Update: 7 weeks in!

Hi Everyone!

So it has been a while since I have blogged. I am just going to update y’all will all the excursions that I have gone on so far while in studying here in the Netherlands!

Warning: this post is long but includes lots of pictures!

Through school I have had the opportunity to travel to 3 different Dutch cities while I have been here. The first city we visited as a class was Amsterdam! In Amsterdam we started the day by taking a tour through the canals. This was a great way to see a good part of the city. After the canal tour we were lead by our professor on a city walk through the city of Amsterdam. During this tour we were able to see different churches in Amsterdam and even a Buddhist temple. During the afternoon we went to the Rijksmuseum and were able to spend an hour or so walking through the museum and exploring. Later in the afternoon I had the opportunity to visit the Anne Frank House! At the Anne Frank House we were given a history lesson on what happened and how they hid in the Secret Annex. This so far has been one of the coolest things that I have done so far here the Netherlands. I learned about Anne Frank growing up and actually getting to see the Secret Annex was amazing.

House on the canal tour.

At the I AMsterdam sign in front of the Rijksmuseum.

Outside the Anne Frank House. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures in side the house.

The next place that we visited with school was the city of Groningen. In Groningen we started by having a city walk and see the different parts of the city. The first place we stopped in Groningen was the University of Groningen, which was such a beautiful school. After seeing the school we went on to see the St. Martin’s Church. At the church we were given a guided tour and were told about the history of the church. One of the coolest thing about this church was the restored paintings in the church. The paintings were all painted over when the church was converted from a Catholic church to a Protestant church. During the tour we also were able to climb and see the tops of all the domes and the architecture of the building. After the church we went to see the Groningen Museum. The museum has a David Bowie exhibition while we were visiting. We did not get to see this exhibition because it was sold out. My favorite exhibition at this museum was the Joris Laarman Lab. This exhibition was all different pieces made through new and inventive science.

Outside a cafe we stop at for coffee.

A store front in Groningen with the original Jewish looking front.

My favorite piece at the Groningen Museum. It is a table made out of voxels(3D pixels).

St. Martin’s Church

Tower of St. Martin’s Church.

The final city I have visited is Utrecht. While in Utrecht the first thing we did was climb the tallest tower in the Netherlands, the Dom Tower. The Dom Tower is 115m(369ft) high, the highest viewing point is at 95m (312ft). So I climbed up 465 steps to see the view from the top of the tower. After climbing to the top of the tower and learning about the history of the tower, we stopped for a cup of coffee. One thing I have learned while living here in the Netherlands is that coffee time is a very important time of day in the Dutch culture. I have come to enjoy taking time out of our days and having coffee or tea and socializing with the people around us. So after our coffee stop we and toured the Rietveld Schroder House. The Rietveld Schroder House is the first of it kind. Rietveld wanted there to be a seamless transition from the outside world to the inside world. You can read more about the house here (if you want).

Garden of the church in Utrecht

View from the Dom Tower.

Highest point of the Dom Tower looking down.

Stone work from the Romans, over 2000 years old.

View from the Top of the Dom Tower.

Through my business class I have also had the opportunity to visit the city of Delft and meet with Chinese students and talk about the differences in the business cultures of our respective countries. Also I have had the opportunity to visit 3 different businesses

• Better Future Factory – they make recycled filament for 3D printers
• Vadesto – an outdoor company where you can rent different things to see the beautiful Netherlands.
• Grolsch – we had the opportunity to tour their brewery in Enschede, NL

Here are some pictures from those trips:

The New Church of Delft

When we visited Delft the Christmas lights were still in the trees!

Canal in Delft

Outside the company of Vadesto after meeting with the owner, Bert.

Grolsch Brewery – they celebrated their 400th anniversary in 2015.

So I know this was long, but now you are all up to date on the trips I have taken over the past 7 weeks. Tomorrow I leave for spring break. I will be visiting Switzerland and Greece over spring break.

Thanks for reading!

Brianna