Today, was our last day in Amsterdam and first day in Rotterdam! We packed up the bus to go to our next hostel in Rotterdam, but on the way we stopped to spend the day at the cheese farms of Henry Willig!

The cheese farm was absolutely beautiful. There were many windmills, miles of fields, a river that led to a neighboring town, and lots of shops. I have been to farms like Sorgel’s in Pittsburgh and other parts of America, but this was a completely different experience. The aesthetic was completely different, and it just felt like a scene right out of one of the paintings we saw yesterday. Additionally, all the Dutch people who owned the surrounding small shops were so friendly. I bought souvenirs at an antique shop and an amazing Dutch waffle that was served fresh. Aside from the shops, there were also many farm animals such as goats, sheep, and ducks. I had so much fun petting the goat and sheep, and it was nice to see how much room they had to graze. Actually, petting the little baby goat was definitely my favorite part of the day personally, it was so cute and sweet.

We listened to a presentation on the history and practices of the cheese company. We learned that Henry Willig started the company himself in the 1970s, and it has since been passed to his son. The differentiation between Henry Willig and other cheese makers is in the type of culture used to make the cheese. Other types of cheese are actually not vegetarian because in order to produce the cheese, the cow needs to be killed in order to get the cultures from its stomach to add to the milk. Henry Willig did not like this, so he invented his own microbial culture that can be used and so the cows do not need to be slaughtered. This uniquely makes the cheese vegetarian, which is inherently more sustainable. The practice of raising and killing many cows is a big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, and by reducing the amount of cows needed to be raised in this way that can help reduce emissions and therefore is more sustainable.

Then, we took the bus to Rotterdam and went exploring! It is smaller and less-crowded than Amsterdam, which I like, but still big with many cute restaurants, cafes, and shops. There is a really pretty park near our hotel with lots of willow trees, which I love. Additionally, bike culture was still very prominent which I did not expect to see. I thought in a city smaller than Amsterdam there would be more cars, and there was, but there was also still a large amount of bikes and bikers on the road, which really enforced how that is just the culture here.

Overall, today was a great day and I’m excited to see more of Rotterdam! I’m excited for the company visits we have planned!