Today was our final day in the Netherlands! We had a very slow start to the day and left around 10:00, giving us time to enjoy our last morning and eat a full breakfast. Then, we departed to The Hague, the political capital of the Netherlands. This was a really interesting city, because it almost felt like a mix between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. There were traditional Dutch buildings as well as modern buildings.

Our guide, Enno, showed us around the city and explained a bit about Dutch politics. The Netherlands operates a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Similarly to many other European countries, the monarch in the Netherlands has no political influence but rather has diplomatic and ceremonial duties. He also explained how lobbying, which in the U.S. has become increasingly prevalent, isn’t a thing in the Netherlands and is actually illegal. Furthermore, they utilize popular vote rather than an electoral college like in the U.S. As a result, all 15 of the Netherlands’ political parties have at least some power in government, even if some of them never get prime ministers elected. 

For the rest of the day, we went to an Indonesian restaurant that had the tastiest cashew chicken and tea. I think the best food I’ve had this trip has all been Indonesian, so I’ll definitely miss this when I go back home. We also went shopping and got stroopwafels one last time.

Finally, we had our departure dinner, where we were all together for the last time. This was such a fun last day, and I’m really gonna miss the Netherlands!