The driving from Bremen to Rotterdam was slow, because of the traffic jams. It makes you think that one reason for the jams is the driving style. Also it seemed that everywhere our GPS wanted us to go, there was a road block or a construction site.
In the end we got in Rotterdam and there was still time to go climbing. We went to a climbing gym called Neolit. The grades and routes were very different, compared to Finland. I was lucky to climb one 6A and Mikael was struggling with 7A:s. The caves in Rotterdam are open late, usually until 11 pm, which is nice.
We stayed the night in the city center near the beautiful Erasmus park. Not such a good idea, since the city is very active. There was ferries going around the canal and people doing exercise next to our car in the morning.
The Dutch people seem to be very active and happy. Everywhere we went, people were very friendly, and if they weren’t running around, they were bicycling.
In the end we stayed almost a week in Rotterdam. The city itself is not really interesting, but it was great to meet Mikael’s family (also his parents flew there from Finland).
What we really liked, was the inside bouldering cave Monk, which was all new. The routes were challenging and the vibe was good. I could definitely do 6A:s and 6B:s and Mikael had a nice time solving the 7:s. Mattresses were soft, bouldering was safe and the staff was great. Big thumbs up for Monk.
Must remember next time that in Holland that the credit cards don’t work well. In many places, we had to pay in cash and sometimes they don’t even accept cash.
Must say that our van and Rotterdam didn’t go well together, since the car is too big for the city. On Thursday the 17th, we started the drive towards Fontainebleau. Mikael was more then ready to go and climb outside and I was missing some peace and quietness, after the hectic Rotterdam.
Weak Fingers 