Today was more relaxed as we had a tour around Enschede and then had the rest of the day to explore the city and the University of Twente. We began our day by taking a bus to the city center. Here we met with our tour guide, who took us around.

As we explored, we learned about the sustainable practices being implemented. A big issue in this city is that there is often water overflow. Our tour guide works for the municipality and gave us insight into the problems the city faces. Water overflow has been a persistent issue and has caused floods, which of course frustrates the people living there. To combat this, the city implemented design changes to mitigate the water overflow. For example, the city is on a slight incline such that water will run down and disperse itself rather than staying in one area.

After learning about the city, we had time to explore a farmers market. The market is near the German border, so there were many Germans visiting. A farmers market is a very sustainable place to source your food as it is grown locally and therefore does not require as much transportation. Furthermore, it is better to support smaller farmers than massive companies that do not care about the environment or their customers’ health. The rest of the day was spent exploring the university and learning how universities in Europe differ from the ones in America.