From the Beach to the Canals - Scheveningen and Amsterdam

This weekend marked the first weekend of the program. It's crazy to think that I've already been here a week. Before I know it it'll almost be time to head back! But hopefully I'll have made the most of the summer before that happens!

Saturday started off with class in the morning and early afternoon. We learned about roundabouts and then went on a tour to see some roundabouts in the neighboring city of Pijnacker. Apparently this city has over 50,000 residents and only one traffic light. Every other intersection is controlled by a roundabout. Not the giant horrible rotaries that cover the state of Massachusetts, but the small ones that don't seem like a death trap to drive in. Its crazy to imagine that a city almost the size of Portland, Maine, has only one traffic light. But the Dutch seem to have found a method that works for them!

A "Turbo-Roundabout" in the town of Pijnacker. We attracted a few strange stares as a group of 25 Americans standing in the grass next to the roundabout taking photos.

On the Bicycle Superhighway to Pijnacker

Saturday the weather was warm and sunny, so after class adjourned all of the students headed to the beach. The nearest beach is in the town of Scheveningen (try saying that 5 times fast), about a 40 minute tram ride away. The beach was pretty nice. It had a boardwalk and a sort of Jersey Shore vibe about it, but it seemed fun. And the water was slightly less cold than the beaches in Maine this time of year, so that was a plus! Only slightly warmer though, as the North Sea is not know for it's tropical waters.

The North Sea. Is that America in the distance?!?!

View to the boardwalk side of Scheveningen Beach

They have a pier and everything

View down the boardwalk

A nice art sculpture on the boardwalk

Why so sad?

Palm trees in Holland?! I didn't know they could survive here.

The 2015 Netherlands Dialogue Crew

As promised, Sunday was our free day of the week to do what we wanted. A group of us decided that the best to do would be to take the train north to Amsterdam for the day. We will be going back to Amsterdam for a day or two as part of the program, and I'll be there at the end of August with my family, but it was only an hour train ride and we really wanted to see the city. It was well worth it in my opinion. We mainly just walked around, but from what I saw Amsterdam seemed like a really pretty city.

Welcome to Amsterdam!

SO MUCH CHEESE!!!

The Grand Palace on Dam Square. 

A typical Amsterdam Street. The city is filled with architecture like this. It's interesting that the city center is all old buildings about this height with no skyscrapers. It makes sense because the city is so old, but I'm used to American cities where the city center is where all of the skyscraper are, usually mixed in with the older buildings.

Canals and Buildings that look like this. What else does a European city need?

Cool looking buildings. I really like the tops of each building. They are so intricate.

More canals.

Heineken Brewery! We didn't go in, but hopefully next time!

House Boat! We past one stretch of canals that was all house boats. That's where I would want to live someday.

People take care of their buildings here

MORE CHEESE!!!

Me and a canal. If only I actually knew where to look when taking a photo.

More typical Amsterdam buildings. I also noticed that the buildings are super narrow. I wonder what the inside of some of these residential buildings look like.

Caroline looks very happy with her Magnum ice cream bar

And my waffle covered with nutella!

Overall, it was a really fun weekend. I'm glad I got to see a lot more of The Netherlands. I think I'm beginning to get a better appreciation for this country.