A Day Trip to Rotterdam...

On February 21, Jimmy and I ventured down to Rotterdam to catch some sunshine and urban art. We were amazed by the number of restaurants and bars that had kiosks set up to sell takeaway food and/or drinks. We stopped at a Belgian beer bar for flammkuchen (Jimmy now has his eyes set on buying a similar wood-burning portable pizza oven) and some of their grapefruit homebrews. 

At first glance he might look like a street performer, but he’s actually a statue in the middle of the sidewalk on a busy street...

…with an unusual mascot: Buttplug Santa.

While this mural was on our official Street Art Route 2 walking tour through the Rotterdam Routes app (we picked up where we left off on our last visit)...

…we were much more fascinated in this one across the street, which was not on the official route. Painted in 1984 as a protest to stop housing cost increases, it shows how these increases crowd out the ability to afford leisure activities or vacations.