Today we took a trip to the Rotterdam city central. Our guide showed us some of the tricks they employ here in Rotterdam to prevent flooding. Similar to Enchede, they use lowered portions in the ground to be used as water reservoirs. They use playgrounds, parks, greenery, and almost anything you can think of as “hidden” water reservoirs. Since the city of Rotterdam is more modern than many cities in Europe, they were able to better plan for urban lifestyle. There are much more cars, trains, and buses throughout the downtown here than in Munster or Amsterdam. The reason that the city is more modern is that it was nearly leveled during World War 2. Thanks to an impressive rebuilding effort, the city looks almost good as new. There are very few buildings from before the war that still stand today. After touring around the city, we went up to the roof of one of the buildings, where there was a garden. This is an excellent use of space, as in a city it is hard to create green spaces. This is easily implemented to many buildings, and is something that I think we should bring back to the US.

After touring around Rotterdam, we went to a Museum dedicated to the massive flood in 1953. It has many documents quotes, and artifacts that show what the people were feeling who lived through the flood. There is also a memorial to all those who died during the flood. This museum provided a new perspective that the tour of the Deltaworks yesterday did not provide. The people who lived through did not want to talk about the suffering and the people who they lost, as the culture in the Netherlands is not super sympathetic towards mental health. This meant that many people suffered in silence for years and years afterward.