Let me begin by
explaining this horrible two week delay, I am very sorry, but at
first I considered this post inapplicable to the current Amsterdam
since it started raining heavily a day after the heat. The following
weekend I had health issues which got in the way.
So, with the weather
having corrected itself once again and all, I will continue my tale
of the Summer in Amsterdam.
Having agreed to go to
the mysterious Roest, with my first day on a bicycle in the urban
jungle, I had no idea of how far the place would be or what would
await me there. When someone says “the beach” I assume the sea,
so I was little surprised about it being only 20 minutes away by
bike. We started cycling through the town across the Amstel. I was
behind everyone, feeling quite jumpy at the sight of cars, but
fortunately the traffic is gracious on weekends (and practically
non-existent on Sundays). We travelled down the route of Tram 10,
eventually passing the huge Windmill and the brewery next to it.
Speaking of which, the
Brewery there is an absolute treat. I highly recommend it for any
beer connoisseur, for prices and selection.
We turned left from the
windmill and straight down the long picturesque road, until everybody
started turning left again into an enormous, deserted parking lot,
behind which you can see and old, rusted, loading dock. In the dusty
heat, rust and cawing of a murder of crows I started to wonder on
what exactly I was being dragged into.
We reached a crowded
bicycle parking area where we all chained our bikes into pairs (safer
that way!) and walked straight to the rusted loading dock. I noticed
metal clumps on stands and tastelessly welded, illegible sign above a
graffiti-masked shack, and two laid back surfer dudes chilling
outside, smoking. As it turns out “Roest” literally means “Rust”
in Dutch.
It was a Hipster Urban
Beach Bar. I saw a girl walk by with a dance hoop, and later found
out the place hosts music festivals and artisan events and sales. The
old warehouse is also utilised. Together the bar is used as an
exhibition space, theatre and a concert hall?! I'm 300% sure it hosts
the occasional rave parties to top this off. We walked into the shack
to get drinks. The establishment had wide collection of alcoholic and
non-alcoholic beverages and a menu of mouth-watering lunch offers. On
the other side of the shack was an exit to a man-made beach on the
dock.
Young, beautiful people
were strewn all over the white sand in their swimwear. There were
also some children there. We rolled out our towels on the sand and
started chatting.
The place isn't too
noisy, making it a perfect conversation environment. Further from
where we were seated there are hammocks and sunbeds available. Next
to them you can find a tarzan swing into the water, there are also
less active access points to the water, but the hysterical laughter
and splashes seem like a better idea. There are also shower
facilities and what I like to call “foot-desandifying places” at
hand. I sat watching all these beautiful Dutch creatures in their
natural habitat, thinking “My GOD, these people are gorgeous”!
All that being said,
the place is clean and comfortable during the day.
If you are like me and
don't enjoy urban swimming environments as much as their wilder
counterparts, you can still find yourself wanting to join the splashy
fun. If you are not convinced, you can still enjoy an ice cold beer
in the super laid-back environment on those surprisingly hot days.
Since it's pretty damn close to the city centre, it doesn't need
feverish planning in order to commute there. I will definitely take
all my international guests there to unwind after a series of museum
visits.
Their website has an abundance of photos and news of events, so check it out.
And no, I don't get paid to promote anything, otherwise I'd post more often... HAH.
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