"To travel is to learn that everyone is wrong about other countries." -Aldous Huxley
Belgium
Belgium is a really small country, so we were able to see a lot of the country in just 4 days. Belgium is a political hotbed within Europe. It is one of the founding members of the European Union and is host to the EU Headquarters. It is also the host to several major international organizations, most significantly NATO. Belgium, in total, has a population of 11 million people and borders France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Because of this, there is a big language division within the country. In most southern-regions, the people will speak French. In most northern regions, people speak Dutch. There is a small group of people who speak German, as well.
Leuven, Belgium
I took a night train from Stuttgart to Frankfurt and then Frankfurt to Leuven. This took about 4 hours, but it was much cheaper than flying. The trains are really spacious and comfortable, so it really was no big deal. I met my friend from school, Jaime, at the train station and we walked a couple of blocks back to where she was staying. Jaime is studying abroad in Leuven, Belgium, which is a big program of U of I. She lives in basically a frat house style house owned by her University. The University pays an RA to keep watch of the house and to live there, but all of the residents are students. It was really cool! My lifelong friend/brother, Kyle Wyman, flew from Sevilla, Spain to Leuven to also meet up with us. I say "brother" because most people that see us and don't know who we are think that we are related. Both of us were able to save some money by staying in Jaime's house for a few days, which was great!
Jaime's older sister's best friend, Liz, is doing an Au Pair in Amsterdam and she came to Leuven the same weekend we did. Although Kyle and I had never met her before, we ended up doing a ton of travelling around Belgium together and it was great to hear someone else's abroad experiences.
Leuven is home to Anheuser-Busch InBev, which is the largest brewery in the world, and thus Stella Artois is the "cheap beer" in most bars. This was a nice change of pace! Leuven is also home to the oldest Catholic university still in existence; it was built in 1425. Leuven is an extremely old city, its first mention in history being 891. It was heavily damaged by the German's in WWI. One of the most important things damaged in the wreckage was the university's library. Nearly hundreds of thousands of manuscripts were lost. It was rebuilt after the war and libraries from around the world contributed to its restocking. One of the biggest donors to the library after the war was none other than the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign! Nowadays, Leuven is a major student city and most of the residents are young, university students.
Jaime's older sister's best friend, Liz, is doing an Au Pair in Amsterdam and she came to Leuven the same weekend we did. Although Kyle and I had never met her before, we ended up doing a ton of travelling around Belgium together and it was great to hear someone else's abroad experiences.
Leuven is home to Anheuser-Busch InBev, which is the largest brewery in the world, and thus Stella Artois is the "cheap beer" in most bars. This was a nice change of pace! Leuven is also home to the oldest Catholic university still in existence; it was built in 1425. Leuven is an extremely old city, its first mention in history being 891. It was heavily damaged by the German's in WWI. One of the most important things damaged in the wreckage was the university's library. Nearly hundreds of thousands of manuscripts were lost. It was rebuilt after the war and libraries from around the world contributed to its restocking. One of the biggest donors to the library after the war was none other than the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign! Nowadays, Leuven is a major student city and most of the residents are young, university students.
Tom Lesny, Jaime Witowski and myself underneath the U of I column
We were in Leuven Wednesday night, all day Thursday and then Thursday night. You really can tell that Leuven is a student-run city. Since there is a huge U of I program there, I got to see a lot of people I know from school. I did not know all of them prior to this, but I did get to see one of my good friend's roommate. No matter how little you talk to someone at school, it is always great to see a familiar face while on a different continent. We also got some European Fat Sandwich- no complaints there! For those of you that don't know, Fat Sandwich is a disgustingly delicious sandwich place in Champaign that combines various ingredients like burgers, chicken tenders, cheese sticks, and gyro meat onto an italian sub bun and then tops every sandwich with fries. I promise that it is only gross until you try one, then you get to be embarrassed that it tastes good and you ever doubted it in the first place.
We did a lot of walking around in Leuven, but it was VERY cold so our walking was very limited. We walked past the town hall, which is absolutely beautiful, and a lot of the other old buildings. There are certain parts of the town where stone walls that were used as barriers in the war are still standing. The coolest thing for me to see was the famous university library. The columns of the library are engraved with the names of the various donors from after the fire and we got to see U of I's engraved column. I never truly appreciated how much merit the U of I name holds, so it was a great experience to be in Belgium looking at a cause your college in Illinois helped out. It makes me proud to be able to say I attend the University of Illinois.
We did a lot of walking around in Leuven, but it was VERY cold so our walking was very limited. We walked past the town hall, which is absolutely beautiful, and a lot of the other old buildings. There are certain parts of the town where stone walls that were used as barriers in the war are still standing. The coolest thing for me to see was the famous university library. The columns of the library are engraved with the names of the various donors from after the fire and we got to see U of I's engraved column. I never truly appreciated how much merit the U of I name holds, so it was a great experience to be in Belgium looking at a cause your college in Illinois helped out. It makes me proud to be able to say I attend the University of Illinois.
Brussels, Belgium
Kyle and I took a 20 minute train ride from Leuven to Brussels. Brussels is the capital of Belgium and has a population of about 1.1 million people. This is the largest city in Belgium! As I mentioned earlier, Belgium is a political hotbed in Europe. It is really Brussels. After the end of WWII, Brussels has been the center meeting point for international politics. The Brussels Airport dates back to the German occupation in WWII. There are more ambassadors and journalists in Brussels than in Washington DC.
The hotels in Brussels were very cheap considering the amount of wealthy people come through it. Kyle and I found a hotel for cheap that was right in the city center, so it was great. European bathrooms are strange places. We specifically picked the hotel because it explicitly said it had hot showers, this is not a guarantee in some places. When we see the shower, it is literally a bathtub with a removable faucet. It doesn't sound that bad, but it is hard to stay warm under a tiny flow of water in an open, freezing cold bathroom.
The first thing we did was eat. If there is anything that I have learned while travelling, it is to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom whenever you get the opportunity- you never know the next time you will be able to do so. In the restaurant, there were two men next to us speaking French to each other. Shortly into their meal, a friend joined them and then they all switched over to Spanish. It was so cool. Kyle and I both noticed it and how it must be normal for most Europeans to be able to switch languages depending on who is in the conversation. This is something that the US really lacks. Yes, we start learning Spanish in 7th grade but European students start learning their second language much earlier and are onto their third language by this age.
The hotels in Brussels were very cheap considering the amount of wealthy people come through it. Kyle and I found a hotel for cheap that was right in the city center, so it was great. European bathrooms are strange places. We specifically picked the hotel because it explicitly said it had hot showers, this is not a guarantee in some places. When we see the shower, it is literally a bathtub with a removable faucet. It doesn't sound that bad, but it is hard to stay warm under a tiny flow of water in an open, freezing cold bathroom.
The first thing we did was eat. If there is anything that I have learned while travelling, it is to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom whenever you get the opportunity- you never know the next time you will be able to do so. In the restaurant, there were two men next to us speaking French to each other. Shortly into their meal, a friend joined them and then they all switched over to Spanish. It was so cool. Kyle and I both noticed it and how it must be normal for most Europeans to be able to switch languages depending on who is in the conversation. This is something that the US really lacks. Yes, we start learning Spanish in 7th grade but European students start learning their second language much earlier and are onto their third language by this age.
After lunch, we got a map from the hotel and just went from large monument to large monument. The first thing we saw was St. Michael's Cathedral. The church was originally built in 1047 and had additions made in 1226. My favorite thing about Europe is the churches- and this one was no exception. The organ in this church has a total of 4,300 pipes, 63 stops, 4 keyboards and the pedal-board. This church has been used throughout the years for many famous occasions. In 1965, the funeral ceremony for Queen Elisabeth was held and in 1995, Pope John Paul II visited for the Pentecost.
The major thing on Kyle's list is to see the Manneken Pis statue. This is a small statue with a figure of a young, naked boy urinating into the fountain's basin. It has been in Brussels since 1618. The history of this statue is the legend behind it. One of the most famous legends is that Brussels was under attack by a foreign power. The city was holding its ground, so the attackers made a plan to place explosives in the city walls. A little boy named Julianske happened to be spying on the attackers and over heard the plan. He urinated on the burning fuses and saved the city from exploding. This statue is now a legend and a big part of Brussels culture. It is dressed in various costumes according to a public schedule. Occasionally, it is hooked up to a keg of beer so that passer-bys can fill up their cup from the fountain. This statue has also been stolen several times. Also, there is a female equivalent, Jeanneke Pis, located a few blocks away.
The major thing on Kyle's list is to see the Manneken Pis statue. This is a small statue with a figure of a young, naked boy urinating into the fountain's basin. It has been in Brussels since 1618. The history of this statue is the legend behind it. One of the most famous legends is that Brussels was under attack by a foreign power. The city was holding its ground, so the attackers made a plan to place explosives in the city walls. A little boy named Julianske happened to be spying on the attackers and over heard the plan. He urinated on the burning fuses and saved the city from exploding. This statue is now a legend and a big part of Brussels culture. It is dressed in various costumes according to a public schedule. Occasionally, it is hooked up to a keg of beer so that passer-bys can fill up their cup from the fountain. This statue has also been stolen several times. Also, there is a female equivalent, Jeanneke Pis, located a few blocks away.
Bruges, Belgium
Bruges was definitely my favorite city in Belgium. It is located in northwest Belgium about an hour train ride from Brussels. Kyle, Liz and I bought a day pass and our tickets were only 10 Euro total- which is very cheap! It is sometimes referred to as "the Venice of the North" because of its many water ways. Bruges is also home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first buildings in Bruges were built during the time of Julius Caesar. In 1128, the city received its first charter and new walls and canals were built.
It was absolutely freezing in Bruges, so we did a lot of walking around, but also a lot of going inside churches. One of the coolest churches we went inside was the Basilica of the Holy Blood. There is a legend associated with this chapel. It was originally built in the 12th century and was promoted to a basilica in 1923. The Legend of the Holy Blood says that after Christ was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea preserved a cloth he used to wipe away Jesus's blood. The cloth was preserved in a phial and brought to Bruges during the Second Crusade of 1147. **
While trying to find a restaurant that was not too expensive, we stumbled across a parade. It was a long parade of trucks, loud music and dancers. The strange thing about the parade was that most of the participants were adults and they drank and smoke while on top of the floats. It was also strange because the music was little kid's music and the costumes were also for little kids. They threw candy in the air and blew confetti at us. It was so much fun, but I had confetti stuck in my scarf for the next two weeks.
We ended up going to a restaurant recommended by Rick Steve's- the man who writes exceptionally great travel guide books. I was feeling slightly adventurous so I tried a random thing off the menu. It ended up being "pate", which is spreadable meat. It was served to me with a sliced loaf of bread, some mustard, cranberry sauce, and mayonnaise. I had NO idea how I was supposed to eat it. Obviously, eating spreadable meat on its own was not an option, so I dipped it in mustard. This was very good, but a little too spicy. The cranberry sauce was excellent, but then I was so confused why I had a loaf of bread. I'm sure the waitress was staring at me the whole time, but at least I gave it a shot. Kyle ordered a ham, cheese and white bread sandwich for 7 euro- so maybe I was better off.
It was absolutely freezing in Bruges, so we did a lot of walking around, but also a lot of going inside churches. One of the coolest churches we went inside was the Basilica of the Holy Blood. There is a legend associated with this chapel. It was originally built in the 12th century and was promoted to a basilica in 1923. The Legend of the Holy Blood says that after Christ was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea preserved a cloth he used to wipe away Jesus's blood. The cloth was preserved in a phial and brought to Bruges during the Second Crusade of 1147. **
While trying to find a restaurant that was not too expensive, we stumbled across a parade. It was a long parade of trucks, loud music and dancers. The strange thing about the parade was that most of the participants were adults and they drank and smoke while on top of the floats. It was also strange because the music was little kid's music and the costumes were also for little kids. They threw candy in the air and blew confetti at us. It was so much fun, but I had confetti stuck in my scarf for the next two weeks.
We ended up going to a restaurant recommended by Rick Steve's- the man who writes exceptionally great travel guide books. I was feeling slightly adventurous so I tried a random thing off the menu. It ended up being "pate", which is spreadable meat. It was served to me with a sliced loaf of bread, some mustard, cranberry sauce, and mayonnaise. I had NO idea how I was supposed to eat it. Obviously, eating spreadable meat on its own was not an option, so I dipped it in mustard. This was very good, but a little too spicy. The cranberry sauce was excellent, but then I was so confused why I had a loaf of bread. I'm sure the waitress was staring at me the whole time, but at least I gave it a shot. Kyle ordered a ham, cheese and white bread sandwich for 7 euro- so maybe I was better off.
Culture
Me with an authentic Belgian Waffle!
Being in Belgium was most interesting because of how many different languages people spoke. Usually, the country's signs will be in the native language and then maybe English as well. The signs in Belgium were in French, Dutch, German, English and sometimes even Spanish. I can't imagine living in a country with so many different languages. Then again, most of the children learn to speak multiple languages so by the time they enter the work force they are accustomed to it. It was also interesting that even though the country is so small, each of the regions has a vastly different vibe. Leuven is definitely a student town. Brussels gave off a more corporate vibe. Bruges gives the medieval, rustic, gothic architecture vibe. Being able to see the different sides of the country was an awesome experience. I think the problem with traveling to only one city within a country is that sometimes you miss out on another side of the culture. It would be like coming to the Champaign and thinking the entire country was corn fields and students. There is so much more to Illinois, and so much more to the US! Luckily, Brussels is small enough that being able to see a lot in a short amount of time was feasible. All in all, it was an awesome trip and definitely one of my favorite countries so far.