Today we traveled from Enschede to Munster, Germany, for the day. Upon our arrival, we learned a few quick facts about the city’s history from our tour guide, Enno. He informed us that Munster is a city that had been bombed numerous times during the Second World War. Therefore, much of the city has been rebuilt and does not have the same architecture as it once did. Despite this, much of the city was built with brick salvaged from the old buildings after the bombings.

Since churches were often used as landmarks for bombings during war, the most withstanding building in the city is St. Lambert’s church. When looking at this church, three cages can be seen mounted near the top of the steeple. In 1536, these cages were made to hold the bodies of Anabaptist leaders after they were killed. This public demonstration was made to instill fear in the townspeople and served as a warning to anyone who went against the church.

After the mini tour, we split ways and decided to explore the city ourselves. We visited the Picasso Museum, had pastries in a small cafe, walked 5 miles through city greenspace, and had dinner at a local restaurant.

Like many of the Netherlands’ cities, Munster is considered to be a biking city. We noticed this during our 5-mile exploration as we walked along a pathway with a secondary street-sized path made just for bikers. This infrastructure makes it much easier for residents to utilize biking as a central mode for transportation. Additionally, the public transport has accommodations for bimodal transportation, which further encourages people to get on their bikes. This makes transportation much more sustainable and lowers individuals’ carbon footprint.

I have noticed that in Pittsburgh, the bus system allows for bimodal transport as well, though it is not utilized as much. I think this is due to the fact that there are fewer safe ways to ride bikes in the city, including no sidewalks, and lots of construction, which can be a deterrent for many.

For dinner we tried some mushrooms, asparagus, potatoes, and pork from a small restaurant in the center of the city. We enjoyed the views of the city from our table.

After our dinner, we grabbed some gelato for the road and began our three-hour bus ride to Rotterdam. On the ride, we had a group conversation about the sustainable aspects of Munster we observed while we were there. This included the city’s greenspaces, food products served in glass and wood, less water in the toilets, and the materials used to restore the city.