Our experience today was a moving one, both figuratively and literally. We departed by bus early this morning, bringing an end to our stay in Rotterdam. Despite having been there only one day, I think we all really enjoyed the new environment, especially given the clear differences between the two cities. Rotterdam was completely destroyed and rebuilt as a result of bombing during the second world war, giving it a more modern feel than the more classical streets of Amsterdam. This theme of destruction and rebuilding followed us throughout our journey today, its presence most prominent at the Watersnoodmuseum.

In the winter of 1953 the Netherlands experienced a storm that breached all protective infrastructure, bringing about a massive flood that would destroy numerous lives in its path. I had not heard of this particular disaster prior to visiting the museum, but I found myself to be incredibly moved as we wandered the exhibit, learning about both the logistics involved and the lives impacted. Those who curated the museum did, in my opinion, an incredible job of balancing the technicality of the situation with the personal experiences of the people affected. In total, the flood ended 1,836 lives and drastically altered countless others. A darkened room with water-like projections displayed a scrolling list of all those who were lost, their names a continuous flow of waves on the sea’s surface. In the museum’s first room they displayed items that belonged to these individuals and the stories attached, articulated in both Dutch and English. One item was a small jacket kept by a mother as the only remaining possession of one of her two children that were swept away in the water’s path. She had brought the children to their neighbor’s attic in an attempt to escape the water’s reach, but instead she found herself watching helplessly from afar as the house collapsed and was carried away with her children. From then on she kept the coat in her closet and relied upon it for a secretive form of comfort. It was a common understanding among everyone that they would move on with life and not discuss the burdensome trauma. The affected villages all fought the same grieving battle in silence. 

Amazingly, all of these powerful symbols and the museum itself were set inside the very infrastructure that was built to prevent a future similar disaster. I had not realized it until far into the visit, but Frank explained to me that we were actually walking through the above-water portion of the caissons installed by the Dutch government as a protective measure in the couple decades after the disaster. This immersive aspect was intriguing from a creative design perspective and simply impressive from an engineering point of view. In the final room was a short film which included news clips from around the world of water-related disasters, demonstrating that this is far from an isolated incident. Although the protective infrastructure put in place should last approximately 200 years, the issue that water’s power imposes is not going away. In fact, rising sea levels due to climate change ensure that it will only worsen. 

Our second stop of the day incorporated more immersive learning, specifically with a simulation room of the 1953 flood itself, and demonstrated some of the ways that the Netherlands has taken control of their surroundings. A walk, tram ride, and short boat cruise around the grounds showed us some of the previously discussed infrastructure in practice. We concluded the day with a lunch of kibbeling (fried fish), a Dutch must-have and another nod to the water, before heading back to Amsterdam.