Beach Club WOW!

Staying on top of this blogging is more difficult than I thought it would. I guess I've been a lot busier than I thought I would be. Before leaving I imagined myself spending hours just sitting in the central square of Delft drinking coffee or something. Instead I've been constantly on the run or busy with lectures or homework. But I guess I can't really complain that I've been too busy. It just means I've seen and done more things!

Monday this week began with me checking the weather in the morning and the forecast saying sunny and near 70 degrees, so I dressed in a t-shirt and didn't bring my rain coat. Instead it was rainy all day in the low 60's. We had lecture in the AM and then took a tour around Delft to look at some aspects of sustainable safety. I was very wet once I returned from the outing and it took me awhile to dry. I spent the afternoon and evening catching up on some homework and just relaxing a little. I got take-out turkish for dinner again, which has been one of my go-tos for a quick meal.

We did get a lunch break in the old town of Delft, and miraculously the rain stopped for that hour. During that I time I did some more exploring around Delft.

The drawbridge for the bike path over the canal was up for a ship! The shipping channel is filled with drawbridges so ships can get to Rotterdam.

I finally found a wooden shoe!

Someone left their heart in Delft.

The next day we spent in Den Haag (The Hague)! Our assignment during the day was to ride the tram around the city in groups and meet up on the beach in Scheveningen in the evening. Delft is close enough to Den Haag that it is connected via tram. The #1 tram line actually runs in front on my dorm and runs through the center of Delft, Rijswijk, and Den Haag before reaching the beach. Overall the day was really fun! The weather was finally sunny and warm (no lying weather forecast today) and we had some free time in the afternoon to explore Den Haag.

Arrival in Den Haag at the central train station from the tram. We observed how the trams are so much faster than the Green Line in Boston. The tram has priority at traffic signals, so when the tram is approaching an intersection the light turns red for all vehicles and the tram is able to go with only stopping for a few seconds.

Our lunch spot in the Grote Markt. I had a delicious pulled chicken sandwich! It was so good I felt the need to specifically point it out.

Walking around in Den Haag.

So well landscaped!

The fountain in front of the Parliament Building. I may already have posted a photo like this in my first post on Den Haag, but it's so pretty who doesn't want to see it again?

Kyle and I in front of the Parliament Building.

After lunch and walking around for awhile we decided to go to a museum. We still had some time to kill before meeting at the beach. Our group decided to go to the M.C. Escher museum. I didn't even know that Escher had a museum in Den Haag or that he was from the Netherlands, but it turns out he does and he was. The museum was cool. This is the type of art that I can go look at and enjoy. I find it really interesting how he makes all of the paintings work even with the designs overlapping each other. Maybe that's the engineer in me.

Some of M.C. Escher's work

Flying fish?

Birds and fish? What's happening!

After the museum we finished up riding the tram and went to Scheveningen. Our final destination was here because Professor Furth had catered us a dinner at Beach Club Wow. The beach at Scheveningen is lined with beach clubs up on the shore, and Beach Club Wow is one of said clubs. It was also really fun! It was a great addition to the program I thought, and a good way to unwind a little after a non-stop schedule for the past two weeks. The weather was still beautiful so we were able to go swimming in the ocean before dinner. Dinner itself was a full BBQ. After dinner we had some drinks on the beach and relaxed a little. Then nearly all of us in the program did some dancing. Maggie tried to teach us some Irish step dancing, but I wasn't too great at it. Maybe next time!