There should be so much more at the watersides in Rotterdam. It is such a lovely place when you live in a busy city. Luckily, this year there opened another awesome spot at the waterside right behind, and from the same owners of, the De Machinist; Viskantine aan de Cool.
On a sunny day me and my boyfriend wanted to go for dinner somewhere with a nice terrace. Suddenly we thought of going to De Machinist in Coolhaven, Rotterdam. Normally an area where I do not come that often. But actually really close to my house.
I love to hang around in the Museumpark in Rotterdam. They just rebuild the whole area. It is a green, quite place now where you can hang around, lay in the grass, or sit on the nice terraces of the Kunsthal and NAi. On the Museum square there are organized a lot of cool things, especially in summer; pleinbioscoop (open air movies), SWAN Market, Parade.
Normally at train stations the only place you can get a decent coffee is at Starbucks. Not that Starbucks is not good, but I prefer different, more exclusive coffee places. And that’s why you should get your coffee in Rotterdam central station (or most other central stations in Holland; Leiden, Den Haag, Amsterdam) at Lebkov & Sons!
One of the things I love about living in the coolest street in Rotterdam, Witte de Withstraat, is that I never have to leave my street. I can get my morning coffee @ Hopper, breakfast @ de Bakkerswinkel, clothes @ Margreet Olsthoorn, sneakers @ Seventyfive, and drinks @ NRC. And I get my lunch @ The Bagel Bakery!!
I discovered this coffee spot when I was still studying and cycled to uni every day, well almost every day. It is a quiet little café; you can easily take your laptop, and study or work all day. Or curl up in one of the comfy chairs with a magazine or iPad, which you can borrow for free.
Finally summer is here!! When the weather is this hot I don’t really feel like cooking, but just have cold drinks on a terrace outside and have some fresh fish from the bbq around 8/9pm. You can get the best fresh fish from the bbq at A La Plancha! You can find this summer pop up restaurant on ‘Het Noordereiland’, a little island in the Maas in Rotterdam.
Hidden in a part of the centre of Rotterdam where you don’t walk by easily, the Nieuwemarkt square, you’ll find the Urban Espresso Bar. A little breakfast, lunch and coffee place. It is a really small place, but they have the most amazing coffee. In summer they have a terrace on the little square and you can enjoy your coffee in the sun.
Who doesn’t like a picnic? In the park or in this nice little breakfast/lunch place. Because of the picnic tables, the checkered tablecloths and the wooden plates it really feels like having a little picnic when you’re there.
Finally back in Rotterdam after a month of Madrid!! And I could not pick a better time to come back. It was a weekend full of fun with my friends; festival, world cup game and the store opening of Susan Bijl!
