The one where Phaedon's legs deserved a medal
Azure Route in Nijmegen, 17/06 - 20/06
Hey from the Azure team from Nijmegen!
We arrived in Nijmegen and were greeted by locals – Sjoerd, Toon, Luna. The first item on our agenda? Picking up our bikes! This time we were given shiny red Radboud University bikes, complete with gears and proper hand brakes instead of back-pedal brakes. We felt like proper locals rather than standing out on the easily recognisable OV-fietsen bikes.
By this point, we had already gotten used to cycling a bit in Groningen, and Nijmegen itself is quite flat. However, the city presented us with a new challenge: the heat. During our stay, temperatures reached up to 35°C. Add our backpacks to the mix, and we definitely got a workout. Some of us more than others. When it came time to assign ambassadors to their hosts, Phaedon was nominated to stay with the one living 30 minutes from the city centre. Since the ambassadors were staying with different hosts this time, this meant he had the longest daily commute. Meanwhile, Alina and I were staying at a place much closer to the city centre, which in hindsight might’ve spared our lives. We’re not entirely convinced we would have survived such a journey. We would hereby like to send his legs our best wishes for a speedy recovery.
During the short break before the city tour, we went to a cat café to get some work done. We were fully aware that surrounding ourselves with cats was probably not the most productivity-enhancing decision we could make, but hey – there we were.
Our first activity was a city tour led by Mayra and amongst the familiar faces accompanied by a new local – Annalot. We learned that Nijmegen is a mix of old and modern architecture. Much of the historic city centre was destroyed during World War II, and many buildings were rebuilt afterwards. We also had the opportunity to climb the tower of St. Steven’s Church, one of Nijmegen’s most famous landmarks. The church and tower were heavily damaged during the war and later restored, so whilst walking up you could see visible traces of different building materials from various periods of reconstruction.
The climb was tough (especially for our already bike-weary legs) and required plenty of breaks, but we made it. At the top, we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the city, the river, and its bridges. We even happened to be there when the clock struck, accompanied by the tower’s bell music.
We also passed the historic town hall and visited a lovely local art store Leder z’n Vak where local artists and craftspeople can rent shelves to display and sell their work. I bought the cutest pear magnet before we headed off again, promising ourselves that we would come back later for a more thorough look around.
For lunch, the locals had organised a meal together with the Vegan Student Association of Nijmegen. We met in the university kitchen, where we prepared and enjoyed a variety of salads together (recipes that I will once again be bringing home as souvenirs). The menu featured a wide array of salads: tabbouleh, an orzo pesto salad, a carrot ribbon salad, and a bean and chickpea salad. After several days on the road, the previously vegetable-starved ambassadors were more than happy with the feast.
During lunch, we had several interesting conversations with members of the association. One topic they discussed was the role and purpose of the organisation itself. Should it primarily be a space for vegans to meet one another, or should it also welcome people who are simply interested in veganism and its values? If so, where do vegetarians fit in? Although we did not conduct formal interviews, it would have been fascinating to explore these perspectives further. Members had different motivations for being vegan, ranging from animal rights to environmental concerns, but we all agreed that increasing plant-based eating would benefit both animal welfare and the climate.
After lunch, we delivered the workshop How to Talk About Climate Without Preaching. By this point, we had already facilitated the workshop at several previous stops in a row. But It is always interesting to see how the same activities generate completely different conversations depending on the group. One thought emerged: respect for your conversation partner is perhaps the most important principle of all. Without it, discussions can quickly turn into people simply shouting arguments at one another instead of genuinely listening. While it is interesting to see where the conversations go, after the workshop, we did contact our next stop in Aachen to ask whether we could switch or adapt the session to keep things fresh for ourselves and participants alike.
The next morning, we facilitated the Slow Travel, Slow Living workshop, where participants had to plan their own eco-friendly trips. Other than being assigned a destination, they also get assigned a character whose identity (and potential motivations and wishes) they should also take into consideration while planning. One group decided to cycle from Nijmegen to Berlin, a very Dutch choice indeed, but a choice that also fit perfectly with the “nature lover” role they had been assigned.
During the wrap-up discussion, we explored what would motivate us to choose slower forms of travel, such as trains and buses, more often. Two main factors emerged: cost and convenience. To illustrate the cost aspect, Phaedon showed us a flight he had taken from Athens to London for only … euros. It perfectly highlighted one of the biggest barriers to choosing more sustainable transport: price often has a huge influence on our travel decisions. We also agreed that better tools for planning slow travel and more promotion of the ones that already exist could make sustainable travel a much more attractive option.
The last workshop of the stop was Board Game Night. We only had time and participants for one game, so after a few short introductions the group chose Echoes of Gaia. Having already discussed climate-related topics earlier that day, it was interesting to continue exploring them through a completely different medium. The participants especially appreciated how different it felt from most other board games they had played.
For a while, we had been jealous of our Lilac Route ambassadors and their beaches and sunny weather. Then came an unexpected surprise: Nijmegen gave us both the opportunity and the free time to go to the beach! Not a seaside beach, but a riverside one. As soon as we had a good chunk of free time, we headed there.
On the island between the branches of the river stands a giant replica of a Roman cavalry helmet mask discovered near Nijmegen, making for quite a striking landmark. After checking that out, the agenda consisted of swimming, playing cards, and searching for interesting rocks. All the essential beach activities.
Toon also gave me the opportunity to write a short column for AEGEE-Nijmegens newsletter, with complete freedom to choose the topic. It was an offer I gladly accepted, only to start questioning that enthusiasm later while sitting on the beach and staring at the phone.
In the end, I decided to write about one of the thing I’ve come to admire most about the Dutch: how much fun they have with their language. Take helaas pindakaas (“unfortunately peanut butter”), for example, which is used to mean “too bad.” Or kladiladi, short for klap die laptop dicht (“shut that laptop”), something you might say at the end of a meeting when it’s finally time to stop working and go home. How fun and cute is that!?
While we were at the beach, Luna came up with a brilliant idea: summer rolls. So this is a public service announcement that summer rolls exist and are the perfect meal when temperatures reach 35°C. Lunch? Dinner? Afternoon snack? Summer rolls work for all of them. We got ours from La Saigon and can highly recommend them.
The heat also naturally led us to another essential stop: ice cream. Did three scoops turn out to be an ambitious choice? Yes. However, flavours like cherry cheesecake and vegan coconut were absolutely worth it. By the end, though, I was less focused on appreciating the flavours and more focused on completing the rescue mission that was finishing the rapidly melting ice cream. The others had chosen more sensible scoop counts. Meanwhile, my greed had left me fighting.
Our final activity in Nijmegen was a movie night, where we watched Okja. The film explores topics like animal rights, capitalism, and friendship but in a satirical adventure kind of a way. I had seen the film before, but it remains a difficult watch at times. Even so, I would still highly recommend it.
We left Nijmegen with plenty of good memories: new conversations, new recipes, a very successful beach day, and perhaps most importantly, proof that three scoops of ice cream is sometimes one scoop too many. The next and also the last stop would be Aachen… Houdoe and see you there!
Written by: Kadi Värnik
(and the Azure team)