To start off the day my International Environmental Law and Sustainability and Global Corporate Leadership class traveled 2+ hours to go to the Edam Cheese Festival in North Holland. Upon arriving at the festival I was quite surprised by how small the town was. Home to one of the most widely known cheese festivals in the world, I did not expect Edam to be such a quaint, charming, and peaceful little town. As I strolled along the streets of the town I was mesmerized by the size of the homes, their simple architectural beauty, and the picturesque landscape of cobble stoned alleyways lined with wildflowers.
At the festival I got the opportunity to sample all kinds of cheese (Edam, Gouda, Beemster, Maasdam, Roomano, and Boerenkaas, etc.) from cattle, goats, sheep, buffalo, and cows. Not being a massive fan of cheese, I only tried slices of the Edam, Gouda, and Beemster cheese, each of which had a rich and creamy taste. Knowing that my mom is a fan of cheese though, I decided to get her a wedge of the Beemster cheese along with a little cheese slicer as a gift. Additionally, I got the chance to watch cheese parade (feat. the Cheese Queen) along with a historical reenactment of the cheese market from the middle ages with men and women all dressed in traditional Dutch outfits including the famous wooden clogs.
A highlight of my travels today was when all of us gathered together around a picnic table and sharing slices of cheese, berries, and fruit that we had bought from local venders. We got the opportunity to relax, converse with one another, and eat amazing Dutch cheese while watching and listening to a traditional Dutch performance. It was an amazing start to a new day of traveling and was a quintessential Dutch experience that everyone should experience at some point in their life.
Volkswagon / Herbert Diess
At lunch in Haarlem, Morgan told us about Volkswagen and its CEO Herbert Diess. During her presentation, I found out that Volkswagen was founded by none other than Adolf Hitler of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party in 1937 then known as Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH. This came an utterly complete shock to me and has forever changed my perception on Volkswagen.
I also learned about Volkswagen’s 2015 emission scandal when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to the German automaker. The agency had found that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines to activate their emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing which caused the vehicles’ NOx output to meet US standards during regulatory testing, but emit up to 40 times more NOx in real-world driving.
A Time I Felt Personally Challenged
A time that I felt challenged personally during this trip was on my way back from Luxembourg during my first solo weekend trip. When I got to the train station, I found out that my 4:40pm train got canceled, so I went to the information desk to check if all other trains going to Liége (my connection on the way to Maastricht) were canceled. Without telling me directly that all trains to Liége from Luxembourg were canceled, she said that my best bet was to take a train leaving at 3:50pm and to make a transfer at the next station to get to Liége. Thinking I had no other option, I got on the train departing at 3:50pm and got off at the stop she specified. Upon arriving at the next station, however, I could not find the platform I needed to get on for my next train. Instead, all I saw was bus transfer information. That’s when I realized I needed to take a bus to get to the next station and not a train. However, instead of that bus taking me straight to the Liége train station, it took me to a ‘middle of the nowhere’ station that would eventually take me to the Liége train station after I waited an hour of course. After waiting an hour the train finally came, and I made it to Liége were I was able to catch the last train to Maastricht. Less than halfway through that train ride though they informed everyone on board that there were mechanical issues with the train and that a bus would take us the rest of the way to Maastricht. Thus, I picked up all my stuff and headed to the bus that would finally take me to Maastricht. I eventually arrived at my ‘home away from home’ around 11pm. All in all, I took three trains and two buses to get back to Maastricht that day. Although it was an exhausting day of travel and a bit frustrating and overwhelming, looking back, I am glad I was able to overcome this obstacle and prove to myself that I am capable of traveling solo even when things don’t go according to plan.
Sarah's European Voyage 