In April, Cole and I visited the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. We had been wanting to visit the modern since we moved but despite the short hour train ride away, we had never made it out there.

We went on a beautiful day and arrived at central station to realize that the Rotterdam Marathon was happening that day. Rotterdam has a vastly different architecture and feel than Amsterdam. It was heavily bombed during WWII so the buildings are all very modern.

We walked around the city, cheering on the runners, and made our way to the famous Hotel New York, once home to the Holland Cruises headquarters.

After relaxing along the water on the hotel’s lawn, we walked over to the Fenix Food Factory – which is the small international food market which has a few stalls offering delicious treats and drinks.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon just exploring the city – walking across Erasmus bridge, checking out Markthal (Rotterdam’s version of Foodhallen), and wandering through the trendy shops.

It was a brief visit to Rotterdam but we really enjoyed the city.