The glory of the internet is that I can make virtual visits to many of my favourite places whenever I want to. Sure, it’s not as good as the real thing but when I want to bathe in some nostalgia or simply gaze at live footage it’s all there at the click of a mouse. With the final dog days of summer apparently behind us, there is some comfort in that.
My loyal reader will not be surprised to learn that many, thought not all, of my favourite places involve trains, planes but not automobiles. My first port of call every sad morning, which means every single morning, is a webcam, shown on YouTube, high above the Hofplein roundabout in the middle of Rotterdam. The photo of the top shows a screenshot from Hofplein today.
Having spent a significant amount of time in Rotterdam as both a young and later older child, I remain attached to it by an invisible umbilical cord. Until the internet came along, my memories were jolted only by scratchy old photographs showing a city that today looks nothing like the one I grew up in. I became obsessed with the Rotterdam tram network and that obsession remains as strong, if not stronger, today than it ever was.
To say, as I did in the last paragraph, that Rotterdam has changed and continues to change would be a considerable understatement. The land of my mother was obliterated by the Luftwaffe on 14th May 1940 and the process of regeneration remains an ongoing process. The Hofplein roundabout, arguably my favourite place in the city, is currently undergoing an enormous facelift. The first photo shows it as it was, the second as it will be. The one at the top shows it today, midway through the facelift.
I love it because that’s where I go, for absolutely ages, to watch the trams go by. It can be a bit of a pain because of the number of motorcars that go through the area, but the new Hofplein, while not being car-free, will be car-lite. And given the tram, train, bus, metro network, no one can possibly say: “we have no alternative but to drive” because there are loads of affordable and efficient alternatives.
I cannot pretend that I am not a little concerned about the changes, especially since its current look predates me (incredibly), but while the Dutch don’t forget their past, it is never an obstacle when moving into tomorrow. Where we in Britain talk about making changes, the Dutch in general and Rotterdammers in particular get on with making changes. And as long as I can find somewhere to sit down and watch the trams coming and going from four different directions, I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
People who visit the Netherlands are always attracted by the rich history of Amsterdam, not to mention the other attractions the city is famous (infamous?) for, and having been there a number of times I totally get that. But I always say Rotterdam is way, way better than Amsterdam. For all its glittering modernity, it is a fascinating place to visit and, you never know, live in (well you do know, I won’t be living there but it is nice to dream).
And if you are a sad train and tram-spotter, like me, Rotterdam is heaven on earth. As there is no evidence that the heaven described by the devout exists, best get to Hofplein soon.
