In T-shirt and shorts, visitors arrive at the Rotterdam sports fund pool of Maanen. “Yes, the outdoor swimming pool is open until 5 hours today,” the receptionist reassures a visitor. “Then do a card,” says the relieved woman who goes inside. She realizes: now it is still possible.
Late -summer weekend with high temperatures on Sunday
“That is also what people think: still enjoy the outdoor swimming pool,” says lifeguard Kelly. “There are people who also swim with bad weather, but most people prefer to do that when the sun shines. Like now. The water is fresh, but they do enjoy it.”
Such as Annick and Jochem. As brother and sister, they take their jobs in the outdoor swimming pool. “He sent me a photo of the swimming pool, asking: are you coming?” Says Annick. “Then I also caught my swimming gear and I am come here. “
Jochem sent his sister Annick a photo of the outdoor pool with the question: are you coming too? Moments later she was also in the water. © Thijs Rooimans
The outdoor swimming pool is still open on Saturday and Sunday, all afternoon. Then we have to wait, says Kelly, and only go for free hours because the temperature will fall quickly. “We hope to be able to open all afternoons for longer, but that depends on the weather. Our outdoor swimming pool is not heated, it really has to come from the sun itself.”
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“You can’t swim in water for less than 19 degrees for too long, because that is not physically good,” says Judith Thissen, who with her ‘swim’ Jos Terling has left a lot of laps. “Yes, you can call us regular guests. We have been here almost every day in the past period.”
It is also a bit of nostalgia, says Jos. “In the past you swam a lot outside. We are used to it. When I was a child you had to do that before the school started doing it. You still had such a hook that the lifeguard was stuck from the side. And you got a tile if you had obtained a diploma. Yes, swimming outside is really delicious.
Lifeguard Kelly keeps an eye on the guests who want to quickly enjoy the outdoor swimming pool. © Thijs Rooimans
Those who did not want to go into the open water could go into the city. Looking for an ice cream for example. The ice cream parlor in the center, a household name in Rotterdam, attracts many people on Saturday.
Wout and his mother Wendelmoet were looking for a gift, but came by the ice cream parlor and picked up a cone. © Thijs Rooimans
“Pistachio and bastognic cake,” says Wout, who sits on a bench with his mother Wendelmoet in front of the well -known case. Wendelmoet herself sticks to one ball. “Cherrymania. We were in the center to buy a gift for my husband, and Wout his father, we came here. Yes, then you will pick it up.” Wout: “Although I came here very often.”
Other customers also quickly get an ice cream in the warm sunshine, such as Camille and Iago, who come from Brazil and taste a couple of each other’s cone as a bunch of each other. “We are used to warm weather,” laughs Camille, who works just like her friend in the Maasstad. “So if the weather is still good here, yes, then we want to enjoy it for a while.”