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