Today is Sunday and we had lots of free time in the morning. I finally got to sleep in and then went to church. I love going to visit new churches, and I’m very glad that I was able to go today. The Church was named Saints Lawrence and Elizabeth Cathedral and the whole mass was in Dutch! They had booklets to follow along, so it wasn’t too different other than the language barrier. It was also a First Holy Communion Day for children and that was great to see as well. Going to a church in a new country was great to see a new aspect of their culture: a spiritual one. Most of the stuff was the same. But it’s always interesting to see different things and to get to experience the language more. After, I got a couple snacks for the bus ride to the Watersnoodmuseum.
This museum focuses on the history, facts, and future prevention of massive floodwaters that happened on the night of February 1st, 1953. These floodwaters happened in just a few hours but caused tremendous damage to much of The Netherlands. Breaches in the sea dikes triggered a domino effect. Over a thousand people died as well as loss of homes, crops, farms, and animals. This disaster led to the formation of Delta Works. Delta Works and many other companies have put in the effort to prevent another disaster like this from happening again. This is very important considering 60% of The Netherlands is susceptible to flooding. Many dikes have been built and many companies like Flood Barrier are on standby for the shore storms. This also can include rainstorms as well, with teams like the Red Cross being ready at the first call. This museum held a lot of facts about the flood and prevention but also had sections that were dedicated to honoring the fallen lives. One artist even spent five years embroidering the fallen of all the dead. This year to commemorate that, they are making a similar peace but with the logo of the museum. My friend and I got to help with a small part of that! This museum perfectly tied up the Dutch culture and help from other countries which showed the peace and work towards sustainability of the land, along with a memorial sort of aspect that was also a huge part of Dutch culture around 1953 and even now with new stories coming to light.
