Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Today we started the day quite early. For the next two days we will be visiting The Hague and Rotterdam so we packed up an overnight bag and departed by around 8:15.
The first stop once we arrived in The Hague was The Humanity House, an interesting interactive experience where one goes on a “journey” as if one is a refugee. Starting with getting photographed and receiving your “papers,” one then went through the place, where many photographs and videos were displayed and got to hear stories of refugees as well as go through a little mini interview.
After going through and reaching the other side, I had many mixed feelings about the experience. On the one hand, the interactive elements made things more real and forced me to stop and think about just how scary and difficult this process can be to seek refuge in a foreign country. On the other hand, it was hard not to also feel that this seemed to almost trivialize the whole experience. Of course, this exhibit is tailored for a wide-ranging audience, including children, so obviously the types of information, displays etc. must be adjusted accordingly so its hard to judge it too harshly but I definitely left with some mixed feelings (and am certainly planning on going to seek out more information when I have a few free moments).
We then walked through the city to a nice place where we had lunch. SO many options!
The food was all made fresh and there were salads and fresh fruit and pastries, and smoothies…you name it! I ended up getting this fresh grilled tuna flatbread with pickled onions, cucumbers, lettuce and some kind of mayo sauce, and a yummy mango pastry.
After lunch, we went to see the Peace Palace (didn’t actually get to go inside. It’s only open to visitors once a month unfortunately). Sometimes called the “seat of international law,” this is where the International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of Arbitration are housed. Although we were not able to go into the actual peace palace, there was a nice information center that had a pretty fancy schmancy audio guided tour (I’m talking laser pointers and everything—see photo), and we at least got to snap a few pics from in front of the palace.
We also stopped and got to see the World Peace Flame, which is a beautiful installation that marks the moment in history back in April 2004 where every single country in the world came together and signed a Statement for Peace.
Surrounding this “eternal” flame, there is a stone garden where each country contributed one stone to be placed there. Quite a powerful symbol and for a second, my mind imagined what it would mean if we all came together and actually worked towards a world free from violence and one in which everyone knows peace.
Then onwards to ROTTERDAM!! When we arrived it was clear pretty quickly that this was quite a contrast to the old, quaint city of Amsterdam. We were immediately met with gleaming, modern architecture and tall skyscrapers.
Much of this city was forced to rebuild after the bombings by the Germans in WWII and they came back with some very unique architecture. We are staying in these crazy awesome Cube Houses. They are so cool looking and no one room is the same as the other.
After checking in, we had a few hours before dark so I went right back out to try and explore while there was still light. I generally am not a fan of most modern architecture I see these days, but the architecture in Rotterdam is something special. Each building has character, and I found myself really enjoying every new crazy building I came across. One of the coolest (well, besides the cube houses we are staying in), is this giant indoor market place that is housed in their giant dome-like building that is painted with the coolest picture. Absolutely stunning!
After dinner at the hostel, I went back out to explore a bit more before returning back and am now getting ready to get some zzzZZZ’s. I’m excited for what tomorrow will bring. I hope all of you back in the USA are staying warm and cozy! Ok Goodnight from Rotterdam!!
—Benjamin Biffis signing out
