Today, our last full day in the Netherlands, we visited The Hague, the country’s political capital.  After waking up and hopping on the metro, we had a long ride to the city.  Once we got off our trip, our guide gave us a tour of the city, teaching us more about the Netherlands ‘ political history.  On top of being informed about some important political events, such as “William the Silent” and the Dutch rising up against Spanish rule, we were given an in-depth look at how the Netherlands elects its parliament and prime minister.  As we were walking through the city for the tour, our guide also pointed out major government buildings we passed.  Seeing as The Hague is the Netherlands political capital, when comparing it to the United States, it would be most similar to Washington D.C. , our capital, where many of our government buildings are located.

After the tour concluded and a quick lunch at an Indonesian restaurant, we were given free time for the rest of the day.  During that time, I explored the local sights, including the Peace Palace, home to the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration and International Court of Justice, and Scheveningen, a beach town.  By the time I finished exploring both those places, it was already five, so the group I was with headed to the meeting point to reconvene.  Once everyone was together, we took the metro to Rotterdam to have our final dinner of the trip.  After finishing our meals, we took a quick group photo before returning to our hotel to pack.

Opening the door to my room after a long day, I immediately began packing for the airport the next day.  It was while doing this that I thought back to something in the hotel that stuck out from a sustainability perspective.  In all my hotel rooms on the trip, including the one in Rotterdam, the showers had water pressure/intensity control alongside temperature control.  Having showers with water pressure/intensity settings is not something you usually see in the United States, and it made me think back to when we learned about water conservation.  When I learned more about this topic, one of my major takeaways was that the best way to use less water is to reduce shower times.  Having those pressure/intensity controls offers a different way to limit your water usage when you shower by reducing how much comes out, saving water reservoirs and the energy required to purify water used.  Overall, today I learned more about the Netherlands from a political perspective and briefly reflected on topics of water usage.