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.
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.
You once might have visited the popular food market ‘Mercado de San Miguel’ in Madrid or the recently opened Markthal in Rotterdam where you can indulge yourself with gastronomic delights. Last weekend I finally had the chance to visit the recently renovated Foodhallen in Amsterdam. Some of my friends living in the Dutch capital told me about the old tram depots that have been transformed into huge lofts. Some of them house design- or clothing shops. Yet, the biggest loft houses a food hall with delicious food stands serving the hungry ones. I immediately became curious about the concept and of course, as a chick living in Rotterdam, I had to compare the new FOODHALLEN Amsterdam to our Rotterdam pride: the Markthal.
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!
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!
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.
For those living in Rotterdam (or frequent visitors), you’ve probably spotted a peculiar wooden promenade across the city, extending from the area of central station to the Binnenrotte and soon the northern part of Rotterdam. This wooden, elevated promenade is another creative project in town (think of Fenix Food Factory in Katendrecht or Aloha Bar in the former swimming pool Tropicana). ‘De Luchtsingel’ initiated by an architectural bureau (ZUS) together with the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam in order to connect different urban areas, not only physically, but also on a social level. The fun thing is that it’s partially financed by citizens and local companies, or better said by crowd funding.
For those who haven’t visited Rotterdam for the past ten years and have missed the praising articles in the media about the splendour of Rotterdam’s architecture (Rough Guide, New York Times), prepare yourself to find the city unrecognizable. You should know that Rotterdam is a true architectural gem housing a great variety of the most iconic buildings in the Netherlands. New constructions have arisen (the cavernous tube-shaped Market Hall, the new vertical city ‘De Rotterdam’, the skyscrapers at Kop van Zuid) making a perfect combination with older buildings such as the cube houses at Blaak and Hotel New York. This dazzling mix of different architectural styles make the perfect skyline. I personally think it’s gorgeous, especially when looking at the city from a distance. It’s not for nothing Rotterdam’s nickname has become ‘Manhattan on the Maas’…
Last Friday I’ve finally visited the most beautiful spring garden in the world! I invited my mom for mother’s day to enjoy the colorful tulip fields and the themed pavilions with fascinating floral decorations at this gigantic park in Lisse, a small town not far from Amsterdam (Holland). I never actually thought of seeing the tulip gardens in Keukenhof in real life. Obviously I’ve seen them at a distance when traveling north by train, and I know Keukenhof from postcards at tourist shops and pictures I’ve seen. I guess it’s the idea that it’s just there. This year I took the decision to get to know Holland a little better and discover the great things this country has to offer. I believe there’s no better way than starting with a visit to Keukenhof.
