In Brugge.

            Last week we all traveled via train to Brugge about an hour away from Leuven! With our trusted tour guides, Dr. Hughes (DH for short), and Sue, in hand, we ventured to the railways! As part of our culture class, there are a bunch of organized trips that are included in our program, and lets just say...I don't hate it! (Although this is not proper English, it would not be acceptable to finish this post without having something included that I say in almost every exciting/new situation). We all had to meet at platform #2 at 9:30, so we decided to all take our bikes to the Leuven train station. We were told to get there early because bike parking was a little tough, especially on a weekday. I sort of shrugged it off thinking there would be a small garage with a few hundred bikes, but I was mistaken. There was a massive garage with about 50 different lots and thousands of bikes! I of course had to walk/ride ALL the way to the back to get a spot because one was snatched right in front of me (apparently I am not an "aggressive biker").  It is quite amazing to see more people traveling the streets on bikes than cars. Many of whom are with kids in tote, or my favorite, a tandem bicycle!

The Leuven bike garage on a Tuesday morning. 

A platform at the Leuven train station.

          Once we arrived at the Brugge train station we all met up to get organized. There was the usual bathroom break, and the 40 cent charge to use the facilities. That is one of the great downfalls of Europe! You cannot use the toilet in most places unless you pay, and since I am a college student on a budget, I often find myself dehydrated on trips because every penny counts! 

        We left the station and walked through a beautiful park as we walked towards the center of the city. We first entered the Begijnhof,  similar to the one DH and Sue live in, except this one was a convent...so no pictures and no talking! (Not exactly the most appealing setting for 17 energetic college students). After a quick walk through, we entered town and passed SO many chocolate stores. As a self-proclaimed chocaholic, I was in heaven. I had to pace myself because I new the day was young and there were many museums to get through before the day was over.

       There were horse drawn carriages all over the city, along with bikes and cars. I have to admit, I was very happy to realize I only had to venture through traffic full of bikes and cars, rather than adding live animals to the mix!

A horse-drawn carriage in the square.

        After a few museums, and a few too many cathedrals, it was time for lunch! We were released into the city to explore. Back to the whole budget comment earlier, I packed a lunch to enjoy on the feet of the statue in the middle of the city. It was a beautiful day and a bunch of us ate while watching the bustling city. There were so many teenagers around, it seemed as though it was their lunch break from school. Many were sitting nearby on the statue, or scattered around on the various benches on the square. It was so hard for me to imagine this just being a regular school day for these kids, it seemed as though this could not be an 'everyday occurrence.'

Lunch in Brugge.

The colorful city square of Brugge.


    After lunch we hit up a few more museums and than went on a boat ride down a local canal. We were lucky enough to find and English-speaking tour guide who was willing to take on the challenge of entertaining all 17 of us. Unfortunately, DH and Sue weren't able to come because they would not fit on the boat, it was a tight squeeze to begin with! After the boat tour we were free to go, but decided to follow DH to the windmill just a half mile out of the city. We were able to climb up to the top, and I did...not clearly thinking through my fear of heights, but YOLO! 

Although we are quite small in this picture, this is myself, Nora, Cait, and Steffi. We are all Evergreen orientation leaders back at Loyola, and it seemed only appropriate to take this picture because the summer reading for the first-years was 'The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," a novel about a windmill. 

         With minimum hesitation, I made it all the way up into the functioning windmill. It was amazing to see it in action, and how large of a structure it truly was. The trek down was a bit more difficult because it was a ladder completely vertical, as opposed to the stairs that seemed to have more of a slant. But the bottom line was that I made it, and now I can say I was inside a windmill!

       Leaving the windmill, we were planning our trip back to Leuven. We looked up some train times and decided to make one quick pit-stop before heading to the station. One word: WAFFLES. 

Cait and I with our first Belgian waffle!

   Believe it or not, even though I have been in Belgium for almost a month, I had not had a Belgian waffle! In the stores, I had seem many packaged kinds, but I was saving myself for something fresh! Brugge seemed like the perfect location because I was immersed in the Belgian culture. To my pleasant surprise, the waffle was so light and delicious! I was afraid it was going to be a little too much to handle with all the sugar and whipped cream, but it wasn't. I pretty much licked the plate clean. 

Back to Leuven we go!