I am so excited to say that we have officially made it to the Netherlands after a long day of traveling! Despite my lack of sleep on our overnight flight from Boston to Amsterdam, I could not wait to explore all the city has to offer. As we were leaving the Amsterdam airport to head to our hotel, my friends and I chose to stop at the local Starbucks. Immediately, we took notice of how their store uses only paper cups to reduce plastic. This was just the first example of how the Netherlands differs from other countries in terms of its sustainable practices. 

Our first day in the Netherlands was full of exploring, starting with a walking tour of our local area, and followed by a scavenger hunt through Amsterdam’s city centre. When we approached our hotel after our flight, all of our eyes were drawn to the huge parking lot nearby. Unlike the U.S., however, this lot was packed to the brim with bikes. Both this as well as our experiences walking around Amsterdam today have exemplified how locals here in the Netherlands prefer to walk and ride bikes rather than take cars. The streets of Amsterdam are filled with bikers, and nearly every street has a separate bike lane with crosswalks that pedestrians must yield to. By riding bikes instead of driving cars, the country emits less carbon emissions and air pollution.

Amsterdam’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond its use of bicycles as they also have many forms of public transportation. Since it was our first day, our tour guide, Raha, showed us how to navigate the buses, metro, and trains nearby. These forms of transportation have already proven to be very useful, as we had to take several routes to get to our activities throughout the day. For dinner, our group had reservations at Coco’s Outback, an Australian restaurant that served us kangaroo burgers, shrimp scampi, and more. This spot was the perfect place to reflect on our long day of exploration and traveling, and recharge for our upcoming endeavors. I cannot wait to partake in more excursions and visit more places in Amsterdam this coming week!