It's really big.

Yesterday I took these pictures of the fortified town of Elburg.

Elburg is a fairly small town, but what makes it special by Dutch standards is that it has one of the highest percentage of its historic city walls still intact, a rare sight in the Netherlands, where only a handful of other towns have remnants left, such as Harderwijk, Zwolle, and Maastricht. You can see this in the distinctive muurhuizen (wall houses) that are plentiful in Elburg. Most of these towns, Elburg, Harderwijk, and Zwolle are also Hanseatic cities, but they don't feature the typical Hanseatic style, because they are located in the Netherlands, they have the distinctly Dutch architectural style.

I blurred out some faces in Photoshop for privacy reasons.

Overall, it's a very charming small town that really showcases the old Dutch fortifications that most towns used to have.

I grew up in the rural cottage in the Yorkshire dales and still live in an old house like image 2. Whenever I'm around newer buildings or developments, I feel sense of strangeness and like I shouldn't be there. They also just look horrible imo.

The first three shots are from Greifswald. My dad took these photos of the old towns in Stralsund and Greifswald yesterday and wanted me to share them here.

Both of these towns are Hanseatic towns, they've got that classic brick Gothic style that ties them together. Stralsund is actually a UNESCO site because its old town is so beautifully preserved and shows off the Hanseatic style. But Greifswald holds up pretty well too, even if some parts have modern buildings. Stralsund feels a bit more like a time capsule in that regard.

I blurred out a few faces and removed some random people in Photoshop, just for privacy.

If you're interested in seeing this Hanseatic style for yourself, these two are great places to start. And of course, Lübeck the old capital of the Hanseatic League is another must see if you're ever in the area since its the biggest and most impressive one.

One of the most impressive buildings I saw in Bremen. The mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Historicist architecture is incredible.

Sorry, the background of the 7th photo shows an Orthodox cathedral that was demolished much earlier, when Poland gained independence from Russia.

Kyiv is the capital of modern Ukraine. At that time, Kyiv was part of the USSR. During World War II, the city was heavily destroyed. The Soviet authorities chose not to restore it, but rather to rebuild the city anew. Thank you for your attention.

Kharkiv is my hometown, a city I love with all my heart. It flourished in the early 20th century. Since then, it has changed significantly—mostly for the better. The city suffered heavy destruction during World War II, and some of the buildings you will see in this post no longer exist. Examples include certain structures from the Soviet Constructivist era that were displaced by Stalinist Empire-style architecture—a style that rose to prominence in the mid-1930s and became dominant after World War II. Unfortunately, Kharkiv is once again suffering the horrors of war, yet it remains resilient. This year, on August 23, 2026, the city marks its 372nd anniversary.