the european sea towns

A lot of these towns I am visiting here in Germany and Holland are sea towns. Emden where Dave and Elizabeth live is known for the BIG cargo boats that come through. It is a major port town with lots of trade by sea. It is far up north in Germany up on the water, but also really close to the Holland border.

In Holland, we went to Groninger. This is a picture of the cute canals in Groninger...and there are SO many houseboats there. Lots of people live on the boats around this university town.


Another fun thing about these European towns is that there is so much history here. All of these buildings are so old and historic. There is almost always a clock tower with a bell tower in the top of most churches or other important buildings in town.

The library where Dave and Elizabeth are (they live at the little house next to the library in Emden) is not like the normal city library. This library is more of a historical library that used to be an old church. Emden was one of the last towns in Germany that was bombed during WWII, so the church was destroyed. For many years the church stood just with a few walls remaining, everything else was blown out and destroyed. I was told about 90% of the town was destroyed.

After many years, they decided to rebuild the building, but make it into a historical library that can be used for research. That is what it is today.

Here's your history for the day. we have taken a relaxed morning and early afternoon so far. We might go to H&M this afternoon for a short shopping trip before we have dinner with some friends.

L.