After a sporty weekend in Amersfoort it was time to discover the creative side of the city. This time I got on the bus to Leusden to participate in a Street Art bike tour from Leusden to Amersfoort. After the bike tour I visited two creative breeding places: De Nieuwe Stad and De Wagenwerkplaats. Both breeding grounds are still under development and offer space to creative and innovative entrepreneurs.
Street Art bike tour from Leusden to Amersfoort
The Street Art bike tour started at the bike shop 33 two-wheelers in Leusden. There we got on e-bikes to cycle in the direction of Amersfoort and marvel at all kinds of Street Art on the way. The route took us past business parks, viaducts, a skate park and ice cream parlor ‘Ice cream from Vitelli’. Along the way we saw both new and old Street Art works. The last stop was on the grounds of De Nieuwe Stad where many brightly colored Street Art artworks can be seen, a feast for the eyes! It was a pleasant and impressive morning full of inspiration.
If you also want to participate in a #33instaride, where you get to know Amersfoort and its surroundings in a fun way, follow @woodyourcycle on Instagram.
The New City of Amersfoort
De Nieuwe Stad was created in 2013 in consultation with real estate developer Schipper Bosch, municipality of Amersfoort, residents and other stakeholders of the former Oliemolenkwartier in Amersfoort. The then barren site where the old Prodentfabriek was located had to become an innovative place with the ambition to combine work and accommodation. De Nieuwe Stad is home to festivals such as ‘Proef Amersfoort’. During this festival, the site is transformed into an open-air restaurant with live music for a few days a year.
The tenants of De Nieuwe Stad, also known as residents, form a good mix of disciplines which ensures a rich diversity in the city. De Nieuwe Stad is also a nice place for visitors to stroll around. Many creative galleries are free to visit. You can buy nice handmade items of high quality, such as beautiful cards or ceramics. Drinking coffee, lunch or dinner is possible at restaurant Hoog Vuur and Het Lokaal.
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Discover Wagenwerkplaats
The Wagenwerkplaats is located between the Amersfoort railway yard and the Soesterkwartier district. On the other side of De Wagenwerkplaats is the Amersfoortse Berg and the Birkhoven and Bokkeduinen nature reserve. The Wagenwerkplaats was long used by the Hollandse IJzeren Spoorwegmaatschappij as a site for the maintenance of freight wagons. In 2000 the work on the site came to an end. The complex is now a national monument and a place for creativity and sustainability.
The users of the site are diverse; from restaurant, boulder hall to Cliniclowns. One of my favourites on the site is DLC – Daily Local Cooking. We have already visited DLC during a tour on sustainability in Amersfoort. The interior of the pop-up restaurant is completely made of recycled material and stuff from the local cycle. On the menu are pure and honest tastes, as many ingredients as possible come from our own greenhouse and garden. Lunch is also available at Het Centraal Ketelhuis on site. In between visits to the restaurants, you can browse the grounds and peek inside the galleries.
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Read more about De Nieuwe Stad and Het Wagenwerkplaats in Amersfoort on their websites. Both creative sites are well worth a visit.
Address De Nieuwe Stad:
www.denieuwestad.nl
Oliemolenhof 106
3812 PB Amersfoort
E-mail: info@denieuwestad.nl
Address Wagenwerkplaats:
https://wagenwerkplaats.eu
Piet Mondriaanplein 61
3812 GZ Amersfoort
E-mail: info@wagenwerkplaats.eu