2012 Netherlands Exchange Overview

Netherlands 2012 Presentation

Delft & The Hague

Tuesday, our final full day in The Netherlands, we took a 20 minute morning tram from The Hague to Delft. In Delft, students did some last minute souvenir shopping. They also climbed up the very tall and narrow tower of "The New Church." The church was built between 1381 and 1496, and provides a stunning view of Delft and a distant view of The Hague. Inside the church is the burial crypt of the Dutch Royal Family - which includes the remains of Dutch monarchs going back to William of Orange. William of Orange is considered the Dutch George Washington - the founder of the modern state of The Netherlands. Before leaving Delft, students spent about an hour exploring the Prinsenhof Museum, an old convent, that is the place where William of Orange was assassinated. The bullet marks are still visible on the walls. The afternoon was spent in The Hague. Students explored the city and finished their gift shopping. Today we returned to Traverse City. While students were sad to leave their friends in the Netherlands, they were no doubt happy to see their parents and family waiting for them at the Traverse City airport. This will be the last blog post for the year. This has been an amazing trip. Both the American and Dutch students formed friendships that will last a lifetime. Mike and I were truly impressed at how mature all of the students were. We were also very pleased to see all of the American and Dutch students bonding so well as a whole group. Sometimes in groups like this, small cliques form and certain students only hang out with certain other students. That was not the case with these kids. They represented Traverse City West Senior High and Ulenhofcollege, the State of Michigan and Gelderland, and the United States of America and The Netherlands very well. Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Lamers, Mr. Hubbers and myself are all very proud. Thank-you for a wonderful trip.

Delft & The Hague

Farewell Doetinchem Video

On Sunday April 1st, Traverse City West students left Doetinchem. After a half hour farewell, complete with tears and hugs, our charter bus pulled away from Ulenhofcollege en route to The Hague. As is clear in the video, neither the Dutch nor the American students were ready to say goodbye.

Amsterdam

A false fire alarm made sure everyone at the StayOkay hostel in The Hague was awake at 6:30 a.m. After a hearty breakfast, we walked the short distance to the train station to catch the express train to Amsterdam. We spent an hour at the Rijksmuseum. The museum is currently undergoing a major renovation, so we were only able to see a small portion of the museum, including Rembrandt's masterpiece, "The Night Watch." We took a tram to the Anne Frank House. Even those who have never read the diary were moved by the power of the experience. After a few hours of shopping, we took a canal boat tour of the city, and then took the train back to our hostel in The Hague. Tomorrow we will spent some time in Delft and our final afternoon in The Hague.

Amsterdam

Farewell Doetinchem, Hello The Hague

Today we bid a teary farewell to our friends in Doetinchem, and very slowly boarded a bus for the Hague. No one wanted to say goodbye, so at least a half an hour was spent crying and hugging. After finally getting on the bus, we began our trek to The Hague - the political seat of The Netherlands. We visited the Mauritshaus and saw works by Rembrandt and Vermeer, including "The Girl with the Pearl Earring." We walked by the Dutch version of The White House to see where the prime minister works. We toured the MC Escher museum and walked by the "Knights Hall," where the Queen gives the equivalent of the "State of the Union Address." After dinner at our hostel, we took a tram to watch the sunset on the North Sea, in the beach town of Scheveningen. Tomorrow we take an early morning train to Amsterdam.

Goodbye Doetinchem, Hello Hague