On our last full day in The Netherlands, we visited one of the most important and third largest city in the country, The Hauge. The Hauge is the seat of government of The Netherlands, although not the official capital, and is also home to many international institutions like the International Court of Justice. During our…
Author: crk148
Rotterdam Central: Day 10
On Wednesday we explored more of downtown Rotterdam and some sustainability aspects. First, we visited the Dak Akker rooftop garden and got a tour of the surrounding neighborhood from the owner. We also visited a coffee shop/rock climbing gym where a few other students and I did some bouldering. We then visited the Watersnoodmuseum which…
The Delta Works: Day 9
Today we traveled to the province of Zeeland and visited one the most famous modern engineering marvels in the world, Delta Works. The Netherlands have been constantly fighting against mother nature and the power of the sea, in 1953 almost 2,000 people lost their lives to a disastrous flood. This prompted the creation of the…
Floating Cow Innovations: Day 8
Today, in our first full day in Rotterdam, we had two very interesting site visits, Floating Farm and RDM. Both displayed the innovative and modern spirit that seems prevalent in Rotterdam. The Floating Farm was impressive as a prototype and I think offers a very promising solution for food insecurity and sustainability. The most important…
The German Excursion: Day 7
Today we had the amazing opportunity to have a day across the border in the German city of Münster. We had a quick walking tour with our guide Enno, and then had ample time to explore the city. We toured some other historical buildings and got some schnitzel and gelato before heading on a three…
Exploring Enschede: Day 6
Saturday was relatively light with scheduled programming, so we had lots of opportunities to explore what we wanted on our own. The day started with a short tour of Enschede city with a local water engineer who highlighted how the city manages flooding and rainwater. We ended the tour in the city center at a…
Wind Turbines and Medieval Cities: Day 5
Our day started with a lecture at the University of Twente about wind turbine design and the physics behind them. We then took a sustainability walk around campus and explored the different ways Twente used energy efficiently. We then had our site visit for the day at the Pure Energie wind farm in Flevoland. We…
University of Twente: Day 4
Day 4 we drove across the Netherlands about two hours from Amsterdam to the city of Enschede and the University of Twente. Once we arrived at the school, we took a guided tour of the campus and saw the education buildings and student housing. We then had a short lecture about water management in this…
A Dive into Dutch History: Day 3
On day 3 in Amsterdam we learned a lot more about Dutch history and their early experience with engineering. In the morning we visited the historic area of Zaanse Schans where we saw original windmills and a look into early Dutch farming. In the afternoon we went back into the city to visit the Anne…
Bulbs and Boat Houses: Day 2
Day 2 in Amsterdam was packed with site visits and some cool exploration. The day started with a trip to a tulip farm and we learned about the famous tulip industry. On the way back we stopped at a Dutch beach and waded in the North Sea a bit. We then had two very cool…
Meeting the Locals: Day 1 Amsterdam
Today, we toured around the city more, completing a scavenger hunt and visiting House of Denim, a jean manufacturer. During the scavenger hunt and the places, we visited after we explored a good junk of the city and even stopped in the Rijksmuseum for a bit. We also ate lunch with a friendly local dog…
I Hope this Trip Nether-Ends!
Hello, my name is Colby Kostelac. I am from Mechanicsburg, PA and I’m majoring in Mechanical Engineering and also looking to earn the Sustainability Certificate. I was drawn to Mechanical Engineering because of its broad reach into other disciplines allowing me flexibility in my future career path. After my time at Pitt, I hope to…