Day 12, our last day in the Netherlands, was a relaxed ending to our amazing trip. We started our morning with a visit to the Floating Farm. Karel, our guide, explained how the farm was inspired by a floating cities presentation that Minke and Peter, the two founders, went to in New York right around…
Tag: Desi Nix-Kable
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…
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…
The Delft-ense Against Climate Change (5/19)
Day 9 was an event-filled one! We started our morning with a short train ride from Rotterdam to Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). There we were welcomed by the looming colorful buildings and beautiful canals seamlessly slithering through the campus walkways. Our first stop on campus was the Green Village, a small village that…
The Weight of Water (5/18)
Day 8 started with a relaxing morning compared to the ones we have had so far. I’ve been getting sick, so I used the morning to sleep in a little to try to recover. We met downstairs at 12:45 p.m. and boarded the bus to the Watersnoodmuseum. The long bus ride down south was beautiful…
Peace Talks & Hague Walks (5/17)
Though day 7 was our first day in Rotterdam, we spent it entirely at the Hague. In the morning, we walked to the train station to take the train from Rotterdam to the Hague. We’ve taken the train many times on this trip, and I find it so impressive how simple the scan-in-scan-out ticket system…
Preserving the Green-Noury(on) (5/16)
Day 6 began with an early exit from our Amsterdam hotel. We loaded our suitcases on to the bus and headed to the Nouryon Research and Development center in Deventer. Nouryon is a chemical company known for producing many polymers, including organic peroxides, curing agents, reactor additives, and metal alkyls. Once we arrived on site,…
Time to Gogh (5/15)
Our final day in Amsterdam started on a somber note. We hopped on the metro and made our way to the Anne Frank house in downtown Amsterdam. The museum had a guided audio tour in dozens of languages, which we listened to as we walked around the real office building and secret annex that the…
From Cheese to the Seas (5/14)
We began Day 4 with our long-awaited tour of the Henri Willig cheese manufacturer. If you have ever walked around Amsterdam, you have likely noticed Henri Willig stores on almost every block. It was fun to learn about the cheese-making process behind this iconic Dutch company and to sample some of their delicious flavors. Henri…
Flowers & Floating Houses (5/13)
Day 3 began bright and early with a 5:30 a.m. wake up for a 6:00 a.m. transport to Floraholland. Aside from being a little tired, I was extremely impressed by the size and organized chaos of the factory. Every worker seemed to know where they were going and what they were doing, despite there being…
Holy cocoa, that was good! (5/12)
Day two in Amsterdam has come to an end! We started at about 8:45 a.m. with a quick hotel breakfast. Then we hopped on the metro and headed downtown to do some chocolate tasting and a walking tour. We split into two groups, one starting with the tasting, the other with the tour. My group…
Dam Good Scavenger Hunt (5/11)
We made it! Day one in the Netherlands has felt very long, but it was definitely a good one. We started our day bright and early by departing Pitt for Boston, and then flying from Boston to Amsterdam. We arrived in Amsterdam at 6:00 a.m. local time, which was right in time to see the…
Desi-tination: The Netherlands
Hello everyone! My name is Desi Nix-Kable, and I am a rising sophomore from West Philadelphia pursuing a degree in environmental engineering at the Swanson School of Engineering. I am also a member of the Frederick Honors College working toward my Honors degree. Aside from academics, I love lifting, eating great food, playing basketball, beating…