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Rotterdam After the Borders Opened Again

It was already a while ago since I’ve last taken a train, quite possibly it was my trip to Breda, but finally I found myself in one again, albeit quite an empty train, and masked all the time… But the borders are open again, even for tourism, so I decided to go to Rotterdam again, where a new BrewDog bar opened, quite courageously in the middle of the corona crisis.

I timed my journey so it would be around lunchtime when I arrived. Choosing food when travelling in the Netherlands by myself usually involves Indonesian food, and this time was no different: satay with loads of spicy peanut sauce for lunch at Saté Lounge, in the impressive Markthal.

Every trip usually involves at least one coffee stop a day, and today’s choice was Harvest Coffee Brewers. I had a lovely nutty Churupampa (Peru) espresso with a great view of the water.

Since the last time I was in Rotterdam, lots of things have changed. Fenix Food Factory has moved, and part of Kaapse Brouwers with it. Just the taproom part that is because the actual brewery moved to a more industrial part of the city, and growing quite a bit while they were at it. The taproom— named Kaapse Kaap—is nice though, especially when the weather permits you to sit on the waterside terrace.

The main goal of this trip however, was visiting the newest BrewDog bar: BrewDog Outpost Rotterdam! A much more central location than I expected, and a very passionate staff! I applaud them for opening their bar in the midst of this crisis, and for as far as I can tell, they’re off to a great start! A nice addition to the standard food menu were the bitterballen with Punk IPA mustard: in the Netherlands, you can’t open a bar with a kitchen and not serve bitterballen!
They didn’t have the stamp for my BrewDog Beer Visa passport yet, so I’ll have to come back another day for that. Not that I mind: I will revisit them anyway once they filled those tanks above the bar with some in-house brewed beers!

After BrewDog, it was about time to head back to the train station, but not before a final drink at Rotterdam Biergarten.
One day, I will visit this place when it’s actually sunny and warm!

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