On Day 10 of our trip, we visited Delta Park—a fascinating blend of museum, aquarium, and coastal engineering hub. Though the weather kept us from enjoying the water slides, the real highlight was our tour of the Delta Works: a massive flood defense system that reflects the Dutch commitment to long-term sustainability and climate resilience….
Category: Frederick Honors College
Deltaworks – Changing the Tide
5/20/25 Today, we had the opportunity to tour the Deltaworks, an amazing feat in engineering. After the floods of 1953, the Dutch people decided to take preventive action and pit the Deltaworks plan into action. The structures consist of a mattress at the sea bed designed to prevent the pillars from shifting. Then, pillars were…
Searching for Sustainability: Day 11
Today, we had two tours of Rotterdam, one focused on the sustainability efforts made in communities around the city and one led by our guide Brian focused on exploring some highlights of Rotterdam that might otherwise go unnoticed. As I have spent more time in the Netherlands, I have really cherished being able to uncover…
05/21 – DakAkker & a Tour of Rotterdam
Today was a more low-key day–we first were guided through Rotterdam to see some of Rotterdam’s sustainability initiatives, including an elevated train station converted into a green space, a rooftop farm, and some of the smart water management infrastructure in the city. Then, our trip-long guide, Brian, took us on a tour of the city…
Sustainability in Rotterdam
Today was our second to last day in Rotterdam. It was a pretty light day which was nice because we had a lot of time to wander the city and relax after our activities were done. The first thing we did was take a little walking tour around some places that show sustainability in Rotterdam….
Green Roofs and Rotterdam (5/21)
Day 11 was a relaxed, tour-filled day. Our first stop after a quick breakfast was a short city tour focused on sustainable architecture and urban planning, ending with a visit to Dakakker, a rooftop farm. Our tour guide, Rob, lead us through multiple different water collection systems, like a park that was dug into the…
A Leafly View From DakAkker
It’s day 11, the penultimate day of our study abroad program! After a good night’s sleep and a meager breakfast, we made our way to the Schieblock building to meet our tour guide Rob. Rob is a member of Rotterdams Milieucentrum, an organization dedicated to the conservation of nature in the city of Rotterdam. After…
Protecting Against Nature’s Inevitabilities: Day 10
Today, we had the chance to explore the Neeltje Jans Delta Park, a sort of hybrid museum, aquarium, and delta works that highlights the importance of the construction of the Delta Works projects done in the Netherlands to protect against the flooding of the area due to high water levels. After a tour highlighting the…
Rotterdam: The Phoenix of Europe
Day 11 had a pretty chill agenda with back to back tours. Our first tour with a local, Rob, took us through some of the cities innovative designs and green spaces. Rob took us to a park with a 3 basins that collect rainwater and prevent flooding. The coolest part is that the largest of…
Finally Seeing Rotterdam: Day 11
Today was our second to last day in Rotterdam, and we finally got to see more of the city. On the previous days, we had activities that took us to other cities or locations, but I really enjoyed getting to see where we have been staying and to be able to orient myself a little…
Blown Away by the Deltaparks
As part of an early morning, our Plus3 group departed for Deltapark in Neeltje Jans on the tenth day of the Netherlands trip. Surprisingly, this park hosted a variety of attractions, from aquariums to water parks. While the weather made the water slides too chilly for me to ride on, I enjoyed diving into other…
Chickens, Culture, and Caramel
Unfortunately, tomorrow is our last day in the Netherlands. Day eleven was a very laid back day compared to usual, which was very nice. We started our day with another traditional Dutch breakfast before walking to Dakakker, where we met our tour guide, Rob. He showed us around some of Rotterdam’s architecture, and he was…
Delta Works? I Sure Hope It Does
On day 10, we traveled south to the Delta Works! The Delta Works, which protect large parts of the Netherlands from the North Sea, are one of the world’s most impressive examples of engineering and flood defense. Our day started at the visitors center, where we watched a short movie and were given a guided…
From the Ashes
At 9:15, we started our day with a short walk to the Schielblock building, which is home to offices of different companies and a rooftop garden. Before we explored the garden, we visited some sites in the nearby area that showcased Rotterdam’s drainage systems. One of my favorite examples was a basketball court that serves…
Exploring Rotterdam
Today was our eleventh day in the Netherlands, and it began at 8. I got up and had a Latte, some sliced meat and cheese, a boiled egg, and pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we got together as a group and walked to meet a tour guide to learn about urban gardens and rainwater management. …
Day 10: Delta Works
Day ten is now over. Only two more days left in the Netherlands! Today we went to Delta Works, which are large barriers placed around Holland (specifically the island areas) to defend the country from large storm surge. As stated in previous blog posts, the flood of 1953 had killed almost 2,000 people, and in…
Dutch Dams & the Delta Works (5/20)
We started day 10 with another semi-early morning, hopping on the bus to begin our hour-long ride to the coast around 8:30 AM. I was once again amazed by the amount of wind turbines we drove through, but I also noticed that every farm house we passed, even the ones in small suburban communities, had…
Rotterdam’s Rooftop Gardens and More
One of our final days in Rotterdam highlighted some of the most sustainable urban practices we’ve seen on this trip so far. From countless rooftop community gardens that often sell to local businesses, to repurposing old building materials into new space, Rotterdam’s sustainable infrastructure is one of the best I’ve seen on this trip. One…
Day 11: Korean Fried Chicken and Seoul Waterworks
Today, our day started around 9 AM with a subway ride to the Oil Tank Culture Park. After about a 40 minute commute by bus, we arrived at the park, which was across from the Seoul soccer World Cup complex from the 2002 World Cup. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the park, we found out…
A job to make you stop teaching | Augsburg Day 10
Our last company visit happened today, a fact which makes all of us realize that our trip is coming to an end. We woke up this morning, had our breakfast, and fell asleep on the bus to our destination as usual. When we arrived at GROB, we were greeted with second breakfast and coffee, which…