Le Havre I Told You Lately That I Love You

Because we'd been so excited about Santiago de Campostela (Erik) and Stonehenge (Michael) we really did little to no research on the final three port stops of the cruise.

Sometimes not knowing much about a place ahead of time makes room for the unexpected. 😊

Le Havre

All the excursions for this port took people out of Le Havre, so we didn’t have high expectations when we walked off the boat to randomly explore the town. Maybe that’s why it was such a pleasant surprise.  We did know that the city was thoroughly bombed in the final days of World War II, but knew nothing of its rejuvination. What an absolute joy it is.

The rebuilding process was led by architect Auguste Perret; to expedite reconstruction, he and his team designed everything based on prefabricated 6-meter-squared concrete components. This not only allowed for quick and efficient assembly, it also ensured architectural consistency across the city. When I think of repetitive concrete construction, I think of cold war-era Soviet brutalist designs. That is not the case here. Instead, when paired with the city’s original wide pedestrian boulevards and walkways, the consistency provides a sense of calm and charm. The way each building 'speaks' to another is, quite frankly, beautiful. Obviously we aren't alone in this opinion; later I learned that the reconstruction itself was declared a UNESCO world heritage site.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t briefly talk about St Joseph’s Church. With its 107 meter (352 foot) tower of concrete and stained glass, it was a part of the reconstruction project, and Perret designed it with the same prefabricated components. Much like the modernist-era church we saw in Rio, it’s a great example of how modern era construction can be utilized to express reverence and worship.

Basically, Le Havre was a town we didn’t know we needed, and one we kinda fell in love with. ...and the Croque Madame was pretty spectacular, too.

Rotterdam

Much like Le Havre, the cruise excursions were all focused on taking people out of Rotterdam.  In some ways, Rotterdam felt like the ‘Jan’ to Amsterdam’s ‘Marsha’ (apologies to non-US readers who don’t get that reference). Amsterdam gets all of the attention, but Rotterdam is full of architectural delights, parks full of people celebrating spring, wide shopping avenues, a spectacular central food market, and quayside walks along the water.

As a big city, it didn’t have the charm of Le Havre; but the urbanity and sophistication it had was a fun surprise.

Copenhagen

To be honest, we almost didn’t get off the boat. Not because we weren’t interested, and not because Copenhagen isn’t beautiful; but we were tired, getting to the metro required a 50-minute walk (and then still a 20-minute ride to town), and we knew the following day we would be disembarking in Germany, and we still had to pack.

But ultimately, we decided we’d kick ourselves if we didn’t go explore a little bit. So, we skipped public transit and splurged on an Uber to Kastellet. Built in 1664, this fortress was originally part of the city's defensive system. Today it remains an active military site but also serves as a giant public park full of walking trails both through the fortress itself, and along the surrounding moat. In fact, the moat is the home of the famous the Little Mermaid statue, based on the Hans Christian Anderson story. Personally, I didn’t understand all of the hype around it, but apparently it’s been used as means of protest since the 1960s; It has been decapitated multiple times, had its arms sawn off, and been blown off its base. Each time it gets restored to its original state.

Our time was short, and we really did have to pack. Thus, we wandered out of the Kastellet for lunch (we found Vietnamese food!), checked out a few more sites, and then headed back to the boat (another Uber splurge) for our final night at sea.