After eating some traditional Dutch hotel breakfast, the group headed out for a day in Amsterdam’s city center. We started with a lovely tour from Ian, who told us more about Amsterdam’s history, culture, and sustainability initiatives. One thing I found interesting was the policies initiated by Amsterdam’s Green Party Mayor. We heard about her goals to close roads to make the city more car-free. This was surprising to me, as the center of Amsterdam already has so few cars, and so many bikes and solid public transport.
From research from my politics class in the spring semester, I knew that the Netherlands currently has a far-right government, which was confusing at the time. I learned that this is because although the city of Amsterdam is progressive, most of the country is rural farming land, and therefore more right-leaning. It is exciting to me that Amsterdam has been able to hold onto sustainable policies despite the national government not being as supportive of environmental goals. This reminded me of the importance of policy in achieving sustainability.
We then went to a chocolate tasting and tried many different pieces of chocolate from sustainable, ethical companies. I enjoyed noticing the slight flavor differences depending on where the cocoa was grown. Afterwards, we got on a boat for a cruise around Amsterdam’s canals, which had an audio guide. It was great to see the city from the water and learn more about the historical buildings in Amsterdam.
Monday 5/12/2025