Sim City

On Thursday, our professors took us to the 'New Towns' of the Netherlands. Our first stop was the 12 year old islands known as IJburg. The city itself is even younger, which has provided the opportunity for state-of-the-art urban planning and architecture throughout the whole area. A section of the city has been devoted (few building regulations) to architectural creativity and experiments with building materials. The first picture below is one of the many floating homes. There is a whole lake which will soon be filled with floating homes similar to this one.


The next two pictures are of a neighborhood in which the owners of the land can build whatever kind of house they want. Typically people must follow a strict code and match the other homes on the street. All but one of the houses on the street are very different from the traditional look. I think my favorite is the wood and black one in the first picture.
Overall, the city was an impressive display of todays architecture and a cool city plan. I would really like to go back and explore it a little bit more, but I doubt I will have time.
The next stop was Almere. This city was born in 1984 and has grown to be the eighth largest city in the Netherlands. Its growth is still going at a steady rate and the amount of space it has to expand in has created a really impressive city layout. The city has several central nodes all connected via an extensive bus lane and bike-path network. There are many roads that only busses are allowed to take which provides for speedy bus travel. Here again was some impressive architecture as seen in the wavy building below.
The next photo is of a really neat building set-up. These white, brown, and orange-ish homes are built on a 'green carpet'. The four sections of green carpet are up on top of a mall like shopping center. One of the sections of green carpet also has a six story appartment building, while another is a big flowing hill of grass. It was a really cool idea place, and surprisingly cheap (about $900 a month for the spacious appartments and free flying lessons).I would love to return to Almere as well and I just might go back on Friday, but we will see.

Class Trips

So I realized that I haven't really said much about the class trips we have been doing. So, this and the next post will be about the week of classes, which was my favorite week by quite a bit.
On Monday we toured through Lake Haarlem and the North Sea Dunes. Lake Haarlem, 42,000 acres, doesn't actually exist any more; it was drained in the 19th century and now is home to the town of Hoofddorp (population ~ 70,000), the Schiphol Airport, and lots of farmland. The picture below is of the Cruquius Pumping Station. It houses the world's largest steam pump. This station with the help of two other steam driven pumps drained the lake through a system of canals and dikes over the course of four years. We actually got to see it fired up (its actually run by electricity now) and put into action which was pretty phenomenal.


Tuesday our excursion took us along the Vecht river, where we took a look at various techniques and methods used to accomodate rising water levels in the river. We stopped in the cool little town of Wijk bij Duurstede for lunch and were able to do a little exploring. This first picture shows the castle ruins nearby which used to be home to a well off bishop! It was cool to see the moat still in place around the main tower.


This next picture is of me standing underneath the world's only 'drive-through' windmill! It was very big.


We also had a fun time feeding the ducks and watching them waddle around and 'argue' over the bread. I feel like the Dutch ducks here are like a better version of Calvin squirrels. They are fun to watch, don't attack people, and are really colorful.

On Wednesday, we went on my favorite field trip yet. We took the vans down to Rotterdam and drove through Europoort. Europoort is the busiest port on the planet and is considered by some as Europes most crucial entry point. The port is located at the mouth of the Rhine which allows for transport to Germany, Belgium and partially France. Most of the port is sectioned based on transport type. We visited the Fruit Port which is were all the fruit is shipped to and from. Another section seemed to be completely devoted freight containers. The picture below shows a glimpse of the mountains of containers. They were in every direction; left, right, up, down. We even got to see a gigantic container ship bringing more containers in to the port.

At the edge of the port was Maasvlakte I, the first of two man-made additions to the land for port expansion. It houses huge chemical plants, warehouse distribution centers (like reebok), and numerous railway loading stations. We went to a chemical plant owned by LyondellBasell (previously ARCO) and were able to get a tour of the control building and the plant itself. The plant is currently shut down due to the economic instability, but it usually would be operating 24 hours a day producing propylene oxide among other products. It was cool to see things like a distillation column or a steam input line in person rather than just drawing a box on paper. This visit really made me want to be a chemical engineer and set my mind dreaming.

Too Much to Explore

Wow! Its been busy here in Europe to say the least. I have been having a lot of fun, and I will try and fill you in as well as I can. Last week in class, we traveled to a number of different locations in the Netherlands and learned a lot about the water-management problems and solutions unique to the Netherlands. One of the coolest stops was at a windmill museum. Here we were able to learn about the history of draining lakes/polders, and the history of windmills. We were even able to go inside a working one and the miller connected the Archimedean screw so we could see it in action.

Another of the coolest stops was the huge inflatable dam at Ramspol. Unfortunately because of its highly secure automated nature, we were not able to see it inflated. However, we were able to see a movie and a presentation by an expert about the reasons behind building the dam, the construction process of the dam, and finally the maintainence and operation of the dam. It was a very cool place.
Following the four days of class, several students and I went to Brussels, Belgium by train. This city is the capital of Belgium, and now the capital of the European Union hosting the majority of it's institutions as well as the headquarters of NATO. Brussels is also the third richest city in the whole of the EU. While in town, we went to Grand Place (a big square surrounded by huge historic buildings) and the botanical gardens. Amazingly, we were also able to find a three course meal for just 10 euros and got to eat a famous Belgium Waffle! Finally, we landed in the Vincent Van Gogh Youth Hostel on the edge of downtown.
The next morning, we headed to a brewery in an older part of town. This was a super old brewery handed down through the family for 4 generations. Much of the equipment from years ago is still used today, and the process is still the same (at this brewery they didn't use yeast, so fermentation took 3 years!). Of course, we also got to sample some of the beer which was fabulous. After that we headed to the train station, where we split ways. I headed to London to see my friend Tom while the rest of the group headed to Antwerp for the day. Taking the high-speed train through France and the Chunnel, I arrived in London with the sun and clear skies. Tom and I traveled by the 'tube' (subway) and bus to Abbey Road, the famous location of the Beatles album (it was produced there and named after the road). The picture above is my attempt at reliving the famous album cover. From here, we headed to the 'Big Ben' clock tower and the Palace of Westminster (picutred below). I was in awe at the buildings in this area and their amazing intricacies and grandeur.
On the way, we also passed by a huge protest of the turmoil in the Gaza Strip, as well as huge crowds in the shopping districts. I was really amazed at how many people were in London and how big of a city it is. Here, I spent the night in the Acacia Hostel in South Kensington after meeting some of Tom's friends and getting a tour of his school. I returned tired to Amsterdam by plane, but in time to regenerate for a Calvin Alumni party. It was a good time with free food and soda, but was I ever ready for bed!
On a side note, I wanted to mention that if you click the pictures you can view a bigger full resolution shot. It is nice when looking at some of the cooler buildings like the Westminster Palace.

To the North

Over the weekend, the class traveled and stayed in the northern Netherland of Groningen. We traveled across a huge man-made island which is home to hundreds of wind turbines. These turbines lined the sheep pastures as far as the eye could see. Also on this island/province of Flevoland is the "sim city" of Almere. This city roughly being from the 1970's is one of the newest developements in the world. City planners and architects have had a hay-day working there. I would really like to return there at some point.


Arriving in Groningen, our group split in half. I went with the group to Aduard while the other group traveled to the city of Groningen. Here we met our host families and spent some time getting to know them at a church potluck. During our stay we went to a Dutch waterpark, ate traditional Dutch food, took a look at a Dutch military training village, and elxplored a nearby nature preserve. One of the funnest parts was spending time with the youth group at a 'new years' celebration. Their youth room had a bar and served beer, wine, and food. It was a different experience to say the least. One of the 19 year old 'bartenders' explained that if the church didn't have a bar, it would be very difficult to entice kids to attend. It was a good time and a lot of fun to talk with the Dutch youth and get to know them.


Some of you may know that the Dutch constantly have a project to keep water levels at an acceptable level. Roughly 25% of the country is below sea level, with about 50% just within a few meters above it. Thus, the use of huge dams, dikes, and sluice gates is always active to keep floods to a minimum. Below is a picture of one of the huge sluice gates used to allow and restrict water flow with the sea.
Along our tour of the north, we were able to see alot of the coast and some of the harbors. These areas are also nearby a huge nature preserve which houses a unique part of some of the world's birds. It was impressive to see an entire field covered in swans and geese.

More Amsterdam

So I am a little bit behind in my blogging, so I will just do a quick post or two of the past few days.
To start, Friday was a free day for us students. A small group of us traveled into Amsterdam again and were able to visit a wide variety of things. We started by taking the tram to the museum district. As you might imagine, the tram was packed! The area we got off at had a really neat outdoor ice rink, several coffee and pastry stands and this cool I AMsterdam sign. We strolled through the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. Both of these had some really interesting exhibits, although the Rijks was under construction and parts were closed off.After a typical Dutch lunch of pancakes (more like pizza for us in the US), we traveled to the Heineken Experience! This was a museum sort of thing for the old Heineken brewery in town. It had a ride, samples, and even booths to watch commercials. We learned the whole process of beer making and bottling as well.We rounded up the day back in Central Station in time to get a bus home. Walking there was with out a doubt interesting. The city at night is a busy and sketchy place. All the things Amsterdam is known for, from window prostitution to coffeeshops to tourist traps to friendly pubs were alive. It was interesting to recognize the locals as they passed by all of it without a second thought. The tourists were also obvisous, as they were either lost or eyes wide and cameras clicking. To say the least, we were able to see some of the extremes the city had to offer.

Into Amsterdam

Today we traveled to the heart of Amsterdam. We had sort of a tour of the city led by one our professors. He told us about the origins of the city and how it has changed since it's early days. The Dutch people have a passion for their old city, and take some extreme measures to keep the architecture and design of the buildings intact, as seen in some of these pictures. (this second picture is of the intricate ceiling of one of the churches)

















We also were given a tour and allowed in the museum of Central Station. Central Station is the major transportation hub of the city. Trains, trams, buses, and soon metros will all converge on this huge station. The city is currently working on a underground metro that will connect the north half of the city to the south half of the city. The amazing part of this project is that they are creating it without altering the surface, which means they have to dig beneath the river, buildings and roads without disrupting the foundations. To say the least this is quite the engineering feat. (the next picture is Central Station)

After this stuff we set upon the city to explore as we wanted. We found some sweet restaurants and stores. The french fries were really good and the pizza was awesome. The whole day was really cold though which was the only downer.

The trip back was an interesting trip though. We boarded the bus in Amsterdam at about 5:30pm hoping to arrive in our base town in 15 minutes. We did arrive in 15 minutes, but it took us a moment too long to realize it. One of our group made it out the doors before they closed on us. We were stuck until the next stop. Getting off here, we soon asked the next bus driver if they were headed where we needed. She said yes, so we boarded the train. After just a few minutes, we realized it was still heading in the wrong direction. We pushed the button and waited for the next stop... 10 minutes away. Finally, we got the opportunity to wait another 15 minutes for the right bus. Getting on the next one and confirming that it did get to our town, we got home at about 7:00. I think we all learned to make sure we pay better attention and get off when we should. It was a fun day despite the various waits.

Arrival!

We made it! The trip to the Netherlands was a long ordeal in the airports and airplanes. My flight from Anchorage to Minneapolis was delay a whole 6 hours. Needless to say, my connection to Grand Rapids was therefore missed, and I spent 7 hours in the Minneapolis airport. That flight did arrive on time in Grand Rapids, a whole 5 hours before I needed to be ready to get on the flight to Detroit. During this time I was able to get a meal with my Grandpa and also get a shower. The rest of the flights went smoothly, and I sort of enjoyed the KLM flight on a Boeing 777 to Amsterdam as it had free movies and television shows.

Arriving in Amsterdam we boarded our two rented vans and drove to our 'house'. This place is sweet. Originally constructed and used for teaching youth how to sail, it can house 32 people. Surrounded by canal wreathed fields and neighboring a really cool little town, it easily allowed us to relax after a long day (or two) of travel.

Eager to move our legs, me and a friend (Nick Hoeksema) went outside and threw a frisbee around for a while. Unfortunately we aren't allowed to play on the fields surrounding our house. However, we were able to play on the frozen canals and lake. Apparently since it doesn't stay cold enough too often here in the Netherlands the ice is a rare occasion. I say occasion because a lot of people were taking advantage of it by skating. There were probably about 40 to 50 people both young and old skating around, along with about 100 ducks swimming in a hole.

We also went to the grocery store. This store had a wide assortment of food and other items. Everything from the typical bananas to sushi to at least 5 kinds of humus. I stocked up on some prepared dishes hoping to make my transition from home cooked food to Alex-cooked food as smooth as possible. Don't worry, I probably won't starve. To sum it up, I am tired from the plane ride, amazed by the country, and excited to explore some more. The Netherlands is cool place filled with things probably never to be found in America and definately a culture of its own as well.