Through the night!

Unfortunately my Saturday didn't turn out the way I expected! I left Bratislava on the train and headed back to Vienna. Vienna left luggage set up was pretty limited - not enough lockers, plus broken lockers. It meant that I had to sit in the station until I found a locker - this took 3 hours. I was planning to see some additional Vienna sites! I was getting an overnight train so had planned to use my time appropriately - didn't happen!!!

The train arrived at about 8 pm

Not snow on roof!

 I was in a couchette with a Uni student and a mother and 11 year old daughter. They were very nice people. The Uni student was Austrian but she was studying in the Netherlands because the course fees were cheaper. The mother and daughter were from the Netherlands and had been to Vienna for a mother /daughter weekend! They were able to speak some English so there was some conversation.

The beds were made up and we tried to make ourselves comfy! Could have done with a couple more pillows! The 'bed' seemed to be at a bit of an angle and that meant you rolled away from the edge! Unbeknownst to me the mum had looked us in tight - needing the loo and not knowing how to get out was a challenge especially as sitting upright after being shaken and rolled around resulted in a head spin!! Taking a deep breath, being calm and thinking I did eventually release myself without waking anyone! I did sleep a little but was glad to be able to stand up in the morning. It took 14 hours to travel through Austria, Germany and finally into the Netherlands.

Today, Monday, I realised that I had made an error with all my bookings - I knew the dates but not what day of the week! Novice mistake! As you might guess Monday means no Museums open - even the hop on bus wasn't running!!! All was not lost as the information centre told me that ferries were working and suggested a trip to Kinderdijk a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is where 18th century windmills have  their home! It was beautiful and a lovely area to walk in although I'd wished I was riding a bike as I could have covered more ground.

On my return back to Rotterdam I got myself on a boat trip up into the port area. If anyone is waiting for goods from overseas I wouldn't hold your breath as there are hundreds and hundreds of containers on the dockside.

It was a fascinating trip to see a port at work. The amount of different goods which travel up the river here enables you to just sit and watch the world go by!

I'm  staying in an area where there are lots of canals so plenty of boats.

The most fascinating site was this family in a hot tub tub!

The city of Rotterdam is an architectural 'mash' of different styles.

The weirdest was definately the 'Cube' houses. I went into one and it really makes your senses reel, the stairs are unbelievable too!

 The stairs were like spiral stairs and very narrow. The furniture had to be built in!