Today’s adventure started in Rotterdam, the modern port city that feels like a completely different world compared to Amsterdam’s narrow canals and classic charm. From there, we made our way to The Hague, known as the diplomatic center of the Netherlands. While Amsterdam holds the capital title The Hague is where the Dutch parliament meets and where many international institutions are based. It also offers a fascinating architectural mix, I quickly noticed that traditional Dutch buildings exist right beside sleek, modern structures which is almost like seeing Rotterdam and Amsterdam overlap in one place.
We had some free time to explore The Hague before regrouping for lunch. Thanks to Dr. Dukes and Pitt, we enjoyed a meal of Indonesian street food which is deeply rooted throughout Dutch culure due to the colonial past (fun fact almost every dutch person has indionesian blood!). I didn’t fully recognize everything on the menu, but I customized a rice bowl that turned out to be delicious!
The main focus of our visit was the Peace Palace which is a striking symbol of international diplomacy and conflict resolution. Inside the visitor center, we learned about the Palace’s role as the home of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law, and an internationally renowned legal library. The Palace was built as a response to the realization that war was glorified too often and cost way too much in both lives and resources. The first Peace Conference laid the foundation for legal alternatives to conflict, and the second conference fine-tuned the rules of warfare and court procedures. The Palace remains a center for solving countries problems today, handling everything from border disputes to financial disagreements between nations. One thing that stuck with me was learning the distinction between the two major courts located in The Hague which are the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which assembles panels based on the specific issue at hand, and the International Court of Justice, which has a standing panel of judges and handles more formal disputes between states. Knowing that this kind of peaceful legal structure exists was very cool to learn about and it gave me hope for global cooperation in the future.
To finish off the day, we headed to the beach by tram, which was running a bit behind due to a local protest. Once there, we were greeted by breezy sea air and visible efforts to promote waste sorting and recycling, with separate bins encouraging people to keep the shorelines clean.