Cycling In Amsterdam

Molly Hayward – University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Before I moved to The Netherlands of course I heard how much cycling went on in Amsterdam. It was one of the things that drew me to come here. However, the city has far surpassed what I could have imagined in terms of both, the cultural relationship with cycling, and the infrastructure built up around this culture. This post is going to go over some of the ways biking is facilitated in Amsterdam, how this differs from the UK and some suggestions of things that can help you when cycling around the city.

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First Impressions of Sustainability in Amsterdam

By Molly Hayward, University Of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Amsterdam is well known as an ‘eco-capital’ and is a prominent example of a sustainable city. This was one of the elements that led to me choosing it for my study abroad. Since arriving, a couple of months ago, I have had time to create initial impressions of how true this is on the ground, these are my thoughts:

Firstly there is a great deal of visible sustainability. The UVA campus has lots of water points scattered around, the coffee machines recommend re-using the compostable cup and there is a notable lack of plastic disposal cutlery available – choosing instead the wooden alternative.

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