Rotterdam

I'm beginning to understand why cycletourers (at least the ones i have read) avoid busy towns. its not that they're anti tacky tourist destinations per se, it's not even the traffic or fear of being mowed down by an oncoming tram. for me it's the hassle of finding accommodation on the night.
So far we haven't booked ahead as we weren't sure how far we how far we would be able to cycle, one day to the next. This has been fine so far, in quiet little towns during the week but then we reached Rotterdam on a Friday night. All campsites, hostels and modest hotels were fully booked and it was only by fortune of last minute cancellation that we got a room at a boutique 4 star establishment (see pictures). No regrets at all on staying there, it was luverly even if a little expensive. It was just stressful working out where to spend the night when we were 6kms out of town with a mobile phone and 3 guidebooks, 2 of which were out of date and the other in Dutch.

But enough of the difficulties, our stay in Rotterdam was a welcome break after 4 days of cycling. P2 has already mentioned the main highlights. The modern architecture is nice too. As an old motorbiker in a pub north of Zevenhuizen warned us
"Rotterdam is a dangerous place."
"Oh? Why's that?" I ask innocently.
"It's full of men" he adds with emphasis.
So to all our single friends who might be reading this, if it's young, hot guys you're after then Rotterdam is the place to be!