Today, we began our journey in Rotterdam! Our day began with a few obstacles, but we finally made it to Rotterdam. We got on the tram and made our way to the metro station, where we were supposed to get on a train to take to Rotterdam. This train was going to be faster than the usual train to Rotterdam, but after a 20 minute delay of waiting for the train to leave, there was an announcement that that train was canceled. We quickly exited the train and made our way to a different platform to wait for another train to Rotterdam, which took about 20 minutes to arrive and it had a slower pace. As a result, we had to switch around our plans for the day, but thankfully the delay didn’t have a major impact on any of our plans! We ended up moving into the hostel first, and then getting a quick lunch before making our way to a floating farm.
The floating farm was a very interesting site to visit. I was a bit confused on what it meant to be a “floating” farm, and I certainly wasn’t expecting it to fully be on the water! The farm had multiple levels, with the building being held up by a floating device located on the bottom of the farm. There were also solar panels floating beside the farm. The water helps to keep the solar panels cool, and when the temperature of these panels remains cooler, they can provide more energy. Additionally, the floating farm sources its food for the cows from volunteers, who will donate different types of food to the farm. This process is mutually beneficial and sustainable since these volunteering companies are reducing their waste, while the farm is acquiring local food options to keep their cows healthy.
The purpose behind the development of the floating farm lies within sustainability. In the next couple of decades, the Netherlands will begin to face problems with the water supply. As the population continues to rapidly grow and the water levels begin to rise, it’s important for the world to begin utilizing the resources that are the greatest in abundance. Water makes up a majority of the world, and if we can learn how to utilize the water area available to us, we can greatly increase our self-sufficiency and efficiency with food production.
After we visited the floating farm, we went on a harbor cruise. We had a beautiful, warm, and sunny day, and we all really enjoyed the cruise! It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip so far. After the harbor cruise, we went out to dinner at Restaurant Bazar in Rotterdam. The food that we had was Turkish, and included veal kabobs, a chickpea stew, and vegetables. The dinner was delicious, I think it was my favorite restaurant that I’ve been to so far! Overall, it was a great first day in Rotterdam and it was really fun to get to see a different part of the Netherlands. I can’t wait to explore even more tomorrow!