Today, we started off the morning with a lecture from a mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at the University of Twente about the aerodynamics of windmill blades, and a general overview of how windmills work. We learned that one of the major downsides to wind energy is the potential noise of the windmills, and to combat this, serrated edges are often added to the edge of the blades. We also learned about the different types of windmills, like the differences between vertical and horizontal axis styles. Afterward, we went on a short tour of the University of Twente, which was more focused on the sustainability of the university this time. The university has a garden in which students and faculty can grow their own food sustainably and without pesticides, in addition to a food forest classroom.

Across from the garden was a grove of fruit trees. After our sustainability tour of campus, we took a bus to a wind farm, where the workers there explained how their farm and the wind industry in the Netherlands works, and then we got to go out into the fields and see the windmills themselves up close. It was amazing to see how large they were in person, especially since, according to the people who worked there, the windmills could be assembled in under a week in ideal conditions. The excess energy from the windmills is stored in large batteries, and otherwise is sent to the grid, depending on the energy demand at the specific moment. Apparently, since energy prices vary throughout the day due to demand, windmills are sometimes even shut down if energy prices are too low.

After the windmills, we traveled to historic Elberg, where we toured a variety of very old streets and buildings, and learned more about the Holocaust. Some buildings dated back to the 1300s, including most of the wall surrounding the town (some was rebuilt and made to look old intentionally). I appreciated how walkable the city was, as we were able to see most sides of the city within a few hour on-foot tour. I think that many American cities with the same population would have had a much less people-centered layout, and would have been less pleasant to tour or live in. For dinner, we ate some delicious burgers and fries, and I learned that the most common condiment for fries in the Netherlands is mayonnaise, rather than ketchup.