Rotterdam is nonstop visual whiplash. When Sofia described it to me as sort of corporate/commercial I thought it wasn't going to be that interesting to look at but fascinating in other ways- museums, Europe's most important harbor, that one gnome sculpture.... but as it turns out all I wanted to do was wander and gawk at the buildings which, have kept the dream if the 80s very much alive. Many Americans - myself included- have a tendency to fetishize anything 'old' and 'historical' as somehow superior. My gut reaction to seeing Rotterdam, a city almost totally rebuilt after WWII, is to think how sad it is that it could look like Amsterdam but doesn't. Of course the violent destruction was pointless and sad. But Rotterdam itself is most certainly one of a kind and one of the most architecturally creative places I've seen. I'm trying to be more critical of my obsession with the old because I think it obscures and underlying disregard for the actual lives of the city's inhabitants over time.... Architecture and urban planning are incredibly cool but they lack life/purpose without people....
I'm too tired to explain myself further so I'm going to sleep! More soon. Enjoy the bizarre visual taste of Rotterdam!
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