CityJet’s inflight magazine ‘Velocity’ recently held an interview with blogger Natalie Siereveld from OrangeSpots.nl. In the January 2017 Velocity edition you’ll read about Natalie’s passion for travel and her favorite hang outs in her home town Rotterdam. Read the full article in this blog and get to know Rotterdam’s must visits according to Natalie!
LIVE LOCAL – ROTTERDAM
Velocity Magazine – January 2017 edition
I’m Natalie Siereveld, a 31 years old passionate traveller, foodie and sports fanatic. Born in Peru, my family and I moved to Rotterdam (the Netherlands) in 1991. What am I doing for a living? I’m a Press Officer for Flanders (Belgium) based in the Hague for 5 years now. It’s great to promote Flanders as a travel destination amongst Dutch journalists. Why? I get to sample, discover and taste the best of Flemish cuisine, beers, culture and heritage! My hobby’s? I have a passion for photography. During my spare time I love to wander through the streets of Rotterdam and capture the magic of the city.
If you’re a fan of architecture, make sure to visit Holland every last weekend of June. During this weekend, The Royal Institute of Dutch Architects organizes the Day of Architecture. Hundreds of buildings are open to the public. You can also enjoy many activities that show you what architecture is all about.
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon when I decided to go up the Euromast in Rotterdam. I was accompanied by my friend Mareille who was happy to join me.
The Euromast is an observation tower and is one of Rotterdams most iconic attractions. Because of its height, 185 meters, you can actually see the tower from almost every location in Rotterdam. And vice-versa you have a 360º panoramic view on the entire city of Rotterdam.
Whenever I’m visiting a foreign country I always try to hunt for the culinary hotspots where locals like to eat. By doing so I’m guaranteed to experience a nice and authentic atmosphere and not an overcrowded restaurant packed with tourists that serves bad and overpriced food. One of the websites I mostly use for research is www.spottedbylocals.com. This website works with locals sharing their favorite (foodie) hotspots in their home town. Trip Advisor is another good option for finding the best rated restaurants and cafes in town.
Living in Rotterdam for almost 6 years now, I know the cities’ best kept secrets. Here’s a selection of favorite places in my neighborhood – Stadsdriekhoek and Blaak- which are close to the brand new Markthal. You might find my list to be a bit Asian oriented, that’s because there are plenty Asian eateries but also because I simply love Asian food!
The new indoor market ‘Markthal’ in Rotterdam is even more gorgeous by night than by day! Now the days are getting shorter and darkness is settling in early, this new indoor hotspot is the perfect place to spend your day and avoid the cold weather outside. If you’re in for tasty delicacies, fresh baked pastries, artisanal products, good quality wines and everything else you need in order to prepare yourself a lovely dinner or appetizer, this is the place to be.
Don’t come here alone, bring your friends, relatives or your lover to taste, chat, drink at the bars or even try out a Greek, Asian or Arab dish one of the restaurants that are located inside this huge architectural work or art.
This is how the Markthal looks like at night. Isn’t it just the perfect place to visit during winter time?
Last weekend I was thinking about doing some exercise at the gym. As a matter of fact I always go to my Sunday morning class which takes places indoors at Health City. However, the sun was shining so bright that I decided not to enjoy the sunny weather on a fancy terrace but to do something useful with my time which was:
– Perform a good workout on my bike;
– Take some nice shots of which is in my opinion the most gorgeous park in Rotterdam: Kralingse Bos;
– Get a bit tanned and inhale the pure air from the trees;
– Enjoy the fantastic views on Kralingse Plas (a big lake just outside the city centre) and the river Maas with Rotterdam’s skyline on the background;
– To clear out my head of negative thoughts…
After this 1,5 hour “workout” I felt like reborn! Here are some nice pictures I took while cycling around Rotterdam’s greenest area.
Rotterdam is an exciting and versatile city with a down to earth attitude and a fenomenal modern architecture. Being the town where I live, I’d be happy to show you around the most iconic buildings (Hotel New York, Cube houses), the nicest terraces (Oude Haven), beautiful parks (Kralingse bos) and even an authentic Dutch quarter which you will certainly love (Delfshaven).
I never imagined myself jumping on a Segway, although I always looked at people with a certain curiosity when cruising on one of those machines. To be honest, I had no clue how a Segway actually works and how it feels to step on it and spin around. Last week I finally got the chance to experience ‘it’. And yes, it was freaking amazing!!! I think I couldn’t have chosen a better city than Rotterdam to do this…
Today I finally experienced the most anticipated attraction of Rotterdam: I was present at the opening of Holland’s first indoor market, the Markthal! Forget Barcelona’s Boqueria, Rotterdam has it all… and even more! We were intrigued by the variety of products that are sold in this indoor market, the fancy presentation of exotic delicacies, the excellent decoration of the different units (beautiful flower decorations), the expertise of the personnel that run the specialty units and the exquisiteness of the delicacies that visitors can buy and instantly taste. Add the majestic art work on the ceiling with its colorful prints, the great atmosphere (already on the first day) and attractiveness of the architecture to this concept, and you have an innovative and upscale attraction that will put Rotterdam on the touristic world map. With the Markthal, the brand new Central Station, Rem Koolhaas ‘de Rotterdam’ and many other characteristic buildings, Rotterdam city is by far the place to be in 2014 and beyond!
Shopping underneath the world’s biggest art work – Markthal Rotterdam
I remember I used to look at this gigantic hole in the ground while standing on the third floor of Rotterdam’s main library at Blaak. I was a student back then in 2009. This deep hole which was soon filled with water, was surrounded by a large fence displaying pictures of the future ‘Markthal’ to be. The tunnel-shaped building immediately spoke to my imagination. When I found out the Markthal would become a 40 meters high building, housing 228 apartments, an indoor market containing 96 specialty shops devoted to eating and drinking, bars and restaurants, an underground Albert Heijn supermarket and underground parking with 1.200 parking lots, I couldn’t wait for it to be ready. Now, 5 years and one day before the opening, it’s time to meet my new best friend: a state-of-the-art building offering culinary delicacies and a view on the biggest art work in the world.
‘Aloha Bar’ in a former swimming pool in Rotterdam
Rotterdam on fRiday – blog #6
Living in a modern and cosmopolitan city like Rotterdam is great and exciting. What I like most about my home town is the new creative projects that come up each year, from pop-up bars till elevated pedestrian bridges and even an adapted railway carriage which is turned into a vegan restaurant (Gare du Nord). Rotterdam has it all. These are my favourite spots you definitely have to visit at least once!
If you were in Rotterdam last weekend, you probably couldn’t have missed the festivities taking place at the river Maas for it was World Port Days in Rotterdam! During the World Port Days both tourists and locals get a glimpse behind the scenes of the largest harbour of Europe and its industrial heritage.
