Today, we went to Zaanse Schans, and learned about the old windmills there, which were very important for the Dutch economy. They used renewable wind energy to grind spices among other things, and it’s incredible to see how sustainable practices and wind energy have been around for so long.

In the same location, we visited a cheese tasting in a Henri Willig store, and viewed the making of a traditional Dutch clog.

Next, we were given free time to explore Amsterdam, and some friends and I chose to go to the Rijksmuseum. Here, we explored for about an hour, which was enough time to look around one or two of the more modern floors. We saw paintings by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and a variety of other Dutch artists.

After this, we went to the Anne Frank house and took an audio tour of her hiding spot during the Holocaust. There were many photographs that I had never seen before, and it was incredible to see original pieces of furniture that had been in the annex when Anne and her family hid there. Lastly, we attended a dinner event with Pitt alumni and exchanged experiences about Pitt and the Netherlands. It was interesting to see how  the Pitt experience has stayed and changed the same over the years.