Image by Trendbeheer RawBridge

Over the last couple of months I have checked so many times if I could make a short cut on my bike. On Wednesday Feb 8th, 2012 the new Rijnhaven bridge for cyclists and pedestrians will connect Wilhelminapier with Katendrecht. 

This gives you the opportunity to make a new walk starting at the Erasmus bridge. Explore the Wilhelminapier with the Photomuseum, the Rotterdam by Rem Koolhaas and other sky scrapers like Montevideo by Mecannoo and the world famous Hotel New York, great for a drink. Next to Hotel New York on the south side of the pier you find the little harbor with the water taxi and the new bridge.

When you cross this bridge you get to Deliplein with nice places like the shop Iszomooi, restaurant Kwizien and theatre Walhalla. If you pass Deliplein and continue on Sumatraweg. At one corner you’ll find Warmoes Market, a small supermarket and canteen. A nice local meeting point where you can have a good coffee, sandwich, soup and more.

Turn right and keep heading straight towards the end of the pennisula where you’ll find SS Rotterdam, the big steamship with hotel rooms, restaurants, bars and a shop. You continue your route towards Rijnhaven, follow the Hillelaan along the Player and RAAF back towards Erasmusbridge. Cross or turn right on Stieltjestraat. Explore the architecture on the Kop van Zuid and head back into town via the Willemsbrug.   

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Rijnhaven Round | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants
Rijnhaven | Zuid
24 hours daily

Image by Anne-Marie Ros

For a few days from February 8th – 12th, 2012 Rotterdam turns into the centre of the Dutch Art World .

Every year I write about Art Rotterdam as I love this contemporary art fair bringing 70 national and international galleries. With a new section on the ground floor, showing 15 young galleries with solo shows. E-volved Cultures is an artificial landscape that will be created in real time by featuring artists Driessens & Verstappen. And not to be missed the illy Prize 2012. If you go to Art Rotterdam go check out Gallery Rotwand, they will bring one of my favourite artists Swiss born Tatjana Gerhardt.

If you buy your tickets on-line, use this code: PR2012 It will give you €4,00 discount on the entry fee for Art Rotterdam.

Opposite Art Rotterdam, in LasPalmas II, you will find Objects. An fair for design with limited editions and one-offs by upcoming designers. If you are interested in design but not a collector, why not join the workshop My First Design Collection The Do It Yourself Instructable Restaurant is also back in town now furnished by Thonet.

If you are on the South bank do go visit PAVILJOEN ROTTERDAM (free entry) Laan op Zuid 65 – 207, RAAF takes off! Hillelaan 19, The Player at Hillelaan 49D and RAW art fair at Veerlaan 9 -13.

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Art Rotterdam 2012 | Art & culture, Festivals & events, Snacks
Cruise terminal Wilhelminakade 699 | Zuid
Thu 12:00 – 18:00, Fri 12:00 – 21:00, Sat – Sun 11:00 – 19:00

Image by Marieke Koets

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.

Rebecca has worked hard and long to find the right ingredients and sizes to make the cupcakes perfect. Plus, she’s come up with special flavors. For new year’s for example she made champagne flavour cupcakes, and there’s ’mad berry’, ‘Lemon Vuitton’ and ‘The Cure’. The best thing is; she keeps on trying new things every time! Just too much and they all taste great. My favorite right now is the Oreo with chocolate, but I still need to try the tiramisu one…

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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)

Image by Marieke Koets

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

Image by ALexander

The single most cozy Turkish coffee place I know. In general, coffee houses don’t seem to consider fluorescent tubes and plastic chairs as non-attractive features. In fact, these seem to replace the need for exterior signs or decoration (like the one that recently occupied what still looks like coffeeshop “High Score: no sales to those double parked” – come on, this is asking for confusion, no?)

Nika on the other hand has more to offer than a nice ambiance inside. Its mixture of a cafe, traditional shop, apple pie, wifi and art gallery attracts a nice cultural variety of people. During lunchtime it can even get crowded. Their own brand of coffee is prepared according to their recipe, from the burning process on, and makes a fairly good espresso. And apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so. Modesty not being one of their crucial virtues, they’ve got their four “coffee trophies” clearly in sight and written on a sign outside. Hey, why not. Update: now they do toasted sandwiches & wine too.

The only downside might be the three-legged tables. I’m just really not able to keep myself from leaning on the wrong side.

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Nika | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Espresso € 2.10
Benthuizerstraat 94a | Noord | +31102457940
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 20:00