We started our day by taking the train to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans, a historic Dutch village just outside of Amsterdam. The neighborhood features windmills, clog making, and cheese tasting. In the 17th century, the windmills located here became the first central industrial zone. Over 600 wind-powered mills served as sawmills, pigment mills, oil mills, spice mills, and wheat mills. By harnessing renewable energy sources, this region created an economic advantage for itself.

While in the neighborhood, we also saw the iconic clogs being made. Clogs were typically worn by factory workers in the 13th century for protection against workplace conditions and weather. We also visited the Henri Willig Cheese Company, where we tasted a variety of types of goat, cow, and sheep cheeses. My personal favorites were the coconut and truffle cheeses.

Following this, we took the train back into Amsterdam for our next visitation, to the Anne Frank house. Here we were able to enter the secret annex in which Anne Frank hid during the Holocaust. All of the furniture has been removed, and there are some wall decorations as well as a kitchen counter, which have been preserved. This tour offered much insight into the horrific history behind Anne’s story, and I took time to reflect on the experience.

While in Amsterdam, we also squeezed in a quick visit to the Rijksmuseum. We saw numerous works by different artists, including Van Gogh.

To end our day, we attended a Pitt Alumni event. Alums who currently live in Amsterdam came together to have dinner with us and give insight into their lives. It was very interesting to hear each of their stories and future endeavors in the Netherlands.