I miss Rotterdam, I admit it. I find it such a beautiful city; one in which I truly enjoy being in. The south of Rotterdam in particular, is the part that I enjoy the most, it is without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever lived in. For some, six months might be a short period, but for me it really isn’t, or at least it wasn’t. In this ‘short’ period I really immersed myself in the city and did just as other ‘Rotterdamers’ did, becoming a ‘Rotterdammer’ myself. The ambience in the city is so wonderful, the atmosphere there is incomparable, of course; nothing is to be compared, but I’ll still go on record saying. I really loved living there, despite everything that I was going through, it was nice, and I would like to reiterate; my favorite part of the city is undoubtedly the south. The neighborhood in which both of my aunts live, is such a beautiful one, with all this mixture of people, nice and trendy architecture, and in general lines, just wonderful people. I feel as if I have a connection with that city, I mean, a big part of my family lives there, my cousin’s salon is there, she lives an hour away and she also works there. It is simply a lovely city. I loved biking everyday from my aunt’s building, at the Lodewijk Pincoffsweg towards the center, crossing the fascinating Erasmus bridge, and then continuing on to the city center, passing by ‘Beurs’, but before that, by the ‘leuvenhaven’. I found delight in walking on the ‘Kruiskade’, sometimes scouring for food, other times just to walk and see all those different people there, at times, also to search for that home feeling. Sometimes I’d just take my bike, and instead of mounting it, I’d just walked from the central station to my aunt’s house. I’d walk through the center, walk by the stores over at ‘lijnbaan’, and then perhaps take a detour and go over to the other side of the center, towards ‘Blaak’, I’d also just stroll on the ‘Binnenwegplein’ and perhaps buy some fries, or just sit on one of the benches there, and observe the people coming and going. On other days, I’d be sitting bored at home and then I’d choose to take a walk around the neighborhood, I’d cross the street and I’d go by the water, over at the ‘tillemkade’. On other days, when hungry, I’d walk over to ‘vuurplaat’ and I’d get a kebab, or sometimes a Pizza. I’d also take walks in the neighborhood of ‘Katendrecht’, which is right across from the building where one of my aunts lives, not exactly, but really close. She also took me on a walk there once and showed me this neighborhood, which is truly precious, filled with eye pleasing buildings with spectacular views on the new Meuse river, tidy little parks, it’s absolutely breathtaking. Rotterdam is an elegant city, pleasing in almost each and every detail, filled with people from all over the world, who all possess this hard working spirit, a spirit of always looking ahead, of moving forward, no matter what; of all of the cities in the Netherlands, Rotterdam is the one that appeals to me the most, due to its character, it’s laid back, yet still forward, even Avant Garde demeanor.

If the opportunity presents itself, I would like to buy an apartment in the southern part of the city; my love for this part of the city is almost becoming an understatement at this point, but I truly do. An apartment there would absolutely be to my liking, perhaps a house even. There are so many neighborhoods from which one can choose, but I’d probably start with the ‘Kop van Zuid’, itself, the beginning of the southern section of Rotterdam, but I’d also venture in towards ‘Afrikaanderwijk’, and head even deeper into the south towards ‘Slinge’. I’ve basically been all around the city, so I’ve seen pretty much every corner of Rotterdam, I’ve been in the north, the east, the west, but none of these, have allured me quite like the south has. So whenever it comes to Rotterdam, I could live everywhere, from that city, that’s how deep my love for the city runs, but the south is where I’d go, be it an apartment/house in ‘Katendrecht’ or one in ‘Charlois’. Rotterdam is an extraordinary city, and I’m grateful that I had a chance to live in it, albeit for a brief moment, because at the end of the day, time is relative and I did make the best of it, so in conclusion; here’s to more days in that beautiful city. . .