Tired of sipping your cappuccino in the cold while the sun shines mockingly on someone else’s table? Geen stress (no worries), there’s a handy new tool that shows you exactly which terraces are soaking up the most sun. 🌞
Rotterdam local Frank Nanninga had one noble mission: to stop freezing for his caffeine fix. So, he built a clever tool powered by AI to help you spot the sunniest café seats in town.
No more guesswork, no more cold coffee. Let’s dig into how the sun-sniffing masterpiece works. 👇
Built by a man on a (caffeinated) mission
It all began when Frank wandered around Rotterdam, coffee in hand, hunting for a sunny terrace that wasn’t buried in shadow by a skyscraper.
“I love coffee and enjoy it even more when I can sit in the sun with it,” he told RTL Nieuws, summing up the struggle we know all too well.
Tired of playing hide-and-seek with the sun, Frank turned to artificial intelligence and used vibe coding, a method where you describe the problem and let AI do the heavy work.
Within a day, the first version of Koffieindezon came to life. A week later, tens of thousands of sun-hungry visitors had already used it. 🔥
How the magic works
Koffieindezon uses public 3D building models and the sun’s current position to simulate where shadows fall in real time. Think Google Maps, but much hotter.
Just open the site, zoom in on the map, and voilà: you get a live view of where the sun is shining at that very moment.
You can fast-forward through the day, pick a future date (yes, even next Thursday at 4:00 PM), and see exactly when your favourite café gets sunlight. ☀️
It works everywhere in the Netherlands, whether you’re keen to lounge in the heart of Amsterdam or sip a quiet beer in a village with more cows than coffee options.
There’s even a ‘sun hours’ button for hardcore sun-chasers who treat UV like a lifestyle.
No weather apps, no awkward terrace shuffle. Just you, the sun, and a smugly warm espresso. 😌☕
Would you use this to hunt down the perfect sunny seat — or are you still trusting your gut (and getting cold feet)? Let us know what you think! 😎
The biggest issue in the Netherlands about terraces isn’t the sun or shades, it is SMOKING PEOPLE!!! They’re everywhere, and it makes it impossible for non-smokers to enjoy the spirit of terraces.