Zurich Archives - Wander-Lust

17 Apr 2019

Sticky Post By Wander-lust Posted in Amsterdam Guide, LUST, Tasty Hotspots With 3 Comments Permalink

15 x Best Terraces In Amsterdam West

Sticky Post By Wander-lust On April 17, 2019 With 3 Comments

The sun is out and so are the people. During the week, people run out of their offices when the clock hits five, trying to find the best spots to enjoy the last sun-rays of the day. So where exactly are those places? Well, as Amsterdam West is my hood, I did a little research and came to the conclusion that these are the best places where you can enjoy the sunlight until it goes down.

Hotel Buiten
Hotel Buiten is not just any hotspot, it’s a creative hub, build from raw and used materials, designed by Lenka Dittrichova. It stared with a few neighbours a few years ago, that wanted to do something with lost space full of weeds and grass. After a temporary set up, they managed to get more people involved and eventually 180 people and businesses helped fund the project. This resulted in a wonderful spot to relax in the sunshine whilst enjoying organic lunch and drinks.

Hotel Buiten

De school
Too cool for school? Well, not this one! Not far from Yumler, you will find this hotspot. Besides being an awesome nightclub with some of the biggest underground DJ’s, it’s also the house of a wonderful restaurant, cafe and gym with a large terrace! www.deschoolamsterdam.nl

Bar Kosta
If you live in Amsterdam, and you’ve been around the Overtoom, you must have seen the large terrace on the corner of Surinameplein. It used to be Café Ter Brugge, but it has completely changed it’s look, menu and name. Bar Kosta is just in time for the sunny weather this weekend! For all the pics and the menu details click here.

Plenty of space at Bar Kosta

Cafe Zurich
Probably one of my favorite terraces in Amsterdam West! It’s large and wide with many seats available. The service is good and the drinks are cold. Just what you need when the sun is out. Read more about Zurich here.

Part of Zurich’s large terrace Source

Frits
Across Zurich you will find bar Frits on the same square they call “Mecatorplein”. They serve a large range of beers so it’s always buzzing until the sun goes down and that’s when people go inside the bar. www.frits-amsterdam.nl

Bureau
Opened last year, this is rooftop heaven. You must visit Bureau if you haven’t been! Enjoy the garden, chickens and sunshine. It’s probably one of our favorite terraces in Amsterdam West. For more pictures and impressions, check our article.

Sunset at Bureau

Oslo Beers
Good news because Oslo Beers is open again and right in time for summer! They coped with a big fire 15 months ago but managed to build a brand new and better Oslo which resulted in a wonderful Oslo Beers 3.0. There is a nice outside seating space outside next to the bridge of Surinameplein with sunshine up until about 3pm. On the menu there are speciality beers and simple but tasty breakfast and lunch. www.oslobeers.nl

Corner Bakery
A bit tucked away in between the World Fashion Center and an apartment complex, but it’s the perfect terrace for after work drinks or your afternoon coffee in the sun. The corner Bakery can be quite busy during the weekends so be early if you want to enjoy brunch in the sunshine. More info about this Instagrammable spot here.

The Corner Bakery West

De Bakkerswinkel
Great coffee, and tasty scones! We love this place right at the entrance of Westerpark. Oh, and the outside area at the back of the Bakkerswinkel is pretty good too. Nothing fancy but great for friends and people with babies. www.debakkerswinkel.nl

Mossel & Gin
Oysters and Gin are a great combination and you can get the best over at Mossel & Gin. Drink cocktails and eat until the sun goes down. Right on the Westergas area, this cozy terrace is great for catching up with friends! www.mosselengin.nl

Mossel & Gin Source

Westergasterras
Also on the Westergas, you will find this extremely large terrace that is partly covered and there is an open lounge area where you want to sit for days, looking over the water. They have just restyled so have a look! www.westergasterras.nl

Bar kantoor
The building dates back from 1885, and was used as an office and assistant engineer’s house of the original Westergasfabriek. As an ode to the former destination and to keep it’s authenticity, they named the location “Bar Kantoor” – meaning Office in Dutch. Every detail in Bar Kantoor has been carefully thought of. The menu, the accessories and the cool ceiling painting. (check it out!) When I entered, they were still painting and working on the outside terrace. About that terrace..it’s located at the perfect spot and with Pacific and Westergasterras always full, this new terrace, that has space for 150 people, is more than welcome! More info about Bar kantoor here.

Cedars
Not many people have heard of this restaurant because it’s situated below the A10 highway and the road that leads to Hoofddorpplein. It has some of the best outside seating in Amsterdam West, believe me. It’s overlooking the water and you can order some tasty Lebanese bites. Service can be a bit slow but if you don’t mind that, you will love it! www.cedars.nl

The hidden spot, Cedars. Source

Floor17
On top of the Armada hotel, it’s the highest outdoor terraces in Amsterdam West. Drink cocktails, enjoy tunes and stay for dinner! www.floor17.nl

Brandstof
If you want to enjoy the good looking people of Amsterdam, you should go here for a beer. For the girls, there is a fire station next door (read: cute firemen watching all day!) www.bar-brandstof.nl

Plenty of choice we think! Enjoy the sun y’all!

Love,

Wander-Lust

Looking for the best after work drinks in Amsterdam? Check our selection!

27 Dec 2016

Sticky Post By Wander-lust Posted in City Trips With No Comments Permalink

A City Trip To Zurich

Sticky Post By Wander-lust On December 27, 2016 With No Comments

Do you know a heavenly feeling? I had that sensation when I got the sympathetic invitation from airline SWISS to discover Zurich. OK to be honest, I’ve seen a lot of our beautiful world, but I ‘used’ Switzerland only as a handy transit country. Why did I never go there for a holiday? Maybe because of my prejudices: ‘Oh boy, it’s far too expensive, too quiet for me and perhaps more fun for the elderly.’ I grabbed the opportunity to uncover if those ideas were real and flew to Switzerland for a city trip to Zurich (and if the chocolate is that yummy!)

Zurich in a nutshell
Where Amsterdam is full of hipsters, clumsy tourists on bikes and busy city sounds, Zurich is a bit of the opposite. It’s as big as our intimate Utrecht. When I arrived in the afternoon I was surprised by the calmness in the picturesque downtown streets. But when it became dusky and when the festive Christmas lights went on, Zurich seemed to awaken. One moment I thought I stepped into a scene, loved it! Not even to mention the cute Christmas stalls with the mulled wine and raclette smells throughout the city. Add the majestic buildings to that and you’ll get a very nice winter holiday feeling.

The cutest streets

Where to sleep?
After an active day full of impressions there’s nothing as good as ‘coming home’ in a nice boutique hotel room. My amazing, stylish room in the Marktgasse hotel did it for a 100{8b669be72a7f340f9ef2d6d852585cd40ddf0e79ccf763f3ea93c1234c3d888b}. I don’t know what it is, but I’m in love with boutique hotels and this great, tad upscale place from the 15th century has captured my heart. Nice to know: try the handsome cocktail bar on the ground floor. Tell the cocktail shaker what you prefer and he’ll blow you away with a custom made mix, just do it! www.marktgassehotel.ch/en

What to do
So just so you know, I had less then 24 hours discovery time, but I can tell you that Zurich is very suitable for short city trips. Recommended is to do the traditional culinary Gourmet Tour or learn more about the interesting stories of the old city with the Old Town Tour, like I did. For sure they also have a lot of cool shops, like grocery shop Schwarzenback or taste the best sausages of Zurich at Sternen Grill.

Where to eat
I know it’s not my best kept secret that I’m a food lover, sweet tooth and gourmet to the max. Not so surprisingly I was so excited to discover if the Swiss had a good flavor…no doubt they have! I had my lunch break at Baltho Restaurant & Bar – it’s part of the Marktgasse hotel. My gosh, it was a food walhalla to share that opened in front of me: falafel with homemade baba ganoush, juicy Boeuf Bourguinon, bang-bang chicken and so on. You name it, we had it. Mouth watering, right?

Typical Swiss food at the Marktgasse Hotel

Another tip >> HILTL. According to the Guinness Book of World Records they are the first registered vegetarian restaurant in the world and nowadays they’re even the supplier of the vegetarian meals on SWISS flights, how cool. HILTL started more than one century ago with this very trendy and successful concept. In addition to their à la carte, they also have a buffet. Although ‘buffets’ often haven’t the best associations for Dutchies, I gave it a try. Wow, I’ve never seen something like that before – fresh, veggie food all over. Funny fact: they let you weight your food on a large scale as you know it from the supermarket. You pay a certain amount per 100 grams, as they want to avoid food waste. Good thinking!

Breakfast tip >> Delish is the other restaurant of Marktgasse Hotel. The crew is so enormously hospitable – Amsterdam can learn a lot of this welcoming, pure people – plus my poached eggs with avocado where very tasty. Give it definitely a spot on your food bucket list!

Salads at Delish

So this was exploring a city trip to Zurich through the eyes of a 26-year-old ‘wanderlust’ enthusiast. It’s a city that I would visit once in about five years again. For this it’s perfect. Big pluses were the fresh food and the hospitality in every shop, restaurant and bar. But one side note for your wallet: please be aware of the enormously high prices. I paid almost 11 euros for a healthy, takeaway shake at Juicery21 << hotspot alert >> So my prejudice about it’s far too expensive became a harsh reality, but the yummy Swiss chocolate made me forget it for a sec.

Juicery 21

The blogger crew in Zurich (Sharmaine 3rd from left)

Love,

Sharmaine

*Sharmaine is one of our guest bloggers from the Netherlands with a sweet tooth. The sweeter, the better! She’s no kitchen princess but always in search for the best hotspots in Amsterdam! You can expect an article from her once a month! Check her out on @sharriefromsandmountains!

Sharmaine flew to Zurich in style! Check her review here:

20 Dec 2016

Sticky Post By Wander-lust Posted in Uncategorized With No Comments Permalink

Travel to Zurich in style with SWISS

Sticky Post By Wander-lust On December 20, 2016 With No Comments

My first media trip for Wander-Lust was a fact. The destination to discover: Zurich! I never really had this city in my top 10 bucket list, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth exploring. Time to give it a try with SWISS!

Book a budget proof ticket with SWISS
So last week I tested the airline SWISS and flew to Zurich – two days, one night. Yehesss, I felt like a lucky bastard. Some nice to know facts of SWISS: They fly four times a day from Schiphol to Zurich and a retour economy class ticket only costs €129,- (incl. taxes and fees). For an airline with so much comfort and good service, I think this is a very good price to pay. Despite the fact I have wanderlust, flying is not my cup of tea but that didn’t spoil the fun. During my first flight with this airline I noticed that the service and seats were really Swiss style and definitely worth repeating. Small side note: the cold croissant has some room for improvement, but the Swiss chocolate was de-li-ci-ous!

Did you know that Swiss is part of the Lufthansa Group that exist out of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings?

SWISS economy seats..not bad!

Airplane meals with a story
What really makes SWISS so interesting for me as a food lover, is the story behind their airplane meals: SWISS taste of Switzerland. Every 4 months they ask the crème de la crème among the top chefs to prepare a menu. Just one great chef from one of the Swiss regions is the lucky one. The big challenge for the master chef is to come up with airplane business and first class proof meals that are made with typical local, seasonable ingredients and specialties of that amazing region. During this trip I was at the food presentation for spring 2017, an overwhelming food walhalla created by the famous and commended Thomas Neeser. My oh my, so great to see so much passion, fun and creativity in one person. Not so surprising that SWISS have won so many awards with this unique food concept, thumbs up! Are you a vegetarian than this would be great news for you: SWISS cooperates with the world’s first vegetarian restaurant HILTL, who caters the vegetarian airplane meals day after day. Next week I tell you more about this extraordinary hotspot.

Checking out the new menu for spring 2017

Thomas Neeser (left) at the menu presentation

Let’s go business class
The part of my trip I’ll never forget was my flight back. SWISS surprised me with a business class seat, OMG! Maybe you know what that means: entrance to the business lounge! A world full of food opened for me including my all-time favorite M&Ms – please, squeeze me here – chocolate desserts, oh and let’s not forget the champagne! It was all you can imagine. I flew back to Amsterdam, totally relaxed with,…more food and wine! I could get used to this. I hear you thinking: ‘my wallet does not allow me to buy a business ticket.’ No, mine does neither. But from €900,- you can fly business class during international flights. That means for a bit more you get much more luxury: lounge access, extra luggage, better meals, more legroom etc. The price differences in economy and business class aren’t always so huge, it was an eye opener for me. Tip » Always check the economy and business class prices, include a Saturday into your trip and book well in advance to get the scharpest price!

Enjoying the business class food on the way back

Food allergies? No problem for SWISS
Last but not least, SWISS is an ideal airline if you suffer from a food allergy or intolerance, they even were the first allergy-friendly one in the world. You can contact the customer service prior to your flight and they’ll do everything they can do for you! They even have lactose free chocolate, that’s what I call Swiss service!

Wanna check out SWISS yourself? Visit the website.

Love,

Sharmaine

*Sharmaine is one of our guest bloggers from the Netherlands with a sweet tooth. The sweeter, the better! She’s no kitchen princess but always in search for the best hotspots in Amsterdam! You can expect an article from her once a month! Check her out on @sharriefromsandmountains!