The River Maas

The Maas river is the river that flows through the middle of Rotterdam. Rotterdam is actually named after the Rotta, which wikipedia refers to as a 'fen stream'. Rotterdam means the dam on the Rotta, and Rotta means 'muddy water'. Now that I think of it, it isn't a very flattering name... But, lets get back to the Maas, or the 'Meuse' as it is know in French. The river starts in France, flows through Belgium, into the Netherlands, and then out to the sea just west of Rotterdam. I think it is one of the most beautiful parts of Rotterdam. The buildings along the river are very nice, and there are some beautiful paths along the waterfront. The striking bridges that cross the river certainly add to the nice view. The river is always busy with boats. Whether it's tour boats, personal boats or the large river cargo ships that go up the river the Rhine and than to Germany.
This is a picture of three bridges in Rotterdam. At the back, you can see the Erasmusbrug with its distinctive shape. The one in front I think is called the Koningshavenbrug and is an old train bridge that seems to be permanently up. On the right is the Willemsbrug. The interesting building on the left is the head office for Unilever. They're the ones who make brands like 'Dove'.

This is a cargo ship going up the river.

Some more of the river.

The Erasmusbrug. I think it's one of the most beautiful bridges I've ever seen.
A very colourful boat parked at the harbour from Romania.
Finally, here's some of the port of Rotterdam which is down river from the city. The port is one of the largest and busiest in the world.