 1982 – 1984. Blom tilted the cube of a conventional house 45 degrees, and rested it upon a hexagon-shaped pylon. Located on Overblaak Street, right above the Blaak metro station. There are 38 small cubes and two so called ‘super-cubes’, all attached to each other. There is a “show cube” open for visitors so you can experience the feel of living in a cube. Worth a visit! Its friday and a have a few days off ahead, I wish you a great weekend too!

A cheese shop and their cow

This cow seems to be surprised by my camera and her picture taken! She belongs to the cheese shop in the background. Located just down the street at the Oude Binnenweg for over 25 years they moved to this location that had a rebirth after a thorough renovation. If you ever visit Rotterdam, the Oude Binnenweg is more than worth a visit!

P.S. Its a film photograph again, technical notes: camera: Praktica CX-1. Film: Kodak Portra 400, developed and scanned by the local lab.

A happy mole makes a happy monday!

Everybody can use some happiness on the mondays and what is making your day brightest dan ever? Yes, you guessed it, a happy mole! This one (his home is at the Sint Jacobstraat) is harmless to your garden but ruins the monday blues!

Update: Made by artist Mausz Tune

Mi have een droom

Inspired on a poem of the Rotterdam poet Ramsey Nasr (link Dutch only). You can’t walk past it without looking and reading the stanza! It is made-up street language. The Rotterdams language as spoken in 2059, a mishmash between the Rotterdam slang, street language and poetry. You can find this mural at Delftseplein.

Reasonable young trees on a old square

This afternoon I took this picture on Noordplein located in het Oude Noorden. This square dates back to about 1860 with the streets surrounding it dating from 1860 – 1895 till about 1930s. Till about 1968 there was a vegetables market supplied via the nearby river Rotte. The trees in the picture are not that old, in the 90s a tree disease made sure that the old trees had to be cut down and these new trees were planted. Nowadays there is a small market (saturdays), concerts, a fair etc. And you can see at the far left the old buildings from the Heineken brewery sadly closed in 1968. Keep breathing, the brewery just moved to a new location at Zoeterwoude, so everything is ok 🙂

Rain showers used to stay down here

While travelling to work I passed the former water extraction company terrain located at the Esch and of course near the river Maas. Between the rain showers the sun broke open the clouds and showed again how beautiful autumn can be! On the right you see the silhouette of the old water tower. The entire location is now full of houses and business premises. I have to work this weekend but for those who have the weekend off, have fun!!

The pink flyover

A few weeks ago I photographed the columns of the flyover underpass at the Oostzeedijk Beneden. According to the artists – Transister (Nelleke Boerkoel & Hanneke van Leeuwen) – Painted columns and laminated panels depicting the local residents, installed as graffiti prevention. The dimensions: 2 slopes, 15 columns and ceiling: total 834 m2! Made in 2009, the ceiling is popping pink, the 15 pillars with super cute prints and hand-painted with skill, both sloping walls act as a real portrait gallery with people from the neighbourhood. Thats what I called a piece of art!

P.S. The sloping walls can you see here >>

Bowed strings in Rotterdam

In the Proveniersstraat near the railway station there’s a house where you would not know that a violin builder is housed until you see the violin on the facade (and of course the nameplate also helps…). De Blitz violin makers started around 1905 by Calman Blitz, his son Lou took it over and his son Otto was his successor then again from 1969. This small business still goes on.

A weekend vibe, train travel

Another photo that has to do with my journey south (and the last one, I promise). Is it Rotterdam? Not strictly but it is taken on the train traveling from Rotterdam with a view on the passing landscape, the outskirts of the city. The light of fall, the tranquility of Sunday. Tomorrow its monday, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Rotterdam Central station, walk to the light

The theme day photo yesterday was taken while on my way to the south of the Netherlands. Beside the bench I shot also this picture of a corner and one of the many entrances to the great hall of the station (the new station, opened in 2014, here a photo of how it used to be, the 1957 version >>), nice light, nice fall weather and a very nice travel companion, what else could you wish for?? Have a great weekend and if traveling, goede reis!

Queen of the Road

This is also Rotterdam. I found this car parked nearby home. Its a vintage Citroën, I don’t know the details exactly, but the model is a Traction Avant produced from 1934 to 1957! In France, the Traction is known as “Reine de la Route” (“Queen of the Road”).

This tree wants to shake your hand

Yes, go ahead! Shake the hand of this tree! And its a warm hand (37 degrees Celsius – 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or normal body temperature)! Made out of bronze you can find this tree in front of shopping center De Groene Passage, at the corner of Goudsesingel / Mariniersweg. The tree symbolizes the relation between human and nature and is made by the artist Hans Lemmen in 2001. The name of this artwork? You guessed it: the tree!

Nobody home here

Although a nice design, lights and a chair for everyone nobody is home in this kitchen / diner in the Pannekoekstraat (pancake street)! Thats because its not somebody’s real house but a shop window with examples of design. I liked the museum look of it so ended up photographing it! Is it Rotterdam? Yes, the shop or design bureau is called Depot Rotterdam. No advertising just a nice picture…

A quiet place in the city

This morning while walking trough the still quiet city centre I spotted this woman in her little place in the sun. She enjoyed the moment before the city woke up again. Sunday at its best.

Creepy shoes for halloween

Here in Rotterdam the shops decorate the windows and throughout the city there are parties with the theme Halloween. Halloween (also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve) occurs on the day before All Saints Day. It is a day that is dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. Halloween is a holiday celebrated annually on October 31 in the United States and throughout the world. Walking by this shops window I thought of halloween, the red blooded shoes leaking over the stand, scary!

Steps into the unknown

These footsteps are not mine but from who else I don’t know! They disappear at the side of the road, maybe the person stepped into a car or flown away? I came across these (painted) steps while walking down the Goudsesingel to work, maybe a leftover from a advertising campaign? Truly steps into the unknown!

Abandoned but not forgotten

This sunday morning I walked by this hidden spot. Its maybe difficult to find but its still there, sandwiched between the tall buildings, a Jewish cemetery that dates back to 1696! First used for the Portuguese commune and since 1710 used by the “Hoogduitse” commune, in 1811 consisting of approximately 2100 people. People were buried there until 1820. There are about 200 gravestones, but the older graves are under the most recent ones.

At the start of WWII in 1940 some 13.000 Jews lived in Rotterdam. Nowadays there is not much left of this community. The foundation Boete en verzoening (penance and reconciliation?) takes care of maintenance of this historic place so that it is not forgotten.

Art in maintenance

Maintenance of a building can be boring and when working with a lift that is on the sidewalk with a wooden fence around it for safety you can just as easy “lift” the fence to a work of art! I saw this near the subway this morning on my way to work. Its not a piece of art Sotheby will put on auction but makes life cheerful!

Heat in the city

In Rotterdam we use for a great number of houses district heating or “stadsverwarming”. The houses get their warm water and heating from different sources, for instance via power plants (water that was used for cooling the plants), warmth produced through waste incineration and industry. Nowadays district heating is gaining popularity due to climate changes and less use of fossil fuels. This cover is one of the many used for maintenance of the network.

Tired? Take a rest on a garbage container!

Are you tired of walking trough Rotterdam? Then take a break while sitting on this garbage container chair! Last year the city ordered the use of old containers and uniforms for the making of these chairs. These chairs can be found at the Hofplein in the centre of the city.

P.S. Here’s a picture of a real garbage container for comparison

Almost end of august, 2nd heat wave…

The sky is spotless the last four days due to the second heat wave here in the Netherlands. Living in the city in these heat, 32C, is not my cup of tea. But the weather forecast is positive, in two days temperature will go down and thunder and rain replace the sun and blue sky… I made this picture in the Central Post District near Rotterdam Central Station, worth a visit!

Luchtpark or park in the air…

The “Luchtpark” or park in the air… A old railway track 2 km long is being transformed into a area with greenery and terraces etc. Now its just a small piece but plans for the next stage are made.

Last harbour for these party ships

These ships enclosed in this ‘harbour’ are about to make their last voyage. They used to be a restaurant and party ship but are closed for years now. A chess club were the last occupants but a leak almost sunk the ships. And now they are to be destroyed…

Rotterdam miniworld…

No, I didn’t fly over Rotterdam but photographed this view in Miniworld! This place is amazing! They build Rotterdam in HO size, a default size for mini railroad tracks and trains. They build the harbors and buildings from Rotterdam in detailled HO formats and all is alive with running trains, trams and a day/night setting. More info on their site: Miniworldrotterdam.com

A bit of the country in the middle of the city!

Its almost if you are in the middle of the country but this is also Rotterdam, just by the river Maas! Its a small piece of land, a leftover of building protection against flooding of parts of the city near the Brienenoord bridge, a important bridge for connecting the north and south of the Netherlands…

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