Ascension Day/Rotterdam’s Remembrance day

Tomorrow is another day filled with events! Read on for an overview on what to do tomorrow!

The Official Program of Rotterdam’s Remembrance day:

14^th of May, next to being ascension day, is the official remembrance day of the bombardment of 1940, during the second world war. This year marks the 75^th year, enough reason for an extensive program!

Statenweg / 10.00 – 10.30: The program starts at the monument at the Statenweg, near number 147. This is the remembrance of the ultimatum given to the city. Major A. Aboutaleb will start of the day.

Laurenskerk Rotterdam/ 12.00 – 12.45: Remembrance, followed by a walk to Plein 1940

Plein 1940 / 13:00: Remembrance of the bombardment at the monument ‘The Destroyed City’ by Ossip Zadkine.

13:29-13:39 : All (church)bells will ring within the fire limit as remembrance of the duration of the bombardment.

Onderzeebootloods Heijplaat / 14.00 – 17.00: Exposition ‘The Attack’ about the may days in 1940, start of WO II.

Laurenskerk Rotterdam / 14.30 – 15.30: free entrance to the performance ‘l’Histoire du Soldat’ of Igor Stravinsky.

Hal Rotterdamse Schouwburg / 15.00 – 16.00: official handing over of the book ‘Rotterdam and the bombardment – 75 years of memories and forgotten memories’.

Museum Rotterdam ’40-45 NOW Coolhaven/ 16.30 17.30: presentation of the neon-artwork by Dick Rutten.

Binnenrotte, behind Laurenskerk / 21.00 – 24.00: fire limit run. A run following the 12 km fire limit.

Food Truck Festival

Unfortunately, the speeches of remembrance day will be held in Dutch. However, there are still enough other things to do where the language barrier won’t be an issue! One of these instances is the Food Truck Festival Trek. This Festival will take place in Rotterdam from the 14^th of May till the 17^th, after which it travels to Utrecht, Maastrich, Enschede, Nijmegen, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Amsterdam and Den Haag!

The Food Truck Festival is a free festival, paradise to all foodies. This ‘gezellige’ festival offers a wide variety of food, from sushi to sate. Not yet hungry? Don’t worry! The Festival is completed with music, live acts, shows and an overall good atmosphere!

The Food Truck Festival takes place at Vroesenpark and is open on Thursday and Friday from 14.00 – 23.00; on Saturday from 12.00 – 23.00; and on Sunday from 12.00 – 22.00.

Shopping

Do you want to do some shopping on your day off? Most stores in the city center are open from 12.00 onwards!

Would you want to live in Rotterdam? Check Domica Rotterdam for more information!

Shopping in Rotterdam and the Koopgoot

The perfect place to go shopping in Rotterdam is definitely the Beurtraverse, or as called by the Dutch: de Koopgoot, which translates into the not so flattering name: “The Shopping Gutter”. The traverse, built in 1991 till 1996, underpasses Rotterdam’s most expensive street the Coolsingel.

The Beginning

The traverse used to be a subway station (the Beurs) and a walking passage, to reduce the amount of people crossing the Coolsingel and improve the traffic. Unfortunately not many people choose this way, so they made plans to expand the Rotterdam gutter into a shopping mall.

And now?

The ‘underground’ shopping mall connects two of the busiest shopping streets of the city: the Hoogstraat and the Lijnbaan. You can enter ‘the gutter’ by either side via the stairs. Midway there is an escalator, but you can also enter one of the large shopping malls such as H&M or the Bijenkorf and exit on the bottom floor. Usually the smaller stores only have a shopping area on the ground floor, this way you can continue shopping without the hassle of the busy traffic at the Coolsingel.

In the summer, childrend can have fun refreshment due to the ‘running’ water fountains that emerge from the ground at the Koopgoot. As far as public transport goes, the subway station is still located in the middle of the gutter, but there are also tramstops at the Lijnbaan side.

The Perfect Shopping Route?

From the Lijnbaan you can enter the Koopgoot, walk the Hoogstraat and end for a drink at the new Markthal! Would you like to have some more exclusive shops? You can better start at the Markthal and make your way to the Van Oldenbarneveltstraat. This street is also near the Koopgoot, but offers a wide selection of luxurious and exclusive shops and restaurants. This is doesn’t mean you can’t go there with a smaller budget; the Oldenbarneveltstraat is very divers in its shops.

Would you like to live near the Koopgoot? Check out Domica Rotterdam for more information!