In Rotterdam south, in the municipality Charlois lies a spacious park named Zuiderpark. The park is located directly in between the two municipalities of Carnissewijk and Zuidwijk/Pendrecht. It was built in the year of 1952 and meant as a place for enjoyment and relaxation for city locals. Since the year 2006 the park has gone through restructuring, which has improved the park a lot.

The Zuiderpark is easy reachable from almost anywhere within Rotterdam south, it’s located nearby the biggest mall in the region Zuidplein, as well as the main bus stations and two metro stations Zuidplein and Slinge. Mainly the park is used for Sunday walks, biking and walking and during summers a barbecue with the family. It also households a few Rotterdam football and volleyball associations including: S.C Zuiderpark and Sportclub Zuiderpark.

The park also households several allotments garden complexes including VTV de Zandweg and VTV de Zuiderhof, which truly give you the feeling you’re in the middle of a nature park, and not just three minutes of the busy city center of South Holland. Most of the complexes in Zuiderpark are over 50 years old, it wasn’t until a few years ago that the municipality Charlois removed a part of a garden complex in order to enlarge the park it’s waterways for summer swimming and canoeing throughout the lake.

Throughout the park there’s several benches placed near the waterside, overall the park is kept pretty clean. The side of walking paths are covered with threes and green. When evening falls the park light system automatically turns on, all though it’s not covered all to well. It isn’t recommended to stay in the park after sun set if you have no business there.

On the north side of Zuidpark lies Ahoy Rotterdam’s biggest international entertainment center, used for pop concerts and  for instance pop concerts and sport events. There’s also an old church on the side of the park with a little deer camp. It’s allowed to feed the deers, most of the locals go there to feed them old bread with their children

Travelers to the Netherlands need a valid passport and visa. American citizens are allowed a stay up to 90 days without the use of a visa. Rotterdam is a city of size but it’s easy to get round, for a visit to Zuiderpark you can make use of a taxi from city center (about $30.00 US) or use the public transport subway (about $5.00 US). The most convenient time to enter the park is during daytime summer, from June till August.

These pictures date Saturday 31th of October 2009 Zuiderpark, Rotterdam