Eco-positive weekly diary #127: Visiting a hydrogen facility and an algae farm

Hi there, welcome back into my personal weekly diary! In this diary I try to show you what my (almost) eco-positive lifestyle looks like on a daily basis. What choices are important and what habits have I created to maintain this sustainable lifestyle? The past week I went to see a hydrogen facility, an algae farm and decided that I will probably take a break from these weekly diaries for a short while! Want to read along?

Thursday

Today I worked again. After work I decided to make myself a vegan noodle bowl again, like I did last week. I enjoyed it a lot and it was very easy to make and so I made it again. I just bake some onions and meat-replacers, add bouillon and vegetables and tadaaa, an easy vegan meal! At night I packed my bags because I am going to Groningen this weekend!

Friday

After work I hopped on the train to go to Groningen! The most sustainable way to travel to Groningen. With the student association from the Free University I was going to Groningen for the weekend and the thema was ‘Out with the old’ concerning energy production. Super interesting! We stayed in a student hostel and after I dropped my stuff, we went out to eat Italian. Luckily they had informed about the vegan options and so I had an amazing vegan pasta dish! It was the best Italian dish which I’ve had since a while. We went to a few bars afterwards and it was a fun night!

Saturday

The hostel beds were actually quite good, but due to the snoring of others I didn’t sleep that much haha. We got up early to go to a natural gas supplier. Not sustainable at all, I know! But there was something really special about this natural supplier, it was about to stop existing. The company was set up to sell the natural gas which was found ages ago in Groningen, but due to all the earthquakes (and climate change) the government wants to phase out the natural gas from Groningen and so this company will quit its business in the coming years. I learned a lot , it really made me see how rich the Dutch society has gotten from this dirty energy source. We went out for some lunch in the city while we waited to go to the next business. I had a vegan hot dog at HEMA and it was very good! I can recommend it. I also wanted to go to the bathroom in the HEMA, but you had to pay in cash. I asked the cashier if I could withdraw cash there, but I had to buy something to do that. My goal is to buy nothing new, but I really had to go to the bathroom and so I bought a pack of notebooks for 1 euro. I at least know that it is going to be used by my brother, I gave them to him and it he was quite happy with them. The second business we went to was a hydrogen facility, where they produce, well, hydrogen! It was amazing! We got a great tour and presentation and I really feel confident hydrogen can play a great role in combating climate change. I am full of energy again! We ate pancakes for dinner that night and they made a vegan pancake for me. Afterwards we went out for a fun night again!

Sunday

Another night of little sleep haha, but after breakfast in the hostel (which was unfortunately quite wasteful) we went to the Martini tower! It’s a really high old tower in Groningen from which you can see the entire city! It has no elevator and so it was all sustainable energy climbing up (leg power haha). We had to arrange out own food and so I saved a falafel sandwich which was discounted from the Albert Heijn, they would throw it away otherwise. Afterwards we went to an algae farm! The biggest one in Europe right now, but just like with hydrogen, I feel like this is a great deal for the future. Algae are so efficient in producing protein-rich food. If only people would eat algae instead of meat, gosh, the future would look amazing! It was all very informative and fun, but afterwards most people were exhausted. And so, we decided to go home (and not go to a museum anymore). I went back to Enschede by train and looked back on an amazing weekend!

Monday

After a weekend of almost no sleep, it was time for a lazy day! I slept till late and watched a lot of tv. I did end up going to the Indonesian shop because I was going to make sushi that night. I walked towards it because I didn’t exercise that day. I found the sushi ingredients and even found something else! Kala namak, or also known as black salt. It gives products an egg-ish flavor and so I wanted to make scrambled tofu with it. I had been looking for it for quite a while! I also bought some organic avocado’s at the Albert Heijn. I always intend to buy organic, but jeez, avocado’s are expensive! Next time I’ll make sushi with cucumber and carrot I think. I also had to buy some butter for mom since we ran out. We always have vegan butter at home but today I decided to buy something I prefer, a butter without palm oil. Very important because palm oil is a major contributor to deforestation.

Tuesday

Another day of work and after work my mom asked if I wanted to eat what my family was eating (she usually doesn’t cook for me anymore since I went vegan). They ate a Dutch kale dish which was vegan, but normally people eat it with gravy. Gravy is usually not vegan, but I found out one brand was vegan! And so I ate the kale dish with gravy, I haven’t eaten that in 4 years!

Wednesday

Today was chaos! After a long time, I finally went to the gym again (since I was free from work most of the day). After that dad and I went for groceries in Germany (we live near the border) and traffic was so busy that I got late for my appointment after that. A fellow Dutch blogger Charlotte was going to help me out figure out my problems with WordPress. We sat down together at ETN, which also has vegan cake and so I couldn’t resist it! It was so jummy! Charlotte helped me a lot and I am going to make some massive changes considering my hosting. It won’t affect my blogs of course, you’ll hear from me! However, I also got offered a temporary job for 40 hours a week today. I currently work 14 hours at the company where I work now, but I managed to discuss it and will combine the two starting next week. It will be very busy and so I think that I will take a break from these weekly diaries during this job (working 54 hours is a lot). I am not sure yet, but you’ll find out next week haha. I worked at 18:00 till 21:30 after this busy day and now it’s time for bed! Ahhh.

Favorite song of this week:

Toni Braxton – He wasn’t man enough for me

Yours sincerely,
Romee