My studio is situated on top of a Fifties concrete modernist apartment building in the Rivierenbuurt in the south of Amsterdam. The best thing is that my building is just one floor higher then the rest of the houses in the neighborhood so I get a good view of the city and the ever changing Dutch skies. What makes my view really special is the view from the balcony on an inaccessible inner garden. The garden is made on the roof of a parking garage of an office building and nobody can go there since there are no stairs or entrance. Once a year the gardeners come with a tall ladder. They are the only ones that enter the garden ever. The nice thing is that still there is a winding path in the middle of the garden for only your eye to trace it.
De School is my favorite spot in Amsterdam. It opened in January of 2016 on Doctor Jan van Breemenstraat. The place, which used to be a technical school, is more than a nightclub: it’s a restaurant, a café, an exhibition venue, a gym, and many more things. It's owned and run by Post CS BV — the same crew that ran Trouw and Club 11.
The nightclub has a capacity of 700 people, and it's located in the institution's former bicycle storage area. The program focuses on local DJs, who are allowed to play extended sets, but international guests also regularly stop by. The ambiance there is so enchanting that it's hard for me to leave even when I can't feel my legs anymore. It's super dark, fog all over the place, super loud, flawlessly music and introspective humans dancing like there's no tomorrow. Who could ask for anything more?
A few years ago, the Volkskrant (one of the countries biggest newspaper) moved office to a new location. Their old headquarter now houses hundreds of artists and musician; along with dance studios, a bar/club with panorama over the city, a dreadlock 'doctor', a Russian cultural centre, a cyberpunk gallery and my photo studio on the 4th floor. It was a conscious choice by the founders to create a total melting pot. In the basement for example, 3 doors away from our music studio, you will find some cheerful weed smoking hiphop producers from the Bijlmer (the 'ghetto' of Amsterdam); an ex-yougoslavian hardcore drummer with a full analogue recording studio and a ballet school run by an obese woman in her 70's. Ok, it might seem artificial, but it really is quite magical!
Hidden in the greenery near Westerpark, the perfect hideaway from street noise can be found if you know where to look: a little farm called "De Buurtboerderij". Surrounded by a bunch of sheep and a happily decorated garden, the restaurant inside serves one fixed menu a week for a low price. The farm serves as community center as well and is run by volunteers — and you when you eat there! — and there are plenty of sweet people and animals to hang out with.
Open Monday mornings and Saturdays all day, there's always something to find at this market. Lots of vintage items, the most gorgeous florals, and fresh food for making an amazing dinner that night.