We had a late start today, so I escaped the hotel breakfast in exchange for some local bagels. Afterwards, we headed to the tram station to visit a floating farm. This farm is located about 10 minutes from central Rotterdam. It is home to a herd of 26 cows, who live on a structure floating…

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…

After starting my day with some Nutella and cucumbers, I waited for the arrival of our bus to Deltapark Neeltje Jans. Delta Works is a massive project around the Netherlands to protect the country from flooding during storms and high tides. Delta Works was mostly motivated by the flood of 1953, which we learned about…

Today we took the train to the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). We took a stroll through their campus before arriving at the Green Village. Just like the rest of the Netherlands, TU Delft was tree-lined and bike-lane-paved. Their architecture struck me as quite modern, and the campus was sprawling compared to Pitt. We…

Today we had an easy start, with our first activity starting at 1pm. We made the most of our morning by sleeping in and then heading to see the cubic houses. On our way, we encountered street graffiti, parks, and art installations that make Rotterdam feel vibrant. Seeing the cubic houses up close was strange;…

Today we traveled from Rotterdam to the Hague, which is the Netherland’s government center and an international hub of law. We started by exploring on our own and ended up at the Mauritshuis museum. The Mauritshuis is home to many famous Dutch and European paintings, including Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Not only were…

After packing up all our bags this morning, we hopped on a bus to visit Nouryon, a chemical manufacturing company. We heard from a variety of Nouryon employees about their roles in the company and their sustainability goals. We learned about safety testing, biodegradability, and polymer recycling. I was interested in the biodegradability and eco-toxicity…

This morning, we visited the Anne Frank House and toured the space where Anne’s family and other Jewish families hid for two years during World War II. The families stayed in a secret annex hidden behind a bookshelf in Otto Frank’s office building. They remained undiscovered until the end of the war, where they were…

Following another traditional Dutch hotel breakfast, we went to the train station next to our hotel to travel to the windmill district. When we arrived, we were met with a completely different scene than central Amsterdam. There was a quaint village, with small canals running through swampy marshland. We met some friendly goats who were…

After eating some traditional Dutch hotel breakfast, the group headed out for a day in Amsterdam’s city center. We started with a lovely tour from Ian, who told us more about Amsterdam’s history, culture, and sustainability initiatives. One thing I found interesting was the policies initiated by Amsterdam’s Green Party Mayor. We heard about her…

After a sleepless 7-hour flight, our study abroad group landed in Amsterdam at 6am local time. From there we met with our travel guide Brian, who welcomed us to Amsterdam and introduced us to its modes of public transportation. We then took a train from the airport and then connected to the metro to arrive…

Hello! My name is Lauren Troy. I am an incoming second year student at the University of Pittsburgh studying Applied Mathematics in the David C. Frederick Honors College. I hail from the suburbs of Philadelphia in Delaware County. I enjoy running, playing the piano, and reading in my free time. I am studying Applied Mathematics…