Liefhebbers van de 2.0 cultuur kunnen sinds vorig jaar hun hart ophalen in het MIMA. Het is een eigenzinnig museum op een bijzondere locatie in Brussel. Het Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art kan je als een ontmoetingsplek voor actuele kunst beschouwen. Denk aan grafisch design tot graffiti en street art, muziekcultuur, film, strips en zelfs tattoo art. Eigenlijk alles wat zich rond de millenniumwisseling wereldwijd heeft ontwikkeld.
Loop vanaf de Antoine Dansaertstraat of metrostation Graaf van Vlaanderen langs het kanaal richting het MIMA. Je komt meteen al in een ‘street art’ stemming. Hier prikkelt ook de industriële omgeving je zintuigen.
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.
For a long time, I’ve been longing to visit the highest navigable lake in the world, the famous Lake Titicaca located between Peru and Bolivia. At 3856 metres above sea level, this lake is said to be bigger than Switzerland! During our world trip (Orange Spots on Tour) in 2016, we finally took off on a breathtaking tour to the Uros Floating Islands at Lake Titicaca. Also, we enjoyed a nice hike on the island of Taquile. Enjoy the ashtonishing views, breathtaking landscapes and the colorful clothing of the Uros people living on this immense lake!
There’s a reason the Chinese ancient walled city of Pingyao is listed as one of the best conserved walled cities in the world. It takes a few seconds to notice when entering the city though one of the gates. Wandering through the streets you’ll find countless traditional buildings, colorful lanterns and picturesque courtyards. If you would picture a period film showing ancient China, it sure would look precisely like Pingyao.
Welcome to Cambodia, a beautiful country located in South-East Asia. Many years we’ve dreamed about visiting the temples of Angkor and appreciating the diversity of landscapes, from paddy fields and rural sceneries to the beaches in the south. Also, we were particularly excited to taste the authentic Cambodian (Khmer) cuisine. We were told that it’s a fine combination between Thai and Vietnamese food, yet with its own touch.
Japan is full of surprises when it comes to local customs, fashion, art and gadgets. Find out what peculiar things surprised us the most during our round trip through the country.
ARTISTIC MANHOLE COVERS Japan is known for its beautiful art which you find in temples, museums and art galleries. Yet, there’s another art form which we found quite startling. When walking through a street in Japan – be it in a city or a village – you notice that manhole covers are beautifully decorated. I’ve read that this curious phenomenon started in 1985, when a bureaucrat working at the ministry of construction came up with the idea to let municipalities design their own manhole covers.
I really liked to spot the designs in every city I visited. We photographed them to make a cool collage. There seems to be more than 6.000 artistic manhole covers all over Japan, each of them containing local symbols. Curious isn’t it?
Welcome to China, one of the oldest civilized nations in the world with more than 50 ethnic groups populating the mainland. After travelling through the country by train, bus and air from north to south-west, we saw and experienced many contradictions. In Beijing we were overwhelmed by the size of the city, the ancient Forbidden City and the labyrinth of narrow alleys of the so-called ‘ Hutongs’ (traditional neighborhoods). Xi’an we experienced to be crowded and chaotic, whereas Chengdu was more regulated and very modern. In Dali (Yunnan Province) we immersed ourselves in the rural, laid-back life, enjoying the fascinating landscapes and the colorful market ‘Shaping’ where the ethnic Dai people sell their fresh products.
To quote the Lonely Planet, China is:
‘Antique yet up-to-the-minute, familiar yet unrecognisable, outwardly urban but quintessentially rural, conservative yet path-breaking, space-age but old-fashioned, China is a land of mesmerising contradictions.’
Lonely Planet. ‘China Travel Guide’.
See it for yourselves: watch our travel video and get a glimpse of our adventures in China!
With over 2,8 million inhabitants, Osaka is Japan’s third largest and (after Tokyo) second most important city. The city is only 30 minutes away from it’s refined little brother Kyoto, however there is a world of difference between the two. Osaka is a modern, big and flashy city, with huge neon lit buildings, elevated highways, interesting architecture and… beautiful green parks.
We really enjoyed Osaka (maybe because there are many similarities with our hometown Rotterdam?). Therefore we’d like to share our favorite areas with you!
Our journey through Japan in September 2015 has been simply marvelous. All of our expectations were met and even exceeded! What stood out to us were the lovely, polite and friendly Japanese people.
They are excellent hosts and really make you feel at ease. Also, they are very proud of their culture and country and they show it!
Obviously, we took some fantastic footage of different cities we visited in Japan. Geerard (as always) made a cool compilation of the material we have. The result? A stunning video that shows some of Japan’s most beautiful places, its culture, and much more… Get inspired!
Kyoto is by far one of the highlights of Japan. The city has it all, but most of all, it has culture, lots of ancient heritage, an exquisite gastronomy and style! Let us take you along the beautiful sights, a colorful market and the impressive shrines scattered all over the city.
Enjoy it! We hope we can inspire you to visit this magical place once.
Kyoto Travel video – produced by Geerard Siereveld
Istanbul is unique for it is the only city in the world lying on two continents: Asia and Europe. The glittering Bosphorus river dividing the city in two is also known as “Strait of Constantinople”.
Istanbul has conquered our hearts with its stunning views on the river and the old town, the friendly people and varied food. We also enjoyed discovering trendy neigbourhoods like Karaköy and experience the bohemian atmosphere in Cihangir area.
Travel video Istanbul Travel along with us to the enchanting city of Istanbul where east meets west… Enjoy this video!
Let me introduce you to the beautiful city of Trujillo, the capital of north Peru. This is the city where I was born and grew up until I was 5 years old. After we moved to the Netherlands in 1991, I went back several times to visit family and friends. It was lovely to wander through my old neighborhood and enjoy the atmosphere of Trujillo’s main square. Being treated with all the gastronomic delights of the region made the relive my childhood memories again.
