Rotterdam and the value shaking things up.

I left home 4 days ago for a completely random and blind to trip to the city of Rotterdam. Today is day 4 and I leave tomorrow. It’s a chilly day here in the south of the netherlands. Leaving family and friends was hard, I almost cried like a baby on the train. It’s definitely another lesson I’ve learned: I’m not as emotionally tough as I like to believe.

It truly does feel good to be left to your own devices in a strange place, far away from home, where the language and faces are completely foreign. I’ve found Dutch people to be very accomodating and warm, in full contrast with the weather, and the French.

The city is beautiful, modern, clean and is very charming. I had lots of fun in the different districts doing architecture photography. I came to the city not really knowing what to expect, I refused to look anything up online about what to do or where to go because I wanted to keep the surprise of exploring to myself. I would recommend anybody traveling alone to do the same. Simply do the minimum amount of research and leave the rest to destiny.

The other reason I came here is because I’m “city shopping”, as my goal for the mid-term future is to move out of France. Rotterdam definitely ticks most of the boxes I look for in a place to live, so that’s a big positive. I also did learn a bit of the local language. Suprisingly, Dutch uses many french loan words which definitely helps with reading signs and shopping for groceries.

I guess the takeaway here is do not be afraid to shake things up in your life. I will come back home with my head filled with memories, mentally refreshed and motivated to do my best to achieve my goals.

Karim, aka 0xfishr