UVM travel study course on water management and sustainability
by Jane Stromberg
This was one of my favorite bike rides because of the scenery, the downhill trails, and the length of the ride. It was less sunny and a lot cooler out that day, which was kind of refreshing. The scenery meant that riding from Den Hague to Katwijk was really beautiful.
by Dani Dolphin
Students on the trip had the opportunity to do a ‘Snapchat takeover’ for UVM’s account – if you missed it, here’s the compiled videos from the day!
by Sam Terwilliger
After arriving at the Schiphol Airport I knew I had a long day ahead but couldn’t wait to get started. While the plane was landing I had noticed how unique the land was; the grasslands looked like they were broken up into grids creating an interesting landscape altogether. After reading information on how this came to be in the first couple chapters of The Dutch and their Delta, I was interested to get to Amsterdam and start learning about how the Dutch manage their water. Continue reading “Reflecting on the first day of class”
by Phil Carruthers
Recently we rode our bikes along the western coast of the Netherlands, to the city of Katwijk in the province of South Holland. During this ride, we traveled through what I think was some of the coolest scenery I have ever seen. We departed from De Haag and traveled North, and then we hit the sand dunes of the West Coast. This area was completely different from anything else we had ridden through during our trip. Instead of flat roads through small villages and vast agricultural land, this bike path twisted, turned, rose, and fell through the massive dunes. On top of the dunes themselves, fog began to roll through, making the environment even more surreal. Continue reading “The dunes of Katwijk”
by Preston Richardson
As we biked towards Rotterdam, we spent most of the ride surrounded by fields and small villages. Suddenly after crossing a bridge the city began to reveal itself seemingly out of thin air, evidence of the Netherlands strict spatial planning. I had been noticing the creative modern architecture throughout our trip, but in Rotterdam I realized that it had been taken to another level. Continue reading “The cube houses of Rotterdam”
by Kyle the Van (edited by Carolyn Goodwin Kueffner)
Hello, my name is Kyle and I’m the transport van for the NR 195! This very special university course is being taught via bicycle, with the classroom on the road, traveling in a GIANT circle starting and ending in Amsterdam! This was the brilliant idea of the instructor for the class, Kristine Stepenuck. Continue reading “Kyle the ‘Helpwagen’”
by Giuliana Frizzi
Here is a video of me celebrating my birthday with the group. Everyone was so great to surprise me with two cakes (and a mango for Ava and chocolate for Nina). I especially enjoyed Kris’s Dutch Happy Birthday song!
Today was a great day because we went on multiple tours and the biking was not too rigorous. I especially liked to see all the windmills, and even though it was my birthday, I was able to get some great gifts for my family.
by Jenna Bragdon
Today’s journey started off bright and early with a 5am roll-out from Wallwijk. As exhausted as we were, it did not stop us from enjoying a beautiful sunrise on our 40 km journey to Dordrecht to see the the Biesbosch, a National Park in the Netherlands. Continue reading “De Biesbosch”
by Ava Schwemler
On Saturday, we traveled from Almere to Den Bosch by train. The bike cars that were designated for bikes were just barely able to fit our bikes, even after we split the 17 of us into two groups. After a 30 minute train ride, we arrived in Den Bosch and had time to explore the open-air market in the city center. We tried some local cuisine, such as “ice koffie” which, to our surprise, was ice cream blended with coffee. Some members of our group were daring enough to try a local delicacy, haring, which is pickled fish with white onion.
by Nina Truslow
Hallo! Today we are in Nijmegen, the oldest city in the Netherlands. It is situated on the river Waal, a major tributary of the Rhine, which flows in from Germany close by to the east. The city took part in a large national program called Room for the River, which encompassed several town and city infrastructure projects intended to give rivers more room to flood.