I can write a lot about this cute little bakery, but only one thing is important…

Koekela has got the best cakes and cookies in town and I dare say, maybe even the country!

And now they’ve moved a couple of shops up the road to a bigger place where you can also sit and enjoy their goodness.

For muffins or cupcakes I’d suggest going a bit further to Alice in Cakeland (check the article), but stay in for the cookies and brownies! Don’t want to go out? They have a webshop!

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Koekela | Shopping, Snacks | Muffin € 1.10
Nieuwe binnenweg 79a | Center | +31104364774
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 18:00, Sat 08:30 – 17:00

One of my favorite shops in town is ‘La Bourse’. This perfumery sell beauty products of the better brands. The service here is so good and the staff is very friendly. They know the products well and know what they’re talking about.

Also, the prices here are sharp. You get a good discount anyway, but as a regular client (which I am) you get even more. They alway give you nice samples and you can choose if you want a perfume or cream sample, how good is that! I always leave this shop happy.

The only “flaw” might be that they sell ‘Essie’ nail-polish instead of ‘OPI’, but hey nobody’s perfect. La Bourse has three shops. The biggest one is on the Coolsingel, the other two are on the Meent (almost next to the Vlaamsch Broodhuys) and the Korte Lijnbaan.

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La Bourse | Shopping
coolsingel 54 | Center | +31104135893
Mon 11:00 – 18:00, Tue – Thu 10:00 – 18:00, Fri 10:00 – 21:00, Sat 10:00 – 17:30, Sun 12:30 – 17:30

The Netherlands Architecture Institute just reopened after a year of renovations. The museum has great new permanent exhibitions: ‘Dutchville’ where you can experience every side of the city and ’Treasury’ shows about 100 masterpieces from the NAI collection.

From April 20th two exhibitions (Making City and Smart Cities) of the 5th International Architecture Biennalle Rotterdam (IABR) are on show at The NAI, of which one (Making City) is the main exhibition of the IABR.

The NAI expanded with a new cafe, where you can get lunch, a good coffee or stay for something stronger. There’s a big sunny terrace which is great to relax. Coming with kids? They can play, build and create at a space above the Cafe called the ‘Hands-on Deck,’ while you enjoy your beer/wine .

Oh and don’t forget to visit the bookshop!

On the 19th of April the International Architecture Biennalle Rotterdam (IABR) opens at the NAI. From that date on  you can see the exhibitions ‘Making City’ and ‘Smart Cities’.

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NAI | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Shopping | Adults € 8.00
Museumpark 25 | Center | +31104401200
Tue – Sat 10:00 – 17:00

What do you do when you come to a country where they don’t even have good cupcakes? That’s right, you make them yourself and share it with the others. That’s what Rebecca did at least. She came all the way from Southern Virginia, via London and Bangkok, to Rotterdam and opened her store; Alice in Cakeland.

This fantastic cupcakes shop on the Van Oldenbarneveldstraat has two floors. Downstairs is the workshop area. About one or twice a month Rebecca organizes a workshop with a different theme. Themes go from SATC and designer handbags to Sinterklaas, Christmas and Easter. Anything you can imagine and that’s suitable for that time of year. The new workshop calender is online, plus there are more workshop theme’s coming.

Then there’s the shop on the upper floor. Here you can buy the most delicious cupcakes. Now you can buy cupcakes basically everywhere, but these cupcakes are the real American ones. My favorite right now is the Oreo with chocolate, but I still need to try the tiramisu one…

Unfortunately Rebecca is going back to the States this year. The brand is for sale, so hopefully someone will take over Alice in Cakeland. But just to be sure, come get the best cupcakes in the country before you’re too late!

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Alice in Cakeland | Shopping, Snacks | Cupcake € 2.50
Van Oldenbarneveldstraat 117 | Center | +31629290597
Wed – Sat 11:00 – 18:00 (closed when sold out)

In my old neighbourhood are some pretty cool things like, duo MishMash – for interior, colour advise and murals at Lombardkade 53A and the largest weekly market on Tuesdays and Saturdays you’ll find a gem named Little Italy.

A typical small Italian supermarket-caterer. Officially located at the Lombardkade 51A, but they use the back entrance at the Binnenrotte.

Little Italy is a pleasure to shop for delicious, affordable and authentic delicatessen or for a quick bite, get a pizza slice or a sandwich. They’re specialized in Italian Food and if it’s not too busy the staff is very helpful in giving tips. I like to joke that in Little Italy size does matter when looking for the right size spaghetti.

Little Italy is a good place to snoop around and anything you can think of, you will find here for your Italian cooking. Cheeses, cold cuts, wide range of red, white, sweet, bubbling wines and if you look closely you will find some biological ones too, pasta´s, different kinds of olives, olive oils, truffles, herbs, mouth watering antipasti like the dried tomatoes, sea fruits, grilled eggplant and tapenades.

No time to cook? Get their fresh Lasagna and heat it up at home. Do try their Tiramisu, available in small and large portions!

Finally after only being able to pay cash, you can pay your purchased edible goodies with your bank/credit card now.

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Little Italy | Shopping, Snacks
Lombardkade 51/A (entree Binnenrotte) | Center | +31104139609
Mon – Thu 09:00 – 18:15, Fri 09:00 – 21:00, Sat 09:00 – 17:00

‘Buiten’ offers really good coffee, lunch and delicious local products:). This little gem can be found opposite Zigt, Koekela (check the Koekela article) and close to some nice clothes shops, Odile Hemmen winestore and the Wittetandenwinkel.

(Alles komt van) Buiten, meaning ‘Everything comes from outside’, has all sorts of delicious dishes and products made with love and care. Don’t kill me but those who know the Groene Passage might understand when I say it’s like a little mixture of Gimsel and Spirit but definetely in a MODERN STYLE! 

The shop is nice, open with a brightly designed interior and has very friendly staff. Buiten uses only organically grown products for their freshly homemade dishes, salads, pasta’s, soups, juices and more. They also offer a wide range of best cheeses, oils, coffee and other specialities like chutneys, (sweet) mayonnaise, bionades, hottie sambal, jams, regional season vegetables, pestos, bread and more. Fairtrade products can also be found like Tony Chocolonely chocolate and goods from Oxfam. And one day my famous Tiramisu will be on sale here (I’ll keep you posted:))

Go here to taste regional products, to do eco-friendly food shopping if you don’t feel like cooking or just for a good tea or a coffee to go. In the back you will find a large table where they let you read and eat in.

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Buiten | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks
Nieuwe Binnenweg 100 | West | +314360042
Tue – Sat 10:00 – 19:00

I’d like to think that Rotterdam not only started to appreciate it’s old(er) constructions but also wants to give people a chance to transform and re-use these places when they shut down and lost their functionality.

The monumental Hofbogen is one of these places, a 1,9 km long viaduct railroad, the Hofpleinlijn, in the north part of town which goes from Rotterdam to the Hague. It was built in the beginning of the 20th century to carry mostly people to the beach of Scheveningen but also connected with other small cities in between.

The former Hofpleinstation has been the location for several interesting performances like the wintercinema or dancepiece Common Ground by dance company Conny Janssen Danst and the Motel Mozaique Festival .

Some spaces underneath are already in use by mostly small businesses and occupies also art collective Cucosa but a big part of this construction looked forlorn and neglected. The part at former Hofpleinstation is being fabulously renovated and will house the Mini Mall.

It’s where new jazz joint and stage Bird, ComiQuest for comic addicts, a coffeebar and more are found and has brought new lively vibrations in this a bit forgotten area. Info Mini Mall , they opened 2/9/2011. Come around and see for yourself!

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Monumental Hofbogen | Art & culture, Bars, Shopping
Raampoortstraat 30 | Noord | +31102653391
Check website

Collective Roodkapje presents ROT(T)TERDAM. A temporary project space of 700 square meters in a building at Meent 119-133. Roodkapje uses the space until the new city office, designed by Rem Koolhaas, will be build here.

ROT(T)TERDAM is a cultural fresh art supermarket as they sell it to the public. I totally like this alternative art scene in this posh part of town.

They have re-opened on May 12 2011 with a new program almost every month which includes exhibitions, the temporary mini shop and a new canteen. Live music is also on the program with (local) bands to introduce themselves to a (new) audience.

The Beatburger canteen has transformed into the Burgertrut with a different menu which includes tapas and of course burgers in the vegetarian and organic meat varieties.

The prices are nice to the purse and the food is tasty. It has special Sunday brunches now and then and i like to hang out there with a bunch of friends, chat, munch on a cupcake or organize a (guerrilla)knitting brunch session.

Do check out their monthly update on their website for the latest info.

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Roodkapje ROT(T)TERDAM | Art & culture, Music, Shopping, Snacks
Meent 119-133 | Center | +31102439800
Wed – Fri 11:00 – 18:00, Sat – Sun 12:00 – 17:00 (Expo)

Unbeknownst of eachother, both artists Sandra Breuer and Marcel Niehoff have a peculiar taste and broad flavor for furniture and stuff made in the ’50s to the ’80s of last century. They collected a lot of things over the years and their collection expanded.

They bumped into each other in the Old North and found out they collected the same things. As well as sharing the habit of ringing people’s doorbells when they see something interesting hanging from the ceiling or on the wall while passing by.

Sandra and Marcel decided to find a studio together and partially decorated it with some furniture for extra atmosphere. Visitors were interested to buy what they saw there. This encouraged them to start a real store with enough room to display their enormous and varied collection of furniture, lamps, ceramics and anything that catches their eye.

The SPAM shop is located at the Zwaanshals in a nicely renovated building and across the street in a former electronic store. They have more space now for their extensive collection.

It’s also possible to buy from their webshop. The shop itself is inviting to snoop around and perhaps you’ll find that missing piece of chair, couch, table or music you’ve been looking for.

They are also the initiators of Route du Nord, a nice event to discover the area and what it has to offer. Even ukulele lovers can visit this shop when they host the Ukulele Jamboree from time to time and people gather to have a jam session.

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SPAM | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Shopping | From € 10.00
Zaagmolendrift 53 | Noord | +31642437036
Wed – Sat 11:00 – 17:00

In between the Zwaanshals and the river Rotte tucked away in a block of houses is Rotabs. An interestingly shaped building.

It was empty for some time after having served as a building for the municipal sanitation service Rotab. Hence the name Rotabs.

Luckily this place was included in the renovation plans to spruce up the entire block which is still in progress. The building is now turned into a creative warehouse where entrepreneurs of diverse disciplines have put up small businesses.

The inside is divided into several units which have tenants like a photographer, a publisher, a goldsmith, a café and a gallery. There are some units left waiting for other daring adventurers to set up shop and where new neighbors have opened shops on the Zaagmolenkade recently.

Initiator Paul Posse is active in the neighborhood and hopes to create an area like a Camden Town in the Oude Noorden. As Rotabs can be pretty hard to find even for locals, a special bus service is in the making to transport anyone interested to visit this part of the town where much is waiting to be discovered.

Want to find it yourself? Just walk into the Zwaanshals where there’s an entrance through a building leading you to Rotabs. Or do a Route du Nord weekend or visit the Swan Market which is organized several times; an introduction to this area and it’s creative spots, artists and variety of shops.

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ROTABS Stylecenter | Art & culture, Shopping
Zaagmolenkade 46 | Noord | +31653623230
Wed – Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 -17:00