Today was our first full day in the Netherlands! The day began with breakfast at the hotel.
After breakfast, we took the metro and walked to a Dutch chocolate store named Cacao and Spice. The store owner’s husband, Ian, gave us a tour of the area local to the chocolate shop.
On this tour, we learned about many city-wide efforts to revitalize the city and increase sustainability. One such program is implemented in many European cities where people can receive €0.15 per disposable bottle recycled. This program was implemented to increase recycling, and while it did increase recycling, it came with the unintended consequence of increased trash due to people ripping apart trash bags to find recyclable bottles [1]. Additionally, he discussed the Netherland’s issues with a former opioid crisis and their solution to this. Interestingly, by legalizing cannabis and decriminalizing, the rate of drug use fell significantly, increasing the number of people contributing to society [1]. The effects of this legalization are extremely interesting from a public health lens as the United States has almost double the rate of regular cannabis use as compared to the Netherlands despite it being federally illegal [2].
After our waking tour, we entered the chocolate store (pictured above) and were greeted by the owner, Salomé Trip-Wagenhuis. While eating delicious chocolate, she educated us regarding the chocolate industry, their lack of sustainability, and their unethical practices. Some of the issues discussed include monoculture farming, profit gauging, and child slavery. Obviously, these are huge issues which should be a part of the past, but apparently, many chocolate companies partake in these practices. Despite these common practices, Cacao and Spice partakes only in sustainable and ethical chocolates practices [3]. This store takes sustainability so seriously that the floor of the store (visible in the picture above) is actually made of dried cacao husks!
After the chocolate tasting ended, myself and some others stayed back to talk to Ian. The group began discussing the differences between the US and the Netherlands, and we got to the topic of healthcare. Ian shared with us that the nature of American health care is shocking to him, and he has heard first-hand the effects of it from medical refugees to the Netherlands whom cannot afford medical care in the United States [4]. This was extremely interesting as I did not know how others viewed our health care system, and I was shocked by the nature of health care provided in the Netherlands. The differences in insurance, out of pocket costs, and wait times are shocking.
After leaving the chocolate shop, we went on a canal cruise where we learned about the history of Amsterdam and saw some beautiful historic sights (pictured below).
[1] I. Wagenhuis, Guided Tour of Amsterdam. Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 12, 2025.
[2] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2022: Statistical Annex. Vienna, Austria: UNODC, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/wdr2022_annex.html:contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
[3] S. Trip-Wagenhuis, Informational Chocolate Tasting. [Personal experience], Cacao & Spice, Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 12, 2025.
[4] I. Wagenhuis, Group Conversation. Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 12, 2025.