Rotterdam

We arrived at school today at 7:00 a.m. for a long 3 hour bus trip to Rotterdam. On the way we experienced rush hour traffic in Arnhem, Utrecht, and Rotterdam. Rotterdam is the third largest port in the world, and the largest in Europe. We made it all the way to the Europoort. We saw the large "Maaslandkering", which is a swiveling dam that closes and sinks, when necessary, to prevent high tides from coming in and flooding the whole city of Rotterdam. It is the northernmost point of the Delta Works. One quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level, and the Delta Works helps protect the country from massive flooding. We watched as huge cargo containers were unloaded from ships. We also saw the church that the Pilgrims left to travel to the new world, "Pelgrimvanderskerk," or "Pilgrim Father's Church." Tomorrow students will stay in Doetinchem and attend photography and physical education classes at Ulenhofcollege.

Rotterdam