Last Boating in Winter...

Later that afternoon, we went out for our final winter boat ride in 2022. 

As you can see, Veronica was pretty relaxed...

…and the winds were mild.

 

Walking Beyond Rotterdam...

Our walk took us east along the Maas River with views looking back into the city...

…until we finally turned north. 

We walked through the Kralingse Bos (forest)...

…and then along Kralingse Plas (lake). 

Eventually we made our way to the Rotte River and some surrounding nature areas, which I failed to photograph but want to go back and explore further. 
 

A Different View of Rotterdam...

Terri and I began March with a long walk in Rotterdam. We started with a visit to the main library, with this mural across from the entrance. 

I’d long been curious what the library was like inside. Other than the main entrance...

….and the view down from the top floor, the building itself was pretty unremarkable. 

I was especially disappointed that there wasn’t a café or nice terrace at the top like there is in Amsterdam. That didn’t stop me, however, from squeezing in tight places to check out the excellent views of the Markthal... 

…Laurenskerk…

…Cube Houses...

…and Rotterdam Blaak Station.
 

Partycrashing....

After dinner at Pink’s, we set off for the train station. First we took a detour as Opee wanted to stop back by that street party. Turned out that folks were no longer in the street, but rather dancing in a small garage complete with disco lights... 

…hash-appropriate decorations...

…and a one-man band. 

Everyone was super friendly and happy to share their celebration with us. 

Luckily it wasn’t wall-to-wall people, but it was still pretty irresponsible of us to party with strangers in a small enclosed space. Needless to say, Veronica wasn’t impressed as she was being extra diligent since she was in a play just two weeks later.  

Whether this sign was temporary or not, it seemed a fitting ending to our shenanigans. 
 

Carnaval Hash in Tilburg...

Luckily we had late checkout so we were able to dress nicely for an amazing champagne brunch at our hotel. We then changed into our tutus in preparation for the Carnaval Hash in Tilburg.

Along the way to the start we spotted some cool urban art. 

Opee live laid the runners’ trail while Pink took care of the walkers. While our group was small, the groups of partyers in the street weren’t small. The traditional parade was once again postponed.

Once we got out of the city center, it was much easier to find trail. 

Opee had originally planned to do our beer stop in the park, but couldn’t resist hanging out next to this festive group with loud music. 

Here is proof that my husband always takes care of me on trail, albeit without a shot of the porta-potty set up for a street party. In fact, he didn’t just get permission from the locals for me to use their loo, but they also provided us with a few shots of the local liqueur made especially for Carnaval. 

After our final beer stop by the main canal, we walked back to Pink’s together so I was able to catch this shot of Opee accepting a shot from a stranger. 
 

Evening in Rotterdam...

It was a beautiful night...

...as we walked towards Vessel 11, the British gastropub in a lightship that we’ve been to several times. 

It was fitting for us to have proper British fish ‛n chips since that’s what we ate on our first date 30 years earlier. 

 

Afternoon in Rotterdam...

After dropping off our luggage at the hotel, we took a long walk to scout trail for an upcoming FILTH Pub Crawl. 

One of our best finds was Vet & Lazy (Fat & Lazy) Pop-up Bar in the historic Witte Huis (White House) from the microbrewery inside BlueCity (in the former waterpark). Eventually it will relocate into BlueCity, but in the meantime, we so enjoyed a flight of their craft beer, that we’ve been back several times with hashers and other friends. 

We headed back to the hotel before sunset...

…taking this funky selfie along the way. 

 

Celebrating 30 Years...

February 27 was the 30th anniversary of our first undate/date. To mark the occasion, I booked us a night at the Mainport Hotel in Rotterdam because there was a spa on the 8th floor overlooking the harbor. The spa was small and disappointing, but the rest of our stay exceeded expectations.  

I opted not to pay the big bucks for a harbor front room, but was thrilled with our view. 

The room was large...

…with an ironic theme: the United States of America. 

We enjoyed a drink in our room while watching the sun set. 

The view later was also excellent.