Port of the Pilgrims Is Bustling Cultural Center

Most American schoolchildren think that the Pilgrim Fathers set out from England on the Mayflower. But in fact, they sailed from Rotterdam’s Delfshaven docks on the Speedwell, found it to be unseaworthy after leaving Plymouth, returned to that port and continued on the Mayflower.

The Delfshaven docks were one of the few parts of Rotterdam spared by German bombers in World War II. After that war Rotterdam began to rebuild both the city and the docks to reclaim its role as Europe’s largest and most active port, a title it had held since the 19th Century.

The reconstruction of Rotterdam had a major effect on postwar town planning throughout Europe, making imaginative use of bold, contemporary architecture to blend with the traditional.

The results, combined with the town’s resurgence as an artistic and cultural capital of the Continent, have made Rotterdam once again a lively and exciting place to visit. It’s rich in museums, galleries, fine restaurants and friendly citizens who have grown very cosmopolitan after centuries of being at one of the world’s crossroads.

Here to there: Fly KLM’s nonstop to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, then take a train to central Rotterdam in 45 minutes. Several other domestic and foreign carriers fly there with changes.

How long/how much? Two days should do it, perhaps another for a day trip to Delft, Gouda or one of the other attractive towns nearby. Very comfortable lodgings here at moderate cost, considering the hearty Dutch breakfasts that are always included.

A few fast facts: The Dutch guilder recently traded at 53 cents, about 1.88 to the dollar. Spring begins here in late April, and from then until late fall is a good time to visit. There’s an excellent transit system, so buy strip cards and use them to get around.

Getting settled in: Pax Hotel (Schiekade 658; $67 bed-and-breakfast double) has a great location at city center near the central station. We’ve known it for years and appreciate the cozy atmosphere and friendliness of the staff. The Dutch word for such small joys is gezellig, and the Pax has it in spades. Bedrooms aren’t huge but they are comfortable, there’s a cheerful breakfast room, and the furnishings are a pleasant mix of period and contemporary. A tram stops in front, and there’s a garage for your car.

Hotel Emma (Nieuwe Binnenweg 6; $64-$80 B&B; double) is another small one on an arcaded street at town center. Very contemporary in feeling, with TVs and mini-bars in the rooms. The breakfast room opens in the evening as a bar. This one is near the famed Boymans van Beuningen Museum and has special weekend rates.

Commerce Hotel (Henegouwerplein 56; $59 B&B; double) is a third choice in the moderate range, this one with a small restaurant. You may also have a double without bath for $46 B&B.;

Regional food and drink: Dutch food is nothing if not substantial and straightforward, albeit usually prepared with enough care and spicing to give it zest. The thick soups are a tradition, particularly erwtensoep pea soup, while the stamppotten mashed potatoes laced with vegetables and bacon is also a staple.

Herring, usually eaten raw with chopped onions, is a Dutch addiction that you may pick up at street stands. May-June is the season for the nieuwe haring. Broodje is an open-faced Dutch sandwich that is small, of many types and combinations, and served in broodjeswinkel shops until the wee hours. They’re hard to pass up.

Dutch beer is among the world’s finest. New and old Jenever is the country’s gin, an easily acquired taste. And if you are here in springtime you could make an entire meal of the tender new asparagus: soup, salad and main course. Magnificent.

Moderate-cost dining: De Pijp (Gaffelstraat 90) is practically hidden on an obscure street, its plain door leading into what has been a student hangout since the 19th Century, and where young men gathered to plot Dutch resistance during World War II. Bombed out in 1940, De Pijp moved to an old bicycle storage house and picked up life anew. Owner John van der Wel keeps the old ways: cooking done in great caldrons and grills in the main room, hundreds of student and club neckties lining the walls, food served at rustic communal tables.

Try the appavaat, a hamburger with egg on top, first served at the old De Pijp in 1898, or capucynes , brown beans with bacon. You’ll also find oysters, fried mussels and other seafood, boeuf an daube and a broad menu of Dutch and continental fare.

Students still come here, but so do the city’s leading business and finance lights. De Pijp, so-called because the original was “smaller than a pipe bowl,” served us the best food of our Holland trip. Friendly prices too.

Janvier pancake house (Oude Binnenweg 126) is an old and rather clunky place where you’ll find those marvelous Dutch pannekoeken. They come with cheese, apple, bacon, ham, fruit or sweets, with one easily a meal in itself. They also serve a version of the Belgian gaufer waffle as well as other hearty dishes.

Restaurant Engels (Stationsplein 45) is seven dining places under one roof serving the dishes of a like number of countries. And Indonesia (Rodezand 34) probably lays out the best rijsttafel in town, an endless array of spicy Javanese meats, seafoods and vegetables served on six to a dozen or more little plates.

Going first-class: Park Hotel (Westersingel 70; $109-$133 B&B; double) is one of Rotterdam’s very best. It’s surrounded by parks and gardens at town center. Ultramodern, every possible amenity, very formal French restaurant.

On your own: Start with colorful Delfshaven for a look at the Oude Kerk, where Pilgrim Fathers held services before sailing in 1620. Then don’t miss the Dubbelde Palmboom Museum with its four floors of artifacts and memorabilia of life around Rotterdam from prehistoric to modern times.

The Boymans-van Beuningen Museum shows one of the finest collections in Europe, particularly Dutch and Flemish old masters of the 14th to 18th centuries. Feast your eyes on Rembrandt, Rubens, Hans Memling, Jan Steen, Jan van Eyck and Pieter Brueghel the Elder. There is also a great selection of the modern schools: Picasso, Van Gogh, Magritte, Dufy and a memorable Kandinsky group.

Take the Spido harbor trip that sails year-round; it’s a fascinating excursion. And from May through October a smaller boat will sail you past the 19 windmills at nearby Kinderdijk, built in 1740 to pump excess water from the polders into the Lek River. They are gorgeous.

For more information: Call the Netherlands Board of Tourism at (415) 543-6772, or write (605 Market St., Suite 401, San Francisco 94105) for a brochure-map of Rotterdam with tourist information, a list of hotels with prices, other brochures with tips on travel throughout Holland.