Initial Impressions



First introduction to Delft.

After a long flight, and an even longer layover in Iceland it felt great to finally land at Schipol Airport on Friday, 6/27. Right away aboard the train in route to Delft it was apparent the dedication there was to cycling throughout the country. Along the train tracks was a two-way bike path for most of the trip. I got off at Delft, and was immediately immersed with the cyclists. I found my way to the Markt, a pedestrian only zone that also allows bikes (that actually use to at one point allow vehicles to park). After getting lost and wandering around I found the hostel and later met up with some classmates that had arrived earlier.

Beach at Scheveningen

The next day, Saturday 6/28, those of us that had arrived early went for a bike ride led by Dr. Bertini. This would be my first introduction to biking in the Netherlands. Dr. Bertini gave us a quick overview concerning cycling such as how to signal and that the shark teeth (white triangles) painted on the ground meant yield. After getting use to biking with an upright single speed with a coaster break we were off to the beach. The low level of stress and the great biking facilities make picking up cycling here pretty easy. Simply knowing when and where to yield is key. Along the way, we stopped at some different facilities where Dr. Bertini pointed out different designs the Dutch have put in place in order to slow traffic down or make an intersection safer. For example at a number of intersections a vehicle is required to stop many feet before the light, while the cyclists stops much farther ahead. This gives the driver of the vehicle full sight of all cyclists going straight while making a right turn, thus preventing the ever dangerous right hook. The ride also included a brief tour through The Hague. The beach at Scheveningen was a great break, and offered a great view of the North Sea. 

Windmills at Kinderdijk

On Sunday, 6/29 a couple of our other classmates arrived and we rode our bikes to Kinderdijk. This ride was much farther, 60 km, and took us through the bucolic scenary of the Netherlands. This ride like yesterdays was made easy with all the different cycle tracks through the countryside. We rode through Rotterdam and got a quick view of Delfshaven, the original port for Delft. Kinderdijk is the Dutch sight most of us our familiar with, windmills alongside a canal. This UNESCO World Heritage sight has been preserved as a number of other windmills throughout the country have been torn down. It was really something worth seeing. Large, old windmills lining a canal, with familys still living in them. We rode back to Rotterdam, and some of us hopped on a train as we wanted plenty of time to catch the Netherlands vs Mexico World Cup match. After the Netherlands victory we went to the Markt and drank beer with the large crowd dressed in orange.

Bike Parking at Delft Univsersity

On Monday, 6/30 the Northeastern students arrived, 20 in all. It took some time for everyone to check in and get bikes. We had an orientation at Delft University where w
e all introduced ourselves. We then went on a very short tour of Delft that stopped at IKEA for lunch.