I have already changed my mind about my trail. I will not see Terbregge anytime soon. I found out that I skipped a bit at Maassluis. My OCD heart thinks I should walk that part as well. But to go back for a few km is another thing. I have now decided to walk the extra part in the booklet, the Erasmus trail, first. And then connect to the actual route in the reverse order. At some point I’ll get back to Maassluis and I’ll be able to hike the last part as well. Then my OCD will also be still again.

Hiking map Erasmus trail part 1
Hiking map Erasmus trail part 1

The Erasmus trail runs through Rotterdam from north to south (Variant B in the trail booklet). This trail connects to the ‘real’ route of the Great Rivers trail. Because I live in the north part of Rotterdam, I already know the first part of this trail well.


Kleiweg, Rotterdam

I start again at the point where I stopped last time: the Kleiweg in Rotterdam. I go through the neighbourhoods Schiebroek and Hillegersberg. I walk along the Kleiweg and turn left into the Hoofdlaan and after a small white bridge over the Erasmussingel I reach the Melanchtonpark.

After a short walk through the park I cross the Ringdijk and first walk along the Bergse Voorplas. I cross the Straatweg and walk along the Bergse Achterplas.


The Rotte river

I arrive at the Rotte river and here is the choice to go in the direction of Terbregge (left) or to start with the Erasmus trail (right). I go to the right. The trail runs along the Rotte river for quite a distance. Where would the name of this town come from after all 😉 ? The first section goes through Hillegersberg over the Bergse Linker Rottekade.

After a slightly less stretch under the highway I continue the trail via the Crooswijksebocht past Crooswijk Cemetery.

I cross a small bridge and now walk on the right side of the Rotte through the Oude Noorden district. Still walking along the Rotte I arrive at the Noordplein (a square). I cross the square and arrive at the Noordsingel. After a short walk along the Noordsingel, I turn left into the Teilingerstraat. And in this direction I walk straight on via the Provenierssingel to the Central Station.

Through the bicycle tunnel I come to the other side of the station. I didn’t take a picture of the station by the way. I come here so often that I haven’t thought about taking a picture of Station Kapsalon.

Station Kapsalon is one of the funny Rotterdam nicknames of Central Station. A kapsalon is a dish with chips, shoarma, garlic sauce, lettuce and sambal. The station looks a lot like an aluminium tray which the dish is served in. Many buildings and streets have funny Rotterdam nicknames, of which perhaps the most famous is the Koopgoot (translation in English: buying gutter), originally called Beursetraverse.

Google on ‘Rotterdam nicknames’ and you will come across several funny things. For example on the site Art of Rotterdam (in Dutch).

The Museumpark

I’ll fetch a delicious coffee and something to eat and continue on to the Westersingel. Until just after the Eendrachtsplein I turn right in the direction of the Museumpark. Here appears the Boijmans Van Beuningen Depot building, which is still under construction. I hear people say it’s such a beautiful building. I find it a far too bulky and large, the building stands out above everything else. I do like the fact that the skyline of Rotterdam can be seen in the mirrors of the building. Modern art is not for me, I guess. At least you can’t avoid it! I walk around the building and continue my way through the Museumpark. I like the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum a lot better. This museum is closed for renovation for many years. The museum collection can be seen from 2021 in the new Depot building.

On the other side of the park I go along the Kunsthal and the Museum of Natural History. At the last museum there are three statues of bunnies. I like some modern art after all.

Bunny statues
Bunny statues

I cross the Westzeedijk and deviate a bit from the trail. In Het Park I eat my remaining lunch on a bench. I take a picture of the Euromast (behind the trees 😂) and return to the hiking trail.

Euromast at The Park, Rotterdam
The Euromast hidden behind the trees
The Euromast was opened in 1960 on the occasion of the Floriade World Horticultural Exhibition in Het Park in Rotterdam. The Floriade is held once every 10 years in a Dutch town.

I have already walked through several Floriade parks, including the Amstelpark and the Gaasperpark in Amsterdam.

The last Floriade took place in 2022 in Almere.
Source: Wikipedia (in Dutch).

The Veerhaven and the Erasmus bridge

I walk along the Westzeedijk, turn right into the Van Vollenhovenstraat and via the Westplein I arrive at the Veerhaven. I take a few pictures of the Wereldmuseum, the ships and of the Havenmeesterkantoor (pictured here in an illustration).


Other trail guide about Rotterdam


The last part of my hike goes along the quay along the Nieuwe Maas to the Erasmus Bridge. Here I decide to stop the Erasmus trail and return home. It’s also starting to drizzle, so it’s a nice moment to stop the hike.


Final thoughts

It is difficult to make a good judgement about this hike. The whole trail is not new to me anymore and I regularly visit the places the trail passes through. I think that this part of the Erasmus path is a lot of fun for others. Because you walk through different neighbourhoods, you can see the many faces of Rotterdam: the rich neighbourhood Hillegersberg, the working-class neighbourhood Oude Noorden, the modern city centre and the famous Erasmus bridge. So I give the hike a 4 star rating.

More info:

Trail: Section 20 Long distance trail 6 Great Rivers trail, small part of Variant A via Rottemeren and Variant B Erasmus trail.
Where: from the Kleiweg to Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland.
No. of km: +/- 12 km
Hiking date: 29 June 2020
Materials used in illustrations: Inktense pencils and coloured pencils
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Trail booklet:

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