Wander bloom

Today’s topic is Leeuwarden, city in the Netherlands. That’s a bit random? I lived there for two and a half years, so I have some tips to share.

As an international student, I have made a lot of friends during this time, getting to know the culture and the country, exploring different cities and places. I fell in love with it and want to go back and I am doing it! Since I’m not moving back to Leeuwarden but other city in the Netherlands, I thought it’s time for some insights of mine.

Probably if you think about the Netherlands, it wouldn’t be the first city you would think of. My university was in this city, so I was most of the time living there and got to know the city really well. It’s quite small but not too small. There’s some events happening but not too often. And it’s soooo pretty in my opinion. The city was the perfect size for me as I started living abroad for the first time. I think if I would have moved to a big city like Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Utrecht straight away, it would have been too much for me. So I’m happy I was there but after two and a half years the city got a bit small for me, but more about that next time.

Should you visit Leeuwarden?

Absolutely!! I’m going to tell more about this little city. It’s located in the north of the Netherlands, 111km from Amsterdam and it’s really easy to get to if there are no construction works or delays with trains.

Leeuwarden is one of the eleven cities located in Friesland. They even have their own language called Frisian. This language relates to the old English, it is said if an old English and Frisian person would speak with each other they would understand what they are saying. Dutch and Frisian are not so similar, they wouldn’t understand each other. On top of that, Leeuwarden has a title UNESCO City of Literature. To be honest I even didn’t know exactly this before. What I know is that Leeuwarden was the capital of Europe in 2018. That I can confirm this city has a lot of culture, there’s events happening all the time, or there’s some celebration going on, etc. As well, multiple museums to visit.

What I also like about it is how green the city is. It has multiple parks and being located in the North of the Netherlands, there’s more forests and nature around the city as well. I personally love and need some type of nature around me.

Housing in the Netherlands

This is a hot topic! If you happen to be a soon to be university student or starting 2nd or 3rd year, then I know finding housing in the Netherlands is a hustle. At least it should be a bit easier to find housing in the north of the Netherlands, rather than in the south. I got lucky and I found my housing through Facebook group (there’s multiple for Leeuwarden as well). But I can also recommend staying at Student Stay (if that’s an option for you), which is meant for the first year students. There’s also Kamernet, room.nl, and other sites to search from. Although, it’s sometimes better to apply to the house where you see what kind of people you are going to live with and if it’s a match. In the end, you want to have good people around you to feel at home. I got some of the best friends from the house I was living in and we still are in contact. There’s also option to stay at a cheap hotel, hostel for some time, find connections and try through that. Anyways, if you are searching, good luck!!

What to do?

Okay, let’s go to the most interesting part. What’s happening around Leeuwarden, where to go and what to do? This is from my perspective as international student who lived there for two and a half years. Let’s start with some of the buildings, museums to go:

1. Blookhuispoort. It’s an old prison which has been turned into library and a hostel. There’s also a restaurant, few shops and a escape room. I went to the library a lot because I needed to print time to time as well it’s a good spot for working or studying!! During Christmas there is a market and I have seen also a concert on the canal next to the building. As well, to the side of the building you can rent boats to go through the canals (recommend a lot!!). It’s called Greenjoy.
2. The Oldehove. I love this building in Leeuwarden, I believe this is how you recognise Leeuwarden. It’s a tower which is tilted, it’s even more tilted than Pisa tower. If it’s in season, you can also climb up and see the view. It’s a lot of steps but the view is worth it!
3. Prinsetuin city park. My favourite park to go to chill and enjoy the view of the boats on the canal. During good weather it’s fulfilled with people.
4. Fries Museum. About Friesland and Frisians, there’s a lot of art and other things to see. Recommend to go there!
5. AquaZoo. Always wanted to check out but never did. It’s a bit out of the city.
6. Tresoar. It’s the library, I loved to go to the quiet room and study there because the view is to the Prinsetuin park, which made studying so much better.
7. Het Friesche Paard. It’s a Frisian horse sculpture in the city centre. Funny story with that is that I kept hearing from older students that if you live in Leeuwarden you at least once need to climb on top of it. Of course it’s not allowed but people still did it:D
8. Passage de la Baleine. You can walk under a whale skeleton in one of the street passages. It has LED lights so in the dark it’s glowing!

Other things you can do:

• Play pool. There’s multiple places for it, for example Poolcafe Freezone, Poolcafe Big Ben, and Poolcentrum All-In. I went to the Freezone most of the time.
• Go for a walk in parks. Some of the parks I went for longer walks are Abbingapark (you can find animals there as well, geese, chickens, goats running around, added bonus!), Westerpark/Vosseparkje and Heempark Kalkvaart.
• Pathe. It’s the cinema, in Leeuwarden they have such a good chairs (like the VIP ones) in each hall.
• You could paint ceramics at Ceramic painting by BN. I always wanted to do it, but never did. Need to go back for it!! It takes some time to get ceramics back though, but there should be options for it.

On Friday’s and Saturday’s there’s a market in the city centre. On Friday’s in front of Fries Museum and on Saturday’s on the Nieuwestad, where you can find mostly food, like cheese, fresh vegetables and fruits, etc. It was my go to place for grocery shopping at the end of the week. You can also get fresh stroopwafels, kibbeling, Belgium fries and other things (these were my favourite ones).

Talking about food, some of the places to grab a bite:

1. Stek. My go to brunch spot. Love it! It gets very busy in the mornings so you need to either wait or have luck but afternoons are better in my experience.
2. Fer. As well, trendy coffee spot. They have very nice tea and coffee, love the vibes there.
3. Thay by Jai. Stunning!! So good Thai food, recommend a lot!
4. Huize Kwast. I had really nice chicken salad there, that left a mark in my brain for some time. It also looks good, is aesthetic and is next to the canal.
5. Bar Zelle. Good for lunch or coffee and dessert. Love their pizzas and cheesecake is to die for!
6. Bagels and Beans. It’s rather for quick meal, since it’s bagel but I really love this chain in the Netherlands and can’t wait to have another salmon bagel.
7. Bowls ‘n Rolls. They have good poke bowls, you can choose to put it together yourself or order one from their menu.
8. Wijnbar Pompei. They have nice pizza’s, pasta’s and wines. One side is meant for eating pizzas and other one is more for wine as I have understood.
9. FEBO. If you are already in the Netherlands, you need to take something from FEBO. Wether it’s just a quick meal or late night snack after going out.
10. Burgemeester van Napels. Nice pizza, pasta place again. They have board games, so that’s fun.
11. Jamuna. Really good Indian restaurant, recommend!
12. Burrito Brothers. Takeaway type of option, they make good burritos.
13. Krist Vis & Dis. Got fish and chips takeaway from there and loved it!
14. Pannekoekschip. It’s a bit expensive but I had the best salty pancake there. I can’t wait to have it again. I would recommend to get one for two cuz it was really big.

As you can see a lot of places to go and there’s even more to try. So if you go maybe you find something else!!;)) I would love to do a second part to it at some point, for now I believe it’s a lot already.

My travel diary collection so far, hopefully there are tips and facts about Leeuwarden that got you interested. If you plan to visit it, study for a semester or for few years, I’m sure you will find something to fall in love with this little northern city!!

I’m curious to know, what are your thoughts on Leeuwarden? Have you visited it or would you want to?