Exploring Amersfoort

In Amersfoort, students took a tour of a wastewater treatment center where 40% of the phosphorus received is converted into fertilizer

by Ava Schwemler

We biked from Lelystad to Amersfoort, adding 36 km to our total biking distance. Amersfoort had the appearance of a large city, but the feel of a small town. After visiting Amersfoort’s water treatment plant and learning about how the city recycles phosphorus from waste to make fertilizer, we had some free time to explore. Dani, Preston, Guiliana, Morgan, and I stumbled upon an antique shop in one of the smaller alleyways in town. The two-story shop was full of historic trinkets from the Netherlands and all over the world. Continue reading “Exploring Amersfoort”

Biking Past Sleeping Sheep!

by Morgan Heyl

Here we have a video of the group biking past some friendly locals! These sleepy sheep barely got out of the way of the group on our way to Lelystad from Amsterdam.

It was awesome being fully immersed in the land and all those that inhabit it! Can’t wait to see more beautiful land and animals in the many days to come.

Biking in Amsterdam

The group adjust their bikes after arriving in Amsterdam, before riding to a grocery store for supplies

by Callie Bredice

Day one has finally arrived and regardless of the jet lag and many waking hours we are all beyond excited. As we landed at Schiphol Airport I saw unexpected landscapes. After reading The Dutch and Their Delta, I presumed the landscape would be more green, and have canals and ditches everywhere. However, that was not the case and for the most part Amsterdam looked like a regular city, with ditches in certain locations.

Continue reading “Biking in Amsterdam”

Dutch Culture with Bob van Heeks

Bob van Heeks introduced students to the foods, culture, and places to see in the Netherlands

By Holden Sparacino

On Thursday, the class met with Bob van Heeks, an Amsterdam ex-pat who teaches Dutch language classes in Burlington. Our evening with Bob was attended by students and instructors, to answer our questions and hear about everything from biking etiquette to foods to try to a few words and phrases to know.
Continue reading “Dutch Culture with Bob van Heeks”

Welcome to the Netherlands travel study page!

Delta Works in the Netherlands (CC BY-ND 2.0 Martin Terber)

By Holden Sparacino

Hello! Welcome to the home for UVM’s upcoming travel study course to the Netherlands on water resources and sustainability!

This page will serve as a collection of posts and reflections from students while the course takes place, as well as a resource library leading up to the trip. For now, you can learn more about the course, or contact the instructors for more information.

We are all very excited to be working on this course! We will update this site with more information as planning progresses.