Shopping: Albert Heijn, open markets and Beijenkorf

Rookworst and stamppot

When I first moved to Rotterdam, I had to ask around for at least 5 days before someone could properly tell what were the names of the grocery stores in Rotterdam. Turns out I lived right behind an Albert Heijn, the supposedly high-quality grocery store of Holland. As my diet for 5 days constituted of stale bread and water, I was quite delighted to find out that Dutch people also ate normal food. Well, food that could pass for normal, that is. I also discovered that Albert Heijn was a dangerous place, filled with prepubescent teenagers filling shelves with strange products such as the rookworst (smoked sausage with overpowering taste, usually eaten with mashed potatoes), satésaus (peanut paste, eaten with fries) and different tastes of vla (some sort of heavy custard, eaten alone).

Albert Heijn store

Then again, I was also greeted with delicacies such as the stroopwaffels (thin waffles with heavy syrup inside), roombotterkoekjes (small cubes of what seems to be only butter and flour) and bitterballen (a fried snack with beef, flour and butter inside, in the shape of a small ball), even though some people seem to disagree about it being a delicacy. It seems the Dutch are quite good with pastries. Other names for groceries stores you might stumble upon are: Coop, C1000, Plus, Hema, etc. Small parenthesis about Hema: while not really a grocery store, they pretty much sell anything you can buy, making it the best store to find something you don’t need, but absolutely have to own.

You’ve been warned.

Stroopwaffels

Another great place to go shopping for food and other items is the open market of Blaak. Usually starting early in the morning and lasting until late in the afternoon, the open market is a great place to buy produce and other fresh items for much cheaper. Buying directly from the producers also helps to maintaing the local economy while making sure to eat products that are much fresher than anything bought in the supermarket. The market is also a great place to find miscellaneous items such as phone cases, books, DVDs, etc. The market makes for a great bowl of air as well, and spending a little bit of time in the city, enjoying the company of friends or roommate to do your shopping with.

Market on Blaak

If you feel like shopping for clothes, candy, chocolate or other non-essential goodie, you can always drop by the Beijenkorf, the huge shopping mall situated in the centre of Rotterdam. Standing high with multiple floors, the mall is the best place to find things that are completely useless but definitely need to own. You can find radios in the shape of fruits, phones in the shape of burgers and other funny things. The mall is also a great to shop for clothes, but the high prices might discourage some. If your price range is a little bit lower, as any student’s budget is tight, you can always go to Hema, which is located not so far from the Beijenkorf. One of the entrance of the Hema is situated in the Koopgoot, an underground street filled with stores, eateries and other shops. Be careful though, lying down in the middle of the Koopgoot might anger some security guards (cf. video).