Rotterdam—weekend 2: A Trip into the Past

Early in the morning boarded a train to Rotterdam.. about a 55 minute ride.
Bjorn Boek, one of the global HR team members I work with and who works here with me in Amstelveen had invited me for the weekend to Rotterdam where he lives. He was an amazing tour guide!!!!

Rotterdam is the second largest city in Holland and one of the largest ports in the world. It is now second only Shangai, which surpassed it in2004.
Rotterdam too has its roots long ago.. 1270 and like Amsterdam started as a dam on the Rotte River.. it is strategically located as it is at the heart of a massive rail, road, air and inland waterway distribution system…so it’s known as the ‘Gateway to Europe’
So it seemed only right that the first stop was the old harbor…beautiful as you can see from the following pictures.

Again you can see it was a great clear sunny crisp day.
We even found an original windmill in the old harbor.

..it is still a working mill processing grain for a boutique store in the windmill that sells unique grains. It was a very windy day and the windmill was in operation. As we could climb all the way to the top I got a bird’s eye view of the strength of the windmills sails. The miller was in residence and we saw how he adjusted the sailclothes, taking in part of the cloth to reduce the speed at which the windmill was circling. Good thing, I thought the windmill was going to take off or shake loose while we were there.. windpower is incredibly powerful.

Only a small portion of the original old harbor is left today. This mirrors the res of the city. In the second world war Hitler bombed Rotterdam and destroyed the heart of the city. 80,000 people were left homeless. The city hall pictured here was one of the few buildings that survived. Devastating to the people of Rotterdam, the people of Holland gradually rebuilt their city from the 1950s through the 1970s. Interestingly, my father’s construction firm was one of those given the opportunity to rebuild some of the housing communities. The city has an active architectural policy. Daring and new styles of apartments, office buildings , bridges resulted in a very architecturally interesting city. It is very apparent how young the city is.. the old style buildings are very few, interesting modern day architecture meets your eye in most cases..quite different as a result from the feeling of Amsterdam.

Bjorn planned a day that had us see the city from land and water. We traveled in a high speed water taxi through the harbor to the New York restaurant.. this restaurant is located in the old Holland America Line building. It is from this building that I would have left Holland as a child to immigrate to America. In the harbor is also the original Rotterdam. As part of our family memorabilia we have menu cards from this ship ..i had thought that we had crossed on this liner.. but it actually was not commissioned until a few years after we immigrated..so it turns out my uncle sailed on this luxury liner and we had traveled on the Amsterdam. Immigrants didn’t typically sail to New York on a luxury liner, they crossed in immigrant boats and arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax.

Interestingly my family the recipients of an ‘upgrade’, were bumped up to the luxury liner and we crossed in style sailing into New York harbor an early morning in May in the late 50’s . My earliest memories are from that crossing. So of course I wanted to tour the Rotterdam. In a theatre on the boat( very similar to the theatre I had seen my first ever movie …a Peter Gunn flick …the sound still plays in my mind) I saw a short film of the Rotterdam’s first crossing. It all looked so familiar the clothes of the late fifties, the ‘afschijd nehming’ (saying goodbye to family you thought never to see again —remember this is long before the air travel for the average man or woman), the amazing luxury life on board and the emotional entry into New York harbor sailing to the Statue of Liberty . All of this depicted in the short film.. I was quite overwhelmed by all the memories that flooded back. The ship was available to explore and with audio tour in hand we spent a good hour or more exploring the boat and seeing this week of my childhood that was so extraordinary through my adult eyes.. it was still remarkable!!!!!

What a day of new adventures and stirring old memories!!!!

As in so many other areas, England has a fascinating religious history and equally fascinating churches. In addition to visiting galleries, palaces, markets and walking neighborhoods I had put English Churches on my list. I’ve never much liked touristing through churches, although if you’re only in a city or a village for a day or so, sometime that’s all you can do…nooo, my preferred process is to worship at churches.

 

So given my months here in England, I had the unique ability to worship in  amazing well known and architecturally beautiful churches. The experience of the some of the services was so profound that I found myself going back to some for a second time.

 

Before arriving I reached out to my friend Eleanor De Wolf, a long practicing worshiper of the Anglican church. In fact we have worshiped together in several cities over the years of our friendship. To my utter delight she did some considerable research and created a list of suggestions. I will definitely need to return as I have so many more on the list to visit ( partially because I simply had to return to some a second time) . She informed me that the Diocese of London’s website is a good place to start.  And I quote from her email.

 

http://www.london.anglican.org/Home  Go to Organization, then under that Explore the Diocese, and then select the episcopal area.  I imagine you will want London and Kensington rather than the more outlying areas of Stepney & Willesden!  A click on the area will bring you to the listings of deaneries within them (4 in London and 6 in Kensington – a deanery, rather obviously, being a geographical territory for which a regional dean is responsible to the bishop) – and clicking on those will give you the listing of all the churches in that deanery with information about location etc.   As you go down the list you’ll see that some do not have much additional info at all – not a good sign! – others have good write-ups, and links to parish websites which will give you a fair sense of the “feel” of the congregation.

 

Just doing the browsing on the site was fun.

 

 

Naturally Westminster Abbey was on the list. I participated in a Sung Eucharist in early November in the Quire. The Quire which is an obsolete word for choir is also the area in a church or cathedral between the nave and the sanctuary. In the abbey and cathedrals it is the space where the choir sits. As you may know many Anglican and Catholic churches foot print is shaped like a cross. When you attend a service in the Quire you are actually sitting  at the  intersection of the cross —or if you watched any of the royal weddings you are sitting where the Queen and Royal family sit….so some pretty decent real estate in the abbey or St Paul’s . I also found out that if  when the full choir is not in attendance they let us common folk sit in the choir stalls…by the time I figured it out of course all the seats were gone..but next year…

 

I did find out however that it is worth being at church about a half hour before … you get the best seats in the Quire by doing so..and trust me the Anglican service is worth being up close for…and if you are not early you don’t see a lot at the far ends of the cross.

 

The High Anglican church has a lot of pageantry. There is of course the amazing choir of  boys and men. The service is conducted by a lot of men and a few women all beautifully garbed in golds, greens, reds and blacks. I am sure the various vestments provide insights into roles and position. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough to enlighten you..i just simply enjoyed the pomp and ceremony, the singing and the service.

 

St Paul’s Cathedral was also on my list. I had attended Palm Sunday there in the spring with friends, Mary Lou and Sandra so it was definitely on my list again. I attended it twice. From an earlier blog you will have read I chose it for November 11^th Remembrance Day ceremonies. Needless to say pomp and ceremony was it at its height for this service. I decided to return with my sister and brother in law Annette and Pat and daughter Rachael. I felt no visit to London was really complete without taking in a service at one of the gorgeous churches here. Again we arrived a half hour early and found  seating in the Crossing ….right under the dome.  Christopher Wren is the architect of the cathedral ..the crossing is a the climax of his vision, a great open space  under a beautifully frescoed dome. The day we attended the sun shone in from the east lighting up the crossing. As described in my guide book, Wren created an interior of grand majesty and Baroque splendor…no wonder the royal family holds their important events, here and in the Abbey. Wherever you looked beauty!!

 

Men and boys Choir was great, the churchmen again in beautiful vestments. Even the men who help to seat you were dressed in beautiful cut away morning coats.  A  beautiful organ, although Annette found the organ music too somber (depressing) for her liking. The sermon was edgy.. the Anglican synod that week had voted down by a narrow margin the right of women to become bishops. Dr David Ison the Dean of St Paul’s was clearly very disappointed in the results and spoke openly about it. It’s not a good result after 14 years of consultation and likely not another opportunity for a vote for four years. Especially when there are many women already in the ministry.

 

The last church I will write about is All Saints, Margaret Street. It was the first one I attended and today on my last Sunday I thought I would go back for another service. St Pauls and Westminster Abbey is attended by visitors from all over the world. While the service is beautiful, I did not get a sense of community. At All Saints, they serve coffee and wine after the service in the outside courtyard and people come up to chat with you. The wine today was in honour of a man who celebrated his 80^th birthday..and of course we all sang happy birthday in the courtyard. My first visit I witnessed a baptism.

 

This  church is one of the foremost examples of High Victorian Gothic architecture. Described as a hidden gem in central London ( just off Oxford Street).  It is very different from the abbey or St Paul’s. Both in architecture and worship. They use a lot of incense in this church!!!! have women in the choir and use a lot of traditional chanting.

 

All in all some wonderful worship experiences. I highly recommend seeing the churches in England and London through the experience of worship. I think it truly is the best way to get a real sense of the history and purpose of these places.

Historically, the British have really not been known for a great kitchen. Foodies  love  the Italian, the French, but the British Kitchen not so much. Fish and chips, steak and chips, meat pies, sausage rolls…not exactly what great cooks relish to make their kitchens signature dishes. So the british kitchen is not renowned for fine food.

So it was quite a surprise to find great food and great restaurants in London town. This is definitely a foodie destination. I was lucky early on to get some great recommendations from Rena Bedard a foodie and catering friend of Audrey McKinneys . Audrey and her friends were in London in late October and invited me out for dinner. We had a great time and in the following days Rena delivered on her promise to send me  details on some of her favorite food destinations.

So in the last several weeks, with friends and family visiting from Canada. ( Roger and Jean, Annette, Pat and Rachie) I managed to eat my way through quite a few of them.

And of course following Rachie’s long standing practice I took pictures of some of my favorite meals, at restaurants I would definitely recommend.

To give you a ‘taste’ of the town here they are

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course the traditional English High Tea. This one at Fortnum and Mason’s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So of course that got me to wondering about Food and England.

Naturally Jamie Oliver comes to mind. Likely THE English Celebrity Chef. Growing up in Essex son of respected pub/restaurant owners …perhaps thats where his interest in simple good wholesome food comes from…certainly several have followed and there are now’gastropubs’ throughout london town. Cool pub restaurants that serve gastronome pub food. a very popular one are the Bumpkins…very fun, nice ambiance and quite good authentic English fare. Annette tried their chicken pot pie and gave it two thumbs up… 

my local pub, the Prince Bonaparte had fabulous food. Not at all  what we had expected. worth a visit if you are in Nottinghill lots of ambiance’

 

Needless to say our exploration did not simply stop at food. we also managed to try out the cocktails on offer..but that will be the subject of another upcoming blog. So Stay Tuned for Drinking in London

For years i have heard how beautiful London can be at Christmas time..so I wanted to make sure I did a post on Christmas in London. I have been taking pictures these past few weeks to give you a sense of Christmas in London

The Lights on Oxford Street. November 5th, the lights turn on with a street party hosted by some guy called Robbie Williams…sorry no idea who he is …but the lights are pretty cool.  They seem  to be sponsored by Marmite…. Somehow I can’t  figure out what a yeasty yucky spread—yup that’s what Marmite is— has to do with Christmas..but they light up the  street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regent street has the 12 days of Christmas theme…now that I get and I LOVED the look. Such a great street with stunning buildings. Part of what makes Christmas in London so amazing is the beauty of the buildings and the fact that the Brits light up the buildings in a very classy way. Check out these pictures

Covent garden had Christmas trees and the largest red Rudolph and red Christmasballs. Check them out!!!!

                 

                  

So for sure London at Christmas is worth the visit!!

As several colleagues are following my blogs,  and as it is part of my life here in england, I thought I would do a blog about the KPMG Offices.

The main KPMG Office tower is at Canary Wharf  in Canada Square 15. So first of all you may wonder why is the office tower called Canada Square…well that goes back to the original developers of CanaryWharf, who were the Canadian Reichman brothers owners of Olympia and York. But more on the history shortly.

 First off ,Canary Wharf is a major business district for London… easy to get when you step off  the underground an go up the high speed escalators out of the station with thousands and thousands of people streaming into work every morning. Really 90,000 people work in this financial district. Major banks, financial institutions, professional services firms etc. It’s definitely a business district of gorgeous modern glass and steel towers. Today of course there are also plenty of high rise condos for those who like to live where they work

Canary Wharf is really an island ..as it is surrounded by water and was built on the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in East London. Canary Wharf takes its name from No 32 berth of the West Wood Quay where the fruit trade with the Canary Islands was conducted. The West India Docks at one time were one of the busiest shipping docks in the world. But shipping waned and by 1980 the docks had closed and the British were looking for someone to consider redeveloping this area. In 1987 the Candadian firm Olympia and York agreed to build on the site and construction began in 1988. I remember this as I worked at CIBC at the time and we were the Reichmans bankers.  The first building Canada Square One opened in 1991 . It was the tallest building in the UK and a symbol of the regeneration of the docklands.. I remember going to visit this area at the time.. it was still pretty remote and docklandish..very different today given the number of buildings there are there now!!!

However upon opening the London commercial property market collapsed and  Olympia and York Canary Wharf Limited filed for bankruptcy in 1992.  Tough times for awhile …a recession and resistance by many British firms to relocate from the traditional financial district. The long promised( by Margaret Thatcher) underground line the JUBILEE long was constantly delayed and did not open until 2000.

Nevertheless by 1995 an international consortium ( including former owners of Olympia & York) bought the investment and the new company is called Canary Wharf Group and construction commenced again

Today the 83 acre site which was one of the largest development projects in the world has 14,000,000 square feet of commercial space. Condos which one could purchase for 20,00 0 pounds ( according to colleagues here ) now go for 250,000 pounds. If only eh?

 

The KPMG offices at 15 Canada Square are pretty state of the art. They are all open concept. Everyone Partners, staff , admin all sit in this open office space. Lots of areas leverage an office booking concept    (office is a misnomer as what you are booking is a desk space—its pretty large though) so row upon row of desks. The dividers are also very low so you literally see your partner across the table and have people on each side of you. Even though one would think it might be noisy, it is not. Largely because everyone speaks very SOFTLY and all use headsets for their teleconversations which of course pick up your whispers better than a regular phone.

Basically you do your computer work in this space. If you have an international conference call, headset goes on and people speak quietly. However if you want to meet with people, you typically go to one of the many places to sit and chat or meet. There are a lot of conference rooms you can book…glassed in, or simply go to one of the many sitting areas spread along the centre of the building. Small tables with chairs, or booths, or more open conference style.. check out the pictures. Lots of light as it is a glass building and well lit. the open chat areas are connected by opens stairs  in 3 floor segments … and there is always a coffee station near by to grab your latte with your pass card ( remember my initial blog where I said my pass card was loaded with $ or rather Pounds every day?) It is a neat space and very much conducive to open planning. They did not just tear the walls done and make people sit together..they also have all the conversation areas that make it work.

 

The area where I sit is usually occupied by transient workers ( like me although I am hanging around a lot longer than most) Because of this, work colleagues don’t tend to say hello and introduce themselves…so initially I found it cold and unfriendly.. I also had a very negative experience receiving a real put down one evening for having my computer speakers on… but I have determined he is a jerk and others thought he was just RUDE. But over time I of course introduced myself and am now finding it a very collegial way to work.. and I LOVE all the conversation areas!!! As you can well imagine. It is colourful and modern…I think it is probably the way future offices will look and operate. More of us will work virtually, we will not always go to the office to work, we will drop in , book a desk, gather with our colleagues for conversation . Bottom line I like it !!! its been a good experience.

St Paul’s Cathedral for Remembrance Day. 

A beautiful crisp sunny morning.

Surrounded by men and women in uniforms. The british sure know how to do pomp and ceremony.

Men in tails, top hats, women in beautiful black coats and fancy hats

Turns out i was remembering along with the mayor and aldermen and women of the city of London.

A beautiful service in one of the most spectacular cathedrals in England..no pictures allowed during service so you will have to come and check it out for yourself

On my right a stunning young man in dark blue, with red and white….the uniform of the royal marines. On my left a handsome man dressed in long grey coat with red trim carrying a sabre..yeah it was pretty special. As always the church men in their robes of white, black and red and green.

Some of th most memorable hymns …”o Worship the King all glorious above” , ‘O God our Help in Ages Past”….and to close” God Save the Queen”

 

Followed the procession out to of the church to witness of course a military guard and band.
A great way to remember!!!!! 

 

Another Saturday morning, and off to check out another market in London town. This one is across the river past London Bridge.

 

According to all it is London’s most renowned FOOD  market . “It is a haven for anybody who cares about the quality and provenance of the food they eat – chefs, restaurateurs, passionate amateur cooks and people who just happen to love eating and drinking”.  So of course with this billing I had to go, even on a dreary overcast day.

Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms

  

So what did I find? Indeed an amazing food market.

. 

 

The pictures I have included will give you a taste. Food from all over Britain and Europe. You will see a huge variety of food and drink on display…even free samples of champagne. It was really too bad I was just recovering from the flu, so I didn’t have my best taste buds with me.

I

 

 

 

 

 

 

I I did buy food to take away with me. One an English chicken herb pie from Pieminister..which I enjoyed the following Sunday…and truthfully probably the best pie I have ever had..i wish I had taken a picture of it and the Pieminister stall where I bought it. At the stall you can purchase it hot with a dollop of mashed potatoes and mushy peas if you wish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of the stallholders apparently are often producers themselves, they grow, rear or bake the food they sell.  A centre of food excellence, indeed it was an interesting market to explore, see interesting food and generally savour a unique ambiance. There are about 100 individual stalls. Apparently the Borough has been a known food market as far back as 1014 as London Bridge attracted traders selling grain, fish, vegetables and livestock. So it is London’s oldest fruit and vegetable market. Worth a visit!!!

 Have been back in England now for almost a week, and have been reflecting on my trip to India. It continues to strike me with its contrasts

• ·        The beauty of the Taj Mahal and the unsightliness of the rubbish lining the highways and streets.

• ·        The refined and gracious demeanor of those who served us in the hotels contrasted with the hundreds of slum children in old Delhi.

I

 

 

 

 

 

I began to wonder what modern India was all about.I had seen and experienced the 5 star Hotels (Palaces). I had visited our offshoring office where well educated young professionals serviced our IT desk in the UK, completed tax returns for various KPMG firms around the world. The wonders of the Moghul empires live on today. But so do ancient ways of living it seems.

My guide had indicated that while the western world offshored to India, 45% of Indians were illiterate. My research on return found he had exagerattted somewhat…but it is still stands at over 25% and for women it remains at 36%. A significant barrier to socio-economic advancement for millions of Indians. It is estimated that by the year 2020 over 50% of the worlds illiterate population will live in India. The absence of an adequate school infrastructure is a major cause. Most schools do not have proper sanitation.

The caste system continues in India. While in the urban centres the different castes do mingle, intermarriage is not accepted and discrimination based on caste still continues.

How it’s structured

Broadly speaking, a caste system is a process of placing people in occupational groups. Rooted in the Hindu religion and based on a division of labor, the caste system, among other things, dictates the type of occupations a person can pursue and the social interactions that he/she may have. It is a complex long standing part of Indian society and structure, which presents considerable challenges in modern India.

 

One of the questions I had when I returned centred on where and how the people of India lived. I saw so many shanty towns and slum like buildings …it turns out that 19% of Delhi’s people live in slums. No wonder I saw so many of them. Modernisation has led to massive building boom …apartments and highrises, but unfortunately, I did not get a sense for the typical home of an indian. Wikipedia says that extended families live together, grandparents children, in laws and grandchildren..all sharing the same kitchen..so brothers, sisters, cousins grow up together… the eldest woman in the house sets the menu and leads the cooking. Even with modernisation nuclear families are still a small ( but growing) section.

In villages much of family life occurs outdoors. Men bathe outdoors ….ican attest to that as I saw men constantly on the side of the road in villages over low rise wells washing —–practicaly naked. One often saw beds outside where people napped or slept. And of course food is constantly cooked outdoors

 

 

 

 

Sanitation and hygiene is severely lacking. The population in India produces thousands of tons of garbage so the trash lying around makes an  immediate impact. Tap water is unfit for consumption…so we always drank bottled water

One of India’s major problem is the lack of public toilets…and it turns out many homes do not have toilets either. No wonder I saw so many men relieving themselves on the side of the street…. I often wondered what women did as I  did not see them.

 

 

 

 

One of the unusual things I saw was women sitting at the sides of the road, and forming  cow pies from huge piles of manure…Yuup cow dung shaped into pies, which are then dried . I asked what did they do with them… they use them for fuel..yup home cooked meals prepared  over cow dung ….not my idea of the start of a great meal. But in india to care for a cow is considered a sacred duty. Researching this I found that India’s cattle—yup the ones I saw everywhere having the run of the highways, villages, markets, homes,  excrete more than 700 million tons of manure annually. Half is used as manure for the field and the other half is burned to provide heat for cooking. 9 out of 10 rural households use it for fuel.

.

 

 

Bottom line for me a fascinating country and  an eye opening trip!!!

 

 

 

 

Up at 5:30 for a 6:15 pickup as the Taj in the sunrise has a special quality….and indeed it did. At this time of year there is a lot of smog so the view was hazy…but still truly magical. It had been described to me as translucent and that is an apt description, particularly as the sun gains strength and lands on the Taj and its Turrets

The first view of the Taj is truly breathtaking..the colour, the vista, the symmetry which you begin to notice almost immediately…even though the grounds were already filled with hundreds and hundreds of people, it had an unbelievably calm and serene feel to it. It appears quite grand!!! In part due to the 4 symmetrical towers around the exterior, the two symmetrical buildings on the side ( one is a mosque) and the long pools in front which create the vista and often present a mirror image of the Taj Mahal at several spots along the way.

The Taj is not a palace. It is a white marble building that houses two tombs. It was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, MumtazMahal who died at 38 after bearing him 14 children!!!! It was meant to only house his wife’s tomb as he had begun to erect a black marble mirror image of the Taj across the river where he wished to be buried . However his third son, killed off his first born and put Shah Jahan in prison. When he finally died after 10 plus years his tomb was set to the left of his wife’s. As a result it is the only thing at the Taj that is not symmetrical, so it certainly feels as if it should not be there. The white marble is intricately set with semi precious stones and as the rising sun hits it, it sparkles. It truly is magical…

The day I visited was the Muslim holiday Aeid… consequently I witnessed thousands of Muslim men all dressed in white coming to the mosque mentioned earlier.

In the pictures you will see the men cleansing themselves in the pools in the mosque’s front courtyard. …once their hands, faces and feet are washed they enter the mosque… as I was leaving the huge mosque was full and they were starting to sit on long prayer rugs in front of the mosque.. I expect the courtyard would be completely full by the time morning prayers started at 9am. All in white they too were quite a spectacle.

Having spent several hours in the Taj, around the gardens I can say I completely agree that it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I am very glad I did not miss this opportunity to visit it on my trip to India.

I

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remembered one of the modern worlds most renowned Taj pictures. Diane sitting in front of the Taj. I remember it was when she and Charles were estranged. it now is clear to me how very sad her visit must have been . to see a memorial to a revered love when she was feeling so unloved..SAD SAD