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This week marked the beginning of class, which is the reason why I'm here to begin with. Just for a quick overview, the class I'm taking is called sustainable urban transportation. The class is about studying the way the Dutch design transportation systems and how it differs from the U.S. We also will learn about planning and land use, and how the Dutch take a very different approach to both. We have class six days a week (no Sunday), and generally class goes from 9am until 4 or 5 in the afternoon. The class lasts 5 weeks (until August 7th), and then after that I'm travelling around different parts of Europe until August 29th with my friends and my family.

So far in one week we've already seen quite a bit. We've toured around the city of Delft to see different bike facilities such as bike lanes, cycle tracks, bike boulevards, and more. We took day trips to the nearby suburbs of Rijswijk and Nootdorp to see their facilities and examine their land use policies. We've also had guest lecturers from local professors, planners, and engineers to get their view on how everything is done in The Netherlands.

A parking garage just for bikes at the Delft Train Station. Over 5,000 bike spaces are available at the station.

So many bikes!! Which one is mine?

A bike lane in Delft. A little more defined than in New England

Bike Superhighway!

A turn-bridge just for bikes and pedestrians. 

Some weird speed bump. I don't think any driver in the U.S. would know what this is.

Redesign of a roadway in Rijswijk. The width of the travel lane is only about 10 feet from curb to curb, which is much smaller than in the U.S.

Directional signs for bicyclists. 

The land use here in The Netherlands is really interesting because its so much more controlled than in the U.S. Nearly all housing units I've seen have been apartment/condo buildings or townhouses. I've seen very few single family homes. This is because individual homes take up a lot more space, and The Netherlands is all about limiting the amount of land that is developed. The Netherlands sets specific development zones, and new buildings can only be built in these zones. So a large development of condos can be located right next to open farmland, and that farmland will never be developed unless the zoning changes. The city of Delft is only about 15km from Rotterdam, but there's a large swath of undeveloped farmland separating the two cities that's not allowed to be developed. I find that interesting because it's so different from the U.S.

Farmland with the buildings of Delft in the distance. The large object on the right in the background is a sign for IKEA (gotta have your IKEA).

I've also seen a few cool things not related to urban transportation and land use in the past week as well.

An old neighborhood in Delft.

Turn bridge is closed for a passing shipping container coming down the canal

My view from where I drank my morning coffee on day. Surprisingly I had trouble finding an open cafe at 8:30am one day to buy coffee. Most places didn't open until 9 or 10. Business hours are much different than in the U.S. Most department stores close at 6pm, and some of the grocery store close at 8pm. Hours on Sunday are even more limited. How do people get all of their shopping done in such a limited amount of time?!

A family of swans in the canal!

Old pumping station. The farmland in the background is below the water level and used to be a giant lake. In the 1800s, they built this pumping station to dry out the land and turn it into farmland. The Dutch really know how to get things done.

Dinner with Annie, Kurt, and Kyle at a restaurant located on a barge in a canal. 

One last thing I wanted to note is the weather over here. First off, its always very windy. I've asked a couple of people and they said it's not usually this windy. However, the wind has been very strong the entire week. When we first landed, it was mid 80s and sunny. The next day it rained and the temperature dropped. Most of this week was much chillier and rainier than I was expecting. One day the high was in the upper 50s with rain. When it rains here, it hasn't been a constant rain. It'll rain for about 30 minutes, then it'll be dry for an hour or two until it rains again. A little bit different than New England where I'm used to the all-day steady rain events. The last few days seems to be a return to the sunshine though, which is nice. I guess I should have known that Holland is well-known for it's always beautiful weather!