Barb's Blog: Stenden University in Leeuwarden, northern Holland

Stenden University is located in Leeuwarden, northern Holland which is a 2.5 hour train ride from Amsterdam. I spent 4 days here to see whether Stenden would be a good fit for an exchange program for students between our universities. I was very impressed.

I stayed in the Stenden Hotel which is operated by the hospitality school. The students, under supervision of course, ran the front desk, housekeeping, the bar, and restaurant. They practiced sustainable tourism at every turn - from the local food choices on the menu and keeping the hotel room frig unplugged until it was needed, to the usual "reuse your towel" deal that we so often see in the states, plus much more.

The university picked up the bill for me, which meant I saved 200 Euro!

European style double bed - 2 twins smashed together.

Mark (lecturer), Ally (student), Theo (lecturer) and me. Ally's student group just finished organizing a student trip for 150 people to France which will occur next week. Originally they were going to Paris but changed the trip to Disneyland Paris after the attacks last November.

Our students organize experiences for people, but not a week-long international trip! Their learning approach was intriguing to say the least!

Leeuwarden, the city where Stenden U is located, has been selected as the 2018 European Cultural Capital. Their innovations in terms of leisure and tourism are captured well in this picture which used to be a prison until 15 years ago when they re-purposed the space. It is now filled with creative small business startups that deal with everything from tattoo shops to a restaurant.

Ally, me, and Sabrina. Both young women are from Germany. I told them about our stereotypes of Germans (hardworking, somewhat impatient, detail-oriented) and ask if German youth measure up. Of course, who wasn't going to argue with THAT description. They agreed wholeheartedly.

Interesting aside - they have a segment of their population who have grown very unhappy with Angela Merkel. There is a young woman, Frauke Petry (in her 40s) who is leading a charge to end the support for refugees - her party is called Alternative for Germany. She is becoming very popular and they see many similarities with Trump.

I went out for dinner with this nice couple at the university restaurant. We had delightful conversation - this is in the kitchen where we had the behind the scenes tour! BTW, I had lamb for my main course and it was wonderful.