Netherlands Day 2.

Today we began the day with a free breakfast at the hotel, which was In-credible (lol get it? because In-credible is the name of our hotel). I ordered freshly squeezed orange juice, a black coffee, and a breakfast bowl consisting of plain Greek yogurt, sliced apples, sliced bananas, hazelnut dried fruit granola, puffed Quinoa, chia seeds, and honey. Yes, it was as yummy as you're imagining it to be right now. It easily may have been the best bowl of yogurt I've ever eaten.

With full bellies we filed onto the bus, bound for the Refter community. As we pulled up to the old convent I could not believe one hundred people lived inside. Words and photos do not do the architecture of the building an ounce of justice. At first glance, my breath was taken. It was absolutely exquisite. A member of the Refter community gave us a tour of the interior of the castle, as well as the surrounding grounds. How amazing it must be to live in such a place. (More detailed photos of the Refter structure can be found under my "European Sustainability Study Tour Photos" post).

After our tours completion we then returned to the bus and drove to the destination chosen my our professor for lunch. To my delight, professor Iñaki chose a vegan raw food restaurant! This was my first time eating completely raw and vegan at a restaurant since arriving in Europe, I was in heaven. I ordered a dutch weed burger which was made of algae from the sea which gave it a greenish hue. If I could imagine what Sponge Bob's krabby patty may taste like this would be it. I savored every bite of it. At the same restaurant I also purchased a bag of mixed nuts and super food dried fruit mix. To purchase the mixes I also had to purchase a reusable organic bag because the products were unpackaged. I loved this detail. It was so refreshing to contribute to an establishment that does not believe in the wastefulness of plastic snack packaging. It made for a guilt free purchase, having nutrients for my body while avoiding harmful contributions to our environment via adding to local landfills.

After lunch we jumped back on the bus and went to a repair cafe in the town of Beek. I had not been introduced to this concept until today. What I learned is that the cafe serves as a location for people to come in and get their electronics, clothing, and whatever else they need repaired for free. While they wait for the repair to be completed they can buy coffee and other drinks to sip on while they watch the volunteers fix their item. I found this service model to be revolutionary, especially after learning about planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence is a trend that began in the industrial revolution, where companies purposely engineer goods to slowly malfunction over time. The goal of planned obsolescence is to reduce the amount of time a consumer may use one product, forcing them to purchase a newer version sooner than necessary. Repair cafes help to break this cycle and expose its customer exploitation. The repair volunteers use scrap product parts to fix items that were scheduled to break but weren't actually broken. If customers would have brought their devices to the manufacturer they would have steered them towards purchasing new. However, with the proper skills, many of the devices are easily fixed.

Following this we got back on the bus to restaurant De Write where we dropped a few people off while the rest of us embarked on a hike through the freshly snow covered forest of Beek. My abs quickly became sore from our excessive laughing as we all tripped up and down the mountains, lacking the proper hiking equipment in such weather. Our estimated one hour hike quickly became two and a half hours, losing two students along the way. During our return back to the rest of our group we stopped at a special pancake restaurant to grab a quick coffee. The restaurant was in the middle of absolute no where, I was so surprised by the number of people who hiked/drove out of their way to get to this remote location. But overall, I was just so thankful to have a warm place to collect some strength prior to finishing our hike.

Upon the hikes completion, I realized how much I missed the forest. Beek's bountiful brisk fresh air reminded me so much of the Mohican State Park trails near my home in Ohio. The rest of the evening I was supplied with vivid fond memories of past explorations with friends and family as I enjoyed dinner with my new friends in such a unique town.

How lucky I am to live such a life.

#Travel