Tag: Netherlands

  • Cube house and a day in Rotterdam

    Cube house and a day in Rotterdam

    Cube House (Kubuswoningen) and Madurodam are the main reasons for our day trip from Amsterdam. It’s now time to marvel at edgy architectures after the fun in the land of Lilliputians. And the best place would definitely be Rotterdam, for the modern city is populated with many uniquely designed buildings. While the historical Amsterdam is often seen as a cultural city, the modernised Rotterdam is more of an industrial powerhouse. The stark contrast between these 2 major cities is so DAM apparent.

    Cube House in Rotterdam is indeed unique and I can’t help to wonder how Dutch architect Piet Blom can come out with such an unconventional idea. He envisioned each Cube House to be a tree and all of them would form an urban forest. I suppose it would be more of an abstract looking tree and forest.

    Whichever the case, it is one striking piece of architecture, especially with the yellow coloured combination.

    Cube House in Rotterdam

    I ended up spending quite a great deal of time around the central courtyard to have a good look at the crazily shaped houses. The Cube House is actually tilted forward to certain degrees which make me wonder how does one live inside it. And what kind of furniture would be a fit?

    Courtyard of Kubuswoningen

    Courtyard of the cube house

    The quirky cube house

    Cube floor Rotterdam

    The Interior of Show-Cube

    I got my answers after taking a look at the Show-Cube (Kijk-Kubus). Unlike Hundertwasserhaus which is not accessible to general public, the Show-Cube serves as a museum and presents the interior area. Most of the furniture inside is custom-made to accommodate the shape and to maximise the space. There are 3 floors in total, living room on the lower floor, bedrooms on the second and the top floor are the attic.

    Show-Cube in Rotterdam

    Living room of the Cube House

    Kitchen of the Cube House

    Stairs of the Cube House

    Study room of the Cube House

    Bedroom of the Cube House

    The pyramid-shaped attic is my favourite place inside the Cube House. There are windows all over which ensure ample lights and it’s so cool-looking like those structures found in Sci-Fi movies.

    Attic of Cube House

    Attic of the Kubuswoningen

    The attic of Kubuswoningen

    I think the Cube House would present an ultimate challenge to any Feng Shui masters as sharp corners and edges are often frowns upon LOL. Likewise, I am not sure whether I can live in a house with those slanting ceilings and weird angles too. But nevertheless, the Show-Cube certainly gives an interesting insight into this unusual housing.

    There are also some shops operating underneath the Cube Treetop.

    Around Rotterdam Centraal

    Rotterdam has a cityscape of great contrasts, with plenty of unusual buildings trying to outdo one another. The bold styling is a feast for the eyes of any architecture lovers. Yours faithfully included. And I regretted not spending a day or two here. Next time ya, Rotterdam?

    It is remarkable to see these stunning architectures in Rotterdam. That’s especially after knowing that the city was destroyed by Nazi bombardment during World War II. But instead of restoring the Old Town, the Rotterdammers decided to revitalise with a modern flair.

    Gebouw Delftse Poort

    Rotterdam Centraal edgy design

    Rotterdam Marriott Hotel

    Glassy building in Rotterdam

    Unique lamp posts around Schouwburgplein

    Bicycles in Rotterdam
    Something in common with Amsterdam

    Near to the City hall is a monument to the victims of World War II…

    Monument and Rotterdam Town Hall

    Monument to All the Fallen - Rotterdam

    Street in Rotterdam

    We randomly picked Café Plein for our late lunch and to rest our tired feet. It turned out to be a good call as the food served here are very tasty. Nice and recommended!

    Cafe Plein in Rotterdam

    Late lunch at Cafe Plein Rotterdam

    Lunch at Cafe Plein Rotterdam

    After some shopping around the area, we head back to Amsterdam to pack bags for the return flight the next day. Dinner was from ‘Wok to Walk’ but I find the noodles a tad too oily for my liking. That concludes the trip to London and the Low Countries, bye for now!

    Wok to Walk Amsterdam

    Wok to Walk noodles

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  • Gulliver for a day in Madurodam Park

    Gulliver for a day in Madurodam Park

    We move out early to board the train bound for Den Haag Centraal before catching Tram No.9 to Madurodam. The open-air theme park was built in 1952 and continues to add or update exquisite miniature landmarks of Netherlands over the years. It’s like a mini-Netherlands showcasing from windmills, bridges, canals, buildings to major structures in 1/25 scale. This smallest city in the world even has its own elected mayor. And the Lilliputians in Madurodam are the mellow version so it’s safe for any visiting Gulliver LOL.

    Madurodam entrance

    Hans Brinker

    Map around the park

    Sign post Madurodam

    Since most of the scale models are out in the open, it’s best to be here on a sunny day. It was raining when we arrived at Den Haag Centraal. Hence, we are really thankful that it stops while we were waiting for the tram.

    Around-Madurodam-Park

    Around-Madurodam-Park

    The Miniature World of Madurodam

    Perhaps the morning rain has deterred people from coming as the park was quite empty, just as I like it to be. It makes my exploration around Madurodam much more enjoyable without the usual crowd. And of course lesser photobombers LOL.

    It’s such a joy to see the detailed miniatures and that tremendous effort in making such remarkable scale models. I would be keen to see how to make miniatures like these! The park brings out the child in me as I spent almost 3 hours in it while my cameras were in rampage mode.

    Detailed miniature of Madurodam

    There are mini bridges of Erasmus Bridge and many others which I am unsure of their names.

    Mini Erasmus Bridge Rotterdam
    Erasmus Bridge

    Beautiful Canal Bridge of Madurodam

    Mini bridge of Madurodam

    Mini Canal bridge

    Movable bridge at Madurodam

    Those moving transportation scale models in Madurodam are very entertaining. The simulation includes the busy traffic on a highway, boats, ships, trains, buses and even planes. It is like being in a huge toy museum and keeps you entertained for a long, long time.

    Mini Buildings of Madurodam

    Mini Modern ship in Madurodam

    Mini VOC Ship of Madurodam

    Lilliputians onboard VOC Ship

    Train tracks at Madurodam

    Mini Groningen railway station

    Mini Schiphol Airport Amsterdam

    Miniature landmarks around Netherlands

    Amsterdam’s landmarks which I can remember are Dam Square, De Jordaan, Concertgebouw and Rijksmuseum.

    Mini Royal Palace Dam Square

    Mini Amsterdam De Jordaan

    Mini Concertgebouw Amsterdam
    Mini Concertgebouw
    Mini Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
    Mini Rijksmuseum

    Other notable landmarks around the Netherlands are showcased here as well. Places like Royal Palace, Binnenhof Den Hague, Peace Palace Den Hague, Dom Tower of Utrecht, St. John Cathedral Den Bosch and Beeld en Geluid.

    Mini Dutch royal palace
    Dutch royal palace
    Mini Binnenhof Den Hague
    Binnenhof Den Hague
    Mini Peace Palace Den Hague
    Peace Palace Den Hague
    Mini Dom Tower Utrecht
    Dom Tower Utrecht
    Mini St John Cathedral Den Bosch
    St John Cathedral Den Bosch

    Mini St John Cathedral Den Bosch tower

    Lilliputians at church

    Mini Beeld en Geluid
    Mini Beeld en Geluid

    How can there be no windmills right? So here they are.

    Mini windmills at Madurodam

    Mini windmill at Madurodam

    One of the hands-on activities is pumping up water to put out the fire on a ship – it’s fun!

    Put out the fire game at Madurodam

    Here’s a mini theme park which will come alive after inserting 1 Euro into the slot. Then the roller coaster, merry-go-round and other fun rides will be in motion for the next few minutes.

    Mini fun fair at Madurodam

    An ongoing rock concert with cheering Lilliputians and also a football match.

    Mini open-air concert at Madurodam
    Mini open-air concert at Madurodam

    Mini Football match in Madurodam

    In the end, it almost felt like completing a grand tour around the Netherlands after spending one morning here. Madurodam is one of our trip’s highlights and I would definitely recommend a visit here to experience the fun.

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