5/14 was such a bittersweet day because it was our last one in the Netherlands. Goodbye, stroopwafels and walkable cities, you will be missed! The Hague, while not the official capital of the Netherlands, is where the government is located. This division of influence and power was done intentionally to prevent the interests of Amsterdam…
Tag: Margaret Klein
Dakakkar, Watersnoodmuseum, and Collective Memory
We had a bit of a more serious day here on 5/13. After touring the rooftop farm of Dakakkar and getting to see how Rotterdam has brough agriculture into its city center (which once again combats urban sprawl and adds greenery to the city improving resident mental health and making progress on UN SDG goal…
A Dam-ostration of Ingenuity in the Deltaworks
Wow, 5/12 was quite the day! Today we took a trip away from Rotterdam to travel to the southwest delta of the Netherlands. Here lies one of the greatest engineering feats of mankind: the Deltaworks. The Deltaworks are a system of dams against the sea arms of the North Sea in this region in order…
The Future is Now at the Port of Rotterdam
We had such a fun day on 5/11! Today was our first full day in Rotterdam, so of course we had to start by seeing the seaport because it is the largest in Europe. We arrive and the first thing we go to see are the cows. That’s right, on the port of Rotterdam floats…
I’m Friends with the Münster Under my Bed
Here on 5/10, we did a little something different today. We said goodbye to Enschede and set out for Rotterdam, but not before taking a day trip to Münster, Germany. In Münster, we took a tour of the city and learned about its history. Münster is a deeply Roman Catholic part of Europe and has…
Enschede’s Water Drainage Systems and Open Air Market
What a relaxing day we had 5/9! Today we took a walking tour of downtown Enschede’s water drainage systems lead by one of their own local civil engineers who works on this. Our lovely guide explained to us the Enschede is one of the few places in the Netherlands that is naturally above sea level…
Wind Power: Its more than Windmills!
What a day we had on 5/8! For us in the Netherlands cohort, we started the day with a very informative lecture on the mechanics of wind power from one of University Twente’s own mechanical engineering professors. Then, we all boarded a bus and drove out to see a modern windfarm ourselves that’s managed by…
Enschede, Twente, and Kristalbad
We had quite the eventful day on 5/7! We left Amsterdam bright and early and drove east until we reached the city of Enschede in one of the Netherlands easternmost provinces. When we arrived, we were greeted by the students and faculty of University Twente whom we will be spending the next several days with….
A Historical Example of Dutch Sustainability on the Zaandijk Zaanse Schans
On 5/6, we went to see the relocated historical Zaandijk Zaanse Schans here in the Netherlands. At this site, the iconic Dutch windmills were first deployed. These historical feats of engineering took wind, a free source of energy, used the sails to convert it into rotational motion, and then a series of gears to turn…
A Uniquely Dutch and Sustainable Community
On 5/5, we all had the opportunity to tour Schoonship, a unique community here in Amsterdam built entirely on one of the many canals, or grachts, as the Dutch would call them. The community is unique in that instead of each house being on land they all float in the waters of the canal. This…
Spicing up the Cacao Trade
On our first day here in the Netherlands, we had the privilege of touring local Dutch chocolate business Cacao and Spice, as well as tasting several of their high-quality chocolates. Amsterdam was once the richest city on Earth from the spice trade, and remains the largest port for cacao. Cacao and Spice combines both of…
Destination: Netherlands
Hi, my name is Maggie and I am from the Philadelphia area. I am a first year student here at SSOE and FHC studying Civil Engineering. I want to use my life to build a greener world for everyone, so I am really excited to learn about sustainability in the Netherlands. While I am here…