About

Who We Are

Two writers keeping notes on places and how people actually live in them. Based in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

CocoBella Blog started in 2021 as a personal notebook that became semi-public by accident. The original intention was to keep track of observations from extended stays in various European cities — the kind of details that don't make it into travel writing because they're too ordinary.

The blog's approach hasn't changed much since then: go somewhere long enough to notice what's normal, write it down without deciding in advance what the story is. This occasionally produces something worth reading and occasionally doesn't.

We don't accept press trips, sponsored stays, or complimentary experiences. The arrangement keeps the writing useful, which is the only real purpose of the thing.

CocoBella Blog is operated by CocoBella Media B.V., registered in the Netherlands. Contact details are on the contact page.

Femke van der Berg

Co-founder, lead writer

Femke studied urban planning at Radboud University and spent four years working for a municipal housing authority in Gelderland before deciding she was more interested in how people actually inhabit places than in planning them. She's been writing field notes since 2021, mostly about the Netherlands and occasionally Portugal and Germany. She covers slow travel, neighbourhood dynamics, markets, and the relationship between place and daily habit.

LinkedIn profile

Roos Dijkstra

Contributing writer

Roos trained as a cultural anthropologist at Utrecht University and worked for several years at a heritage organisation in Gelderland before shifting to independent writing. Her focus is on food systems, craft economies, and the way everyday places encode social relationships. She lives in Nijmegen and writes primarily about markets, ceramics, and local food production.

LinkedIn profile

Editorial approach

Articles are based on personal visits. When we recommend something, it means we went there, paid our own way, and went back at least once. We don't write about places we haven't seen.

We don't use affiliate links or accept payment for coverage. If a future arrangement changes this, it will be disclosed clearly in the relevant post.

Questions about editorial matters can be sent to the address on the contact page.