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!

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.

Cafe Modern Amsterdam is located in an old bank building in the north of Amsterdam. Authentic elements remind of the previous life of the building. You eat a delicious daily changing 4-course menu. Every day the freshest ingredients of the season. 

I love to discover, explore and destroy photo books with my eyes and subsequently my portable telephone. A place where I love doing this is in the Stedelijk Museum. Yes, gift shops are typically stocked with pure Dutch gouda like any other gift shop but I find with enough dedication there is something to be found. I particularly enjoyed this one. Perhaps it is my Dutch affinity for milk.

Since I’m a graphic designer I'm obviously into books and my favourite bookstore in Amsterdam is Boekie Woekie. This small shop is located in the Nine Streets and they sell nice and special publications that are often hard to find because they are self published or published by small press publishers. If you are into graphic design you should really check it out.