Fenix Takes Creative View of Story of Migration Around World

Days 42-43, 2025 European Odyssey

Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-10, 2025; Dover, England, and Rotterdam, Netherlands.

An astounding 300 million people – one out of every 27 people living on earth – are not living in the country of their birth, the United Nations reports. Immigration is a highly politicized topic everywhere these days, including in Rotterdam, a city long seen as a hub of migration.

The Nieuw Statendam docked today at the cruise pier just steps from Holland America’s former headquarters, where hundreds of thousands boarded ships bound for North America. Even the English Pilgrims started their journey to America in the Netherlands, where they had fled from English persecution. While millions of migrants left from Rotterdam, countless others have arrived here from elsewhere, making this a city of migration filled with 170 nationalities.

Just a few more steps farther from the cruise pier is the new Fenix, a museum that approaches migration through the eyes of artists. For cruisers like me visiting Rotterdam, it’s a great place to spend a couple of hours. But first, I walked farther down the pier to get a photo of the Nieuw Statendam peeking from behind the old “Holland Amerika Lijn” building, now the Hotel New York.

The Fenix is easily identified by its stainless steel “tornado” rising from the roof of the 100-year-old port warehouse. “The Tornado is a metaphor for the journeys of migrants,” according to building architect Ma Yansong. I had seen crowds on the tornado’s viewing platforms waving goodbye to the Nieuw Statendam two weeks ago as we left the city.

My favorite part of the museum is The Family of Migrants. Works by 136 photographers show the good, the bad, and the ugly of people moving from one place to another. Some depict tearful goodbyes, others joyful reunions. All are looking for a better future – either voluntarily, through the loss of homeland due to war or climate change or due to forced displacement. A brochure provides the details behind each giant photograph.

Other exhibits include art and objects ranging from a labyrinth of thousands of suitcases with audio stories about their journeys to a pickup truck loaded with the belongings of migrants and a piece of the Berlin Wall.

(As an aside, migration generally means the general movement of people from one place to another, while immigration indicates movement to settle permanently in a new country. I had what I could call a “migratory” childhood, moving every 18 months to a new city. Constantly being the new kid in class, I think I relate to the stories of immigrants.)

My last stop at Fenix was the Tornado, the double-helix staircase twisting to a viewing platform above the roof.

The platform offered a different perspective on our ship with the Erasmus Bridge in the background, as well as 360-degree views of the heart of Rotterdam and the Nieuwe Maas river.

Can you believe that yesterday in Dover I opted for a tour to another castle? I joined a half-day excursion to Walmer Castle, more of a residence than a fortification and the seat of the Lord Warden lineage. At one time the title carried significant financial benefits, but today it’s a ceremonial title bestowed by the sovereign, frequently to members of the Royal Family. Among the recent and well known were Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Sir Winston Churchill.

I passed quickly through the public rooms — occasional residences of the current and recent Lord Wardens – and headed for the gardens. The extensive kitchen gardens feature vegetables, fruit trees and flowers.

But my favorite was the Queen Mother’s Garden with its formal pavilion, reflecting pool and viewing mound. It made a good place to stop to sketch, although I will probably be tempted to clean it up before painting. (I have no idea when I will find time for that.)

I didn’t have enough time to fully explore our next stop, the village of Sandwich. It’s a quiet medieval town along a small river, with winding streets lined with stone houses and shops.

The church had just closed when we arrived. The town’s main claim to fame is as the home of the 4^th Earl of Sandwich, credited with creating the sandwich.