Day 14
Sunday, June 30
In the morning we bid adieu to Brussels and loaded onto the bus for Amsterdam. We made a pit stop along the way to a place called Deltapark. This by far was one of the more random stops on our trip. This place is a waterpark/science museum/irrigation exhibit. Oh yeah, it's also in the middle of nowhere. The part of Deltapark that we went to see was the Deltaworks. Deltaworks is a huge innovative system of dams and dykes put in place in the Netherlands to keep the country from flooding. Roughly 20% of the Netherlands is located below sea level, so after a devastating flood in 1953 the Deltaworks project was put in place to help prevent future floods.
The red lines are the Deltaworks dams
It's actually a really beautiful place and it was nice to stretch our legs after a long bus trip.
Deltaworks
One of the most impressive parts about the Deltaworks project, is that the dams are designed so that the natural ecosystems of the Dutch coastline are virtually unaffected. The dams allow the natural tide of the ocean to go in and out, preserving the delicate ecosystems. They do this by raising and lowering the enormous dam only when necessary. They do this using a system of hydraulics the raise and lower the barrier. It's really quite impressive and many other countries (including the US) have made visit to the Deltaworks to observe this innovative system. The US has visited in regards to rebuilding the dams and levies in New Orleans.
It's was actually really beautiful out there.
While we learned about all the economic consequences of the Deltaworks project, we took some time to take a turn on the famous water slide. One of our professors called it one of the highlights of the trip each year.
Presenting future Leader of America Sam Haws and me on a Dutch Waterslide
We finally made it to The Hague in the evening, or as we would later come to know it, Den Haag. The Hague is actually the capital city of the Netherlands. However, it's actually kind of a sleepy town. We arrived on a Sunday night and literally the streets were deserted and it was a ghost town. However, we got to stay at the Hilton in Den Haag. It was both a luxury and a curse. The Hilton was super nice and the breakfast was to die for, BUT there was no internet except for in the lobby. The struggle was real. It was just for a few days though, so we survived fine enough.
Day 15
Monday, July 1
We forwent class in the morning in order to make a trip to Amsterdam! The Hague is roughly 40 min-1 hour away from Amsterdam, so we bussed into the city. It was a drizzly overcast day in Amsterdam, but the city still looked beautiful. The buildings are all so narrow and tall and there are bicycles EVERYWHERE. Seriously, there is a sidewalk and then a separate bike sidewalk. Crossing the street is like a double whammy, because you have to cross the bike path AND THEN the actual street.
That red part on the left side of the street is the bike lane.
Our first stop was the Van Gogh Museum! This was one of my favorite museums of the trip. The museum was organized so that it told the story of Van Gogh's life and displayed the works by when he painted them. For example, all the paintings he created when he was living in Amsterdam were displayed together with a narrative of his time and life in Amsterdam. The museum also had the captions in English, which is always helpful.
Outside of the museum
After the Van Gogh, we wandered outside and came across the "I amsterdam" sign located outside of the Rijksmuseum.
It was pretty cute and we all took pictures on our respective letters. Of course "a" is for Allyson.
After wandering around the Rijksmuseum for a while, we walked to the other side of town to the Anne Frank House.
Canals of Amsterdam
The Anne Frank house is the actual home that Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis during WWII. It was actually her father's office building with a secret annex built into the back to house the Frank family and some family friends. The museum had a very long line, but was definitely worth the wait. During the tour you get to walk through the actual house and see the bookcase that hid the secret annex from the outside world. But, the house is empty. Otto Frank, Anne's father, wanted to keep the house empty to make a statement and represent the emptiness left behind after the Nazis ransacked the annex and captured the Frank family. The rooms are barren and there are quotes written on the wall taken from Anne's diary. The whole experience was very moving and I definitely recommend visiting the house if you are ever in Amsterdam.
The Anne Frank house
We spent the rest of the day wandering around Amsterdam. We got some amazing ice cream and roamed the streets. We also walked through the Red Light district, but I have no photos to show from that. It was definitely an interesting experience.
Bicycles on the canals of Amsterdam
We caught a late train back to the Hague and turned in for the night.
Day 16
Tuesday, July 2
Today, we had a shortened class because we had a class trip to the Binnenhof! The Binnenhof is the Dutch parliament. It was actually really interesting to see just how different things work over there. The Dutch government is a Constitutional Monarchy, meaning that they have a monarch (King Willem Alexander I) but also a parliament.
King Willem Alexander
Unlike the Constitutional Monarchy of England, where the Queen is basically just a symbolic figure with no real political power, the Dutch King Willem Alexander actually plays a role in the government. He actually only recently ascended the throne in April of this year after his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated. The government is taken much more casually in the Netherlands. The senators just walk around the square of the Binnenhof and the King often bicycles into work. Very different from the Secret Service and bullet-proof cars that we're used to in America.
Binnenhof
Also, their constitution is in their giftshop. Yeah, the giftshop. It's just sitting in a glass case in the middle. We didn't even know it was the constitution until some lady pointed it out.
It's literally just sitting in the middle of this giftshop
Dat gold carriage doh.
Queen Beatrix on Budget Day
After our trip to the Binnenhof, we went to the beach! It was just a short tram ride to the shore and we spent the afternoon just hanging out. Not too different from a regular afternoon at UCLA, but instead of Santa Monica, we were in The Hague.
It was kind of overcast, so this was about the view we were getting.
Day 17
Wednesday, July 3
On our last day in the Netherlands, we had class in the morning and then departed for our last trip to Amsterdam! Once we got into the city we headed for the world famous Heineken Brewery!
We got to learn about the history of the Heineken company and see the process on how they make their famous brew.
Where they stir up the secret ingredients
Photo op
After we toured the factory, we got to go up onto the roof of the Brewery. There was a beautiful view from the top and we enjoyed some delicious burgers and of course a few complementary Heinekens!
After we got done with Heineken, we went back to the amazing ice cream place we found the first day and then took an early train back to the Hague. That would be it for Amsterdam and the Netherlands for we were on to Paris in the morning! So we took the "Uitgang" (exit, the only Dutch word I picked up) and got ready for a long bus ride into Paris!
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