Waking up for day two was difficult.  An 8am breakfast call felt like a 2am wake up.  The time change is certainly still working its magic.  But after a good breakfast buffet and a shower, we were ready for our first real academic event.  The event was a presentation by Karel Bockstael.  Karel was a former employee of the KLM airline, but left to work as a private.  His ideas were all around sustainable air travel.  As a business student, some of the nitty gritty engineering terms did not resonate, but overall it was an interesting presentation.  Karel was well spoken, and had clear ideas for how he wants to see the aviation industry become more sustainable.  The challenge, as highlighted in the presentation, is that fossil fuels can not just be replaced by batteries in current commercial aircrafts.  It will take a whole new era of engineering and development to create real climate friendly air travel.  

After the presentation we split into our class groups to compete in a Fault in our Stars scavenger hunt.  We visited places like the bench and hotel.  Although I have never seen the movie, this was a great way to explore the city.  Despite seemingly finishing the hunt first, my team was not given the winning prize.  Once finished we grabbed a quick pancake lunch before meeting the rest of the group to visit the Anne Frank House.

We toured the house using audio guides.  The guides explained the significance and purpose of each room, as well as any important artifacts that were left.  I had visited the house once before, but I was young so the meaning hadn’t fully stuck.  Visiting again as more of an adult was certainly an important experience.  Walking through the family’s living space was impactful and inspirational.  After hearing the stories throughout middle school and high school, it was really good to gain some first hand perspective of the situation in which they lived.

By 5:15pm we had finished visiting the house, and are now free for the rest of the evening.  Soon we will go out and get some dinner, before checking out downtown Amsterdam at night!