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.

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First lesson learned

Sunday May 20, 2018

by Kris Stepenuck

We made it! The three leaders, that is. We spent the day – which happens to be Carolyn’s birthday – visiting each site of the first half of the days of the travel course by car. The weather was perfect – sunny, temperatures around 22C, and just the slightest of breezes. The towns each have their own character, many with lovely cobblestone streets (called kinder cops, or “children’s heads”!), which are narrow in places and have long chains of row houses that are occasionally separated by a church or a tower (making it all very picturesque). And, of course, no matter where you look, there are people on bikes, bikes in racks, and bikes paths – an endless criss-cross pattern of bike paths. And there is water – in canals, rivers, lakes, and the sea. These two things are key to why we are here in the Netherlands, and we eagerly anticipate the many visits we will make to learn how the Dutch manage water for so many purposes – from agriculture to domestic to wastewater recycling to living life at, nearly at, or even below sea level.
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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.
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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.