Day eight already over! This morning was rather quiet. We had a free morning for the first time this entire trip, and I took advantage by sleeping in. At around ten AM, I went for breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards, there was a lot of free time, so we decided to do a little exploring around Rotterdam as our next few days are going to be very busy, and we might not have a lot of time to explore.
We walked past many outdoor park areas, which was super cool and something I wish I was able to witness more in the United States. Rotterdam seems to have many areas for people to hangout outside, and we were able to find a little trampoline by one of these parks. We also saw multiple playgrounds.
We got to see the cube houses too, which I always wanted to see because they are just such a funky design. On the outside, it looks impossible to live in, so I really wanted to see the interior. We went on a tour of the inside, and it was decently big! It had four flights of tiny, spiral stairs, which felt very surreal for me. The cube houses are a staple of Rotterdam and is a showcase of Rotterdam’s new, modern look after Rotterdam was destroyed by German bombs during World War II. This city is very unique from most of the cities I have been to because it is so new. Everything still has the Dutch feel that I saw in Amsterdam and The Hague, but it all looks so new and has a modern touch on it.
After seeing the cube houses, we raced back to the hotel to catch the bus to the Watersnoodmuseum. On our way back, we encountered an archway in between some buildings. I was confused on what the architecture represented, but it was cool regardless.
The Watersnoodmuseum (or Flood Museum) was another disheartening museum. Almost 2,000 people had been killed by the North Sea floods of 1953, and seeing the names of all the victims and their belongings, it was a lot to handle. Being at the Watersnoodmuseum and learning more about the tragedy gave more insight on sustainability and how collaboration is necessary for tragedies like this one to not happen again. Rising sea levels because of climate change, lack of strong flood control systems, and severe winds allowed for water to easily come into the Netherlands. Nowadays, coastal areas face much higher safety risks because of climate change. This is because more severe rainstorms and other extreme weather types occur more frequently with drastic changes in the climate. It is very important to lower the impacts of climate change in order to keep people safe and not have another repeat of the North Sea floods.
After the museum, I got Turkish food for dinner and called it a night. Today’s biggest takeaway for me was that sustainability is needed now more than ever. Seeing the Watersnoodmuseum and hearing how people suffered during and after the floods was incredibly hard. People didn’t have a proper place to live for months. People lost their lives. I had also learned that, in many coastal countries (like England and Vietnam), there is a large debate on whether the government should set up flood control mechanics or if the people should. The Watersnoodmuseum showed two sides of every debate, which was very interesting. Regardless, being sustainable and trying to lower the impacts of climate change could saw thousands of lives and create a better well-being for ourselves and our world.