I don't know if people are still reading this blog of mine, but I thought I'd post one more item before I depart from Brussels. It's hard to believe, but my time here is almost up--I leave for Minneapolis Wednesday morning! In many ways, time seems to have flown, but I also feel like I've had the opportunity to really get to know Brussels and feel integrated to a certain extent, which is an amazing feeling. When I think back to when I first got here (in mid-August!) it really does feel like quite a long time ago.
This blog has focused mostly on my traveling outside of Brussels, largely because I wanted to keep a diary for myself to remember all of the trips I went on. But there have also been so many things that happened to me on a daily basis here that I will never forget. It would be overwhelming and time-consuming for me to write entries on all of those events, but I cherish that I have more stories than I can possibly tell about my time here. Don't hesitate to ask me about them!
This experience overall, as cheesy as it sounds, has changed my life for the better. I can't lie: when I got on the airplane to come here I was quite nervous. I was traveling internationally by myself for the first time, leaving everything I knew in Minneapolis, and going to a country that doesn't speak English to participate in a study-abroad program in which I knew NOBODY. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. But I could not have imagined how amazing of an experience it would turn out to be. Living abroad anywhere, and doing so independently, is an extremely empowering opportunity that has made me more confident in so many ways. Things that used to be somewhat terrifying to me--trying to figure out where I was going, navigating public transportation, ordering food in French--have become so normal and a part of my daily routine to the point that I don't even think about it anymore. I have also met so many amazing people I don't even know where to begin. The American students in my program are awesome: I would consider every single one of them to be my friend, and they're so diverse and outgoing that they made our group dynamic really cool. I've also had the opportunity to meet international students from all over the world, not just Belgium. There are kids at my school from every continent, and when you consider that there are only 300 students, it's pretty easy to get to know just about everyone.
I was also able to live these last four months with an amazing host family. On top of the fact that I (rather ironically, since it is Belgium) got to practice my Spanish on a daily basis, they are extremely generous people who took me in, acted like I was a part of their family and greatly enhanced not only the cultural aspect of my time here but also made things a lot more comfortable for me in general. I could not have envisioned a better host family situation and now truly consider them my relatives.
Thank you guys for reading my blog and showing an interest in what I've been up to! I can't wait to catch up with everyone, hear what I've missed in the states, and share stories about my time here. I hope this blog has been a helpful way of seeing what I've been up to. With the pressures of school and all the things I have had to do around Brussels, I haven't had too much time to load up pictures onto the Shutterfly site, but I hope that over winter break I will have the chance to completely load them all in case any of you are interested in seeing photos from my last couple trips.
Au revoir!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Monschau and Aachen
Today was the final group excursion of the semester--a long and rainy day in Germany. In the morning we went to Monschau, a small, quaint town just across the border that has a small Christmas market set up in their main square offering little gifts and traditional German food. There's a beautiful stream that flows through the middle of town and lots of trees and hills in the surrounding area. We only spent a couple of hours there, walking around and exploring the picturesque streets. However, the fact that it was pouring rain the entire time kind of detracted from the beauty.
After Monschau, we drove about 20 minutes to Aachen, a larger city that also has a Christmas market. Their Christmas market is on a completely different level--it stretches for blocks, with hundreds of stands selling ornaments, wooden creations, jewelry, German food, etc. It is also quite famous for its hot wine, called gluhwein. We had quite a bit of time to explore this market, which for the first time all semester made me feel like Christmas is approaching. There was even a band of, shall we say, musically uninclined children playing Christmas music. We also got a tour of their Cathedral, which is not only beautiful but also steeped in history. Charlemagne, who was a powerful emperor of the Middle Ages, lived in Aachen and ordered the Cathedral to be built. Inside you can see what are (supposedly) some of Charlemagne's bones, which is not only a little creepy but also slightly controversial, as there is strong but not definitive proof that they belong to him. You can also see Charlemagne's throne, which is surprisingly not ornate and consists of concrete blocks brought to him from Jerusalem. In fact, he was so honored by these concrete blocks that he ironically never actually sat in his throne, because he did not want to ruin what was to him a prized treasure.
It was fun to travel to Germany again, as I had only spent one weekend there in early October, because the region is gorgeous, the food is amazing, and the markets are vibrant. Eventually I would like to see more of Germany, since I have really only seen the Western edge of it. Despite the fact that it was raining all day, it was still nice to see two beautiful towns. The mood was rather sad among kids in my program though, as it is dawning on us that this amazing experience is coming to an end shortly. Our lifestyle, which we are so grateful to have and is now so routine, is shortly going to be brought back to reality, and that's tough to swallow. Thus I'm going to try to make the best out of my last couple of weeks here!
After Monschau, we drove about 20 minutes to Aachen, a larger city that also has a Christmas market. Their Christmas market is on a completely different level--it stretches for blocks, with hundreds of stands selling ornaments, wooden creations, jewelry, German food, etc. It is also quite famous for its hot wine, called gluhwein. We had quite a bit of time to explore this market, which for the first time all semester made me feel like Christmas is approaching. There was even a band of, shall we say, musically uninclined children playing Christmas music. We also got a tour of their Cathedral, which is not only beautiful but also steeped in history. Charlemagne, who was a powerful emperor of the Middle Ages, lived in Aachen and ordered the Cathedral to be built. Inside you can see what are (supposedly) some of Charlemagne's bones, which is not only a little creepy but also slightly controversial, as there is strong but not definitive proof that they belong to him. You can also see Charlemagne's throne, which is surprisingly not ornate and consists of concrete blocks brought to him from Jerusalem. In fact, he was so honored by these concrete blocks that he ironically never actually sat in his throne, because he did not want to ruin what was to him a prized treasure.
It was fun to travel to Germany again, as I had only spent one weekend there in early October, because the region is gorgeous, the food is amazing, and the markets are vibrant. Eventually I would like to see more of Germany, since I have really only seen the Western edge of it. Despite the fact that it was raining all day, it was still nice to see two beautiful towns. The mood was rather sad among kids in my program though, as it is dawning on us that this amazing experience is coming to an end shortly. Our lifestyle, which we are so grateful to have and is now so routine, is shortly going to be brought back to reality, and that's tough to swallow. Thus I'm going to try to make the best out of my last couple of weeks here!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Paris
Yesterday, I returned from a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend in Paris with Marcel, Ana and Marco--my uncle, aunt, and cousin for those who don't know :). It was great to see them; I was quite happy that they were able to fly from Sevilla for the weekend just so we could meet up! We stayed in an apartment in the middle of a square that was filled with restaurants--much nicer than the usual youth hostel accomodations that I have become accustomed to on my previous trips. It was great to be able to come home, hang out on a couch, sit around a table, etc., as opposed to a hostel room which basically just has a bed in it.
Besides eating plenty of French pastries, we saw some sights too! On the first day we went to the Eiffel Tower and walked up the stairs to the first observatory deck. Although you can take an elevator all the way to the top, our view was actually perfect because we were at the height of the tallest buildings and you could see for quite a ways over the beautiful city of Paris. It's obviously a very touristy attraction, but it is simply one of those buildings that you have to see! We also went to the cathedral of Notre Dame, famed for its large gargoyles and other adornments on the outside. Situated right along the Seine, the inside is gorgeous and spacious: it is easy to see why it is considered one of the most beautiful churches in Europe. However, while visiting its interior you are essentially herded through like cattle, which takes away from the experience.
The next day, we had quite the adventure. In the morning we saw the Sacre-Coeur Basilica, another famous church located on a hill. Despite the fact that it is more modern (finished in the 20th Century), it is still impressive to consider its architecture. Near the church is a really cool square that at one point was the home of famous artists, but is now filled with artists selling their wares, most of whom specialize in painting portraits of customers in only a couple of minutes. The entire neighborhood is beautiful to walk around--and the weather was perfect to do so!
The other highlight of the day was visiting the Louvre, easily the most daunting museum on the planet. It literally stretches for a couple of city blocks, and according to our guide book, it would take about 9 months to view all 30,000 works of art inside it. Because there are so many paintings, we decided to see a couple of the famous ones and then concentrate on some smaller areas. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo sculpture, and walked through several galleries, the most interesting of which was one of Spanish and Italian painters. There are some famous and impressive works, but the museum is so large and intimidating that after an hour or two, it becomes almost undesirable to stay any longer.
The rest of our time was spent relaxing, enjoying some French cuisine (especially crepes!) and walking around squares like Centre Pompidou. On Sunday before we left, we checked out what is supposedly one of the largest flea markets in Europe: while a part simply contains stands selling what appear to be knock-offs of just about everything, there is also a large portion selling antiques and other homemade goods which are pretty cool to check out.
Overall, it was great to see some family (the first people I've seen since I've been here whom I knew previous to coming to Europe) and our weekend was very laid back and relaxing--just what I needed before I write the 20 page paper I have due this week. Paris doesn't get its reputation as a beautiful city for no reason--it's definitely one to check out!
Sadly, my blog posts are going to start to dwindle. I have plenty of adventures in Brussels which I haven't really shared here, since there are too many to write about, but other than a day trip to Germany next week with my program, I have no more excursions planned. I leave for Minneapolis in 23 days, and those days are going to fly by with all the school work I have to do before then. Its amazing how fast 4 months can pass.
Nonetheless, I will still keep you guys updated with whats going on in my last 3 weeks!
Besides eating plenty of French pastries, we saw some sights too! On the first day we went to the Eiffel Tower and walked up the stairs to the first observatory deck. Although you can take an elevator all the way to the top, our view was actually perfect because we were at the height of the tallest buildings and you could see for quite a ways over the beautiful city of Paris. It's obviously a very touristy attraction, but it is simply one of those buildings that you have to see! We also went to the cathedral of Notre Dame, famed for its large gargoyles and other adornments on the outside. Situated right along the Seine, the inside is gorgeous and spacious: it is easy to see why it is considered one of the most beautiful churches in Europe. However, while visiting its interior you are essentially herded through like cattle, which takes away from the experience.
The next day, we had quite the adventure. In the morning we saw the Sacre-Coeur Basilica, another famous church located on a hill. Despite the fact that it is more modern (finished in the 20th Century), it is still impressive to consider its architecture. Near the church is a really cool square that at one point was the home of famous artists, but is now filled with artists selling their wares, most of whom specialize in painting portraits of customers in only a couple of minutes. The entire neighborhood is beautiful to walk around--and the weather was perfect to do so!
The other highlight of the day was visiting the Louvre, easily the most daunting museum on the planet. It literally stretches for a couple of city blocks, and according to our guide book, it would take about 9 months to view all 30,000 works of art inside it. Because there are so many paintings, we decided to see a couple of the famous ones and then concentrate on some smaller areas. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo sculpture, and walked through several galleries, the most interesting of which was one of Spanish and Italian painters. There are some famous and impressive works, but the museum is so large and intimidating that after an hour or two, it becomes almost undesirable to stay any longer.
The rest of our time was spent relaxing, enjoying some French cuisine (especially crepes!) and walking around squares like Centre Pompidou. On Sunday before we left, we checked out what is supposedly one of the largest flea markets in Europe: while a part simply contains stands selling what appear to be knock-offs of just about everything, there is also a large portion selling antiques and other homemade goods which are pretty cool to check out.
Overall, it was great to see some family (the first people I've seen since I've been here whom I knew previous to coming to Europe) and our weekend was very laid back and relaxing--just what I needed before I write the 20 page paper I have due this week. Paris doesn't get its reputation as a beautiful city for no reason--it's definitely one to check out!
Sadly, my blog posts are going to start to dwindle. I have plenty of adventures in Brussels which I haven't really shared here, since there are too many to write about, but other than a day trip to Germany next week with my program, I have no more excursions planned. I leave for Minneapolis in 23 days, and those days are going to fly by with all the school work I have to do before then. Its amazing how fast 4 months can pass.
Nonetheless, I will still keep you guys updated with whats going on in my last 3 weeks!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Prague
Yesterday I returned from a wonderful weekend in Prague, Czech Republic with several friends from my program. Although there are many cool things to see, Prague is also an amazing city to simply wander around and explore. It has an eastern European vibe, which is kind of hard to explain but noticeable, especially coming from Brussels. The architecture is beautiful and different from most places I've been in Europe. Prague is also cool because, at least from what we could tell, it has a lot of young people, especially in the areas where there are many bars, clubs and restaurants.
Our hostel was pretty centrally located but in a really quiet neighborhood, making it an ideal place to see. It was also by far the highest-quality and cleanest hostel I've ever stayed in, and because the Czech Republic is not on the Euro, but instead on the Koruna (crown), the hostel (along with everything else) was really cheap. It's really confusing to convert though, because, for example, a U.S. dollar buys about 17 Korunas, and a Euro buys 25, so we would have dinners that literally cost 2,000 Korunas. Their smallest bill is a 50!
On our first full day, we explored the Prague castle complex, which is easily visible in beautiful views from across the river that cuts straight through the city. We went into their astounding main cathedral, which again has a much different architecture on the inside when compared to churches in, for example, France or Italy. We also explored the Old Royal Palace, which is where the Royal Family used to reside and still conducts occasional business. The coolest thing in the Palace is that you can see the crown jewels of the Czech Republic, which are kept in a cabinet that is basically filled with super expensive jewelry. We also walked into some of their famous squares, which are hopping with people, stands selling delicious and cheap Czech food, and vendors selling jewelry and other trinkets.
On our second full day we spent most of it exploring the Old Jewish quarter, which has the oldest synagogue in Eastern Europe and many cool shops and quaint houses. In addition, you can stroll through a humongous Jewish cemetary, which is obviously not the most uplifting thing to walk through but still memorable to see. One of the most interesting aspects of Prague, which is noticeable in this area of town, is that, despite the fact that much of the city is modern and beautiful and the Czech Republic is a member of the EU and NATO, they are less than 20 years removed from a Communist regime. Thus, seemingly randomly there are really run-down buildings or areas, or sectors of the city that just appear dismal. While this is true for any large city, there are many visual reminders in Prague that it is not a city with an extremely strong economy.
Prague was not a place I had expected to go, so I was really happy that I got to see it, especially with a few friends from my program. It is by far the most peaceful large city I've visited in Europe. There are lots of pedestrians, lots of cool shopping streets, and many beautiful, quiet neighborhoods. In addition, the river that passes through the city adds to the nice vibe. Most of the time I had to remind myself that I was in a huge city, because things are so quiet. However, despite the fact that it's so quiet, there are tons of fun bars and restaurants to go to. For example, one night we went to a 5-story club which is easily one of the craziest places I've ever been. It is certainly a city that I recommend seeing!
Stay tuned as I go to Paris this weekend!
Our hostel was pretty centrally located but in a really quiet neighborhood, making it an ideal place to see. It was also by far the highest-quality and cleanest hostel I've ever stayed in, and because the Czech Republic is not on the Euro, but instead on the Koruna (crown), the hostel (along with everything else) was really cheap. It's really confusing to convert though, because, for example, a U.S. dollar buys about 17 Korunas, and a Euro buys 25, so we would have dinners that literally cost 2,000 Korunas. Their smallest bill is a 50!
On our first full day, we explored the Prague castle complex, which is easily visible in beautiful views from across the river that cuts straight through the city. We went into their astounding main cathedral, which again has a much different architecture on the inside when compared to churches in, for example, France or Italy. We also explored the Old Royal Palace, which is where the Royal Family used to reside and still conducts occasional business. The coolest thing in the Palace is that you can see the crown jewels of the Czech Republic, which are kept in a cabinet that is basically filled with super expensive jewelry. We also walked into some of their famous squares, which are hopping with people, stands selling delicious and cheap Czech food, and vendors selling jewelry and other trinkets.
On our second full day we spent most of it exploring the Old Jewish quarter, which has the oldest synagogue in Eastern Europe and many cool shops and quaint houses. In addition, you can stroll through a humongous Jewish cemetary, which is obviously not the most uplifting thing to walk through but still memorable to see. One of the most interesting aspects of Prague, which is noticeable in this area of town, is that, despite the fact that much of the city is modern and beautiful and the Czech Republic is a member of the EU and NATO, they are less than 20 years removed from a Communist regime. Thus, seemingly randomly there are really run-down buildings or areas, or sectors of the city that just appear dismal. While this is true for any large city, there are many visual reminders in Prague that it is not a city with an extremely strong economy.
Prague was not a place I had expected to go, so I was really happy that I got to see it, especially with a few friends from my program. It is by far the most peaceful large city I've visited in Europe. There are lots of pedestrians, lots of cool shopping streets, and many beautiful, quiet neighborhoods. In addition, the river that passes through the city adds to the nice vibe. Most of the time I had to remind myself that I was in a huge city, because things are so quiet. However, despite the fact that it's so quiet, there are tons of fun bars and restaurants to go to. For example, one night we went to a 5-story club which is easily one of the craziest places I've ever been. It is certainly a city that I recommend seeing!
Stay tuned as I go to Paris this weekend!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Italy, Part 4
Our last stop on our trip was to Venice, one of the coolest yet weirdest cities I have ever visited. As I'm sure most of you know, Venice is an island, on which no cars are allowed, because most of the streets are canals. Most homes and shops face a small canal on one side. These canals are navigated by boats, including the famous gondolas, which somehow manuever through the super narrow waterways. We were lucky enough to have a hostel in the midst of it all. The street our hostel was on, to give you a sense, was literally too narrow for an umbrella to fit down.
Venice is another one of those cities that doesn't have a ton of attractions, but is more fun to simply wander through. Several times we intentionally tried to get lost, but it is almost impossible. The winding streets and seemingly endless canals create one of the most bizarre yet beautiful places I've seen. We walked for a long time along the river at the edge of town, from which there are beautiful views and a fresh whiff of the sea, which I don't get too much of in Brussels (or Minneapolis!). We also found a park at the very edge of town, which was cool because there weren't any tourists there and it had some gorgeous views of the water.
Unfortunately, it was raining for a majority of our stay, so it was hard to get motivated to explore too much in Venice. However, we did visit the famous St. Marco Piazza, which has a beautiful church and a humongous square that is beautifully lit at night. Particularly when it rains, and when there is high tide, the square floods, leaving people to either wade in rain boots through the 2-foot deep water or walk on temporary boardwalks that the city puts up every day. It is one of the strangest things I've ever seen: hundreds of people balancing on these boardwalks so they don't fall into the flooded square. In addition, none of the shops along the square seem to think its wise to shut their doors while it floods. Even the church on the piazza floods. What other city's central square floods on a regular basis? Venice is really cool, but it has to be one of the most unwisely constructed cities in the world.
Overall, the trip was amazing. Italy was one of the countries I had most wanted to visit, and I got to go there with 3 of my best friends from my program. I also was pretty much in heaven on the culinary front, as I had A LOT of pasta, pizza, and gelato. And a little red wine too :). It was interesting to see the metropolis (Rome), Tuscany, and then some moderately sized cities in the north, because while they all have similarities they are all really different too. Unfortunately, I'm now back in the real world of school, tests, and papers, but this weekend I'm going to Prague so stay tuned for details on that adventure!
Venice is another one of those cities that doesn't have a ton of attractions, but is more fun to simply wander through. Several times we intentionally tried to get lost, but it is almost impossible. The winding streets and seemingly endless canals create one of the most bizarre yet beautiful places I've seen. We walked for a long time along the river at the edge of town, from which there are beautiful views and a fresh whiff of the sea, which I don't get too much of in Brussels (or Minneapolis!). We also found a park at the very edge of town, which was cool because there weren't any tourists there and it had some gorgeous views of the water.
Unfortunately, it was raining for a majority of our stay, so it was hard to get motivated to explore too much in Venice. However, we did visit the famous St. Marco Piazza, which has a beautiful church and a humongous square that is beautifully lit at night. Particularly when it rains, and when there is high tide, the square floods, leaving people to either wade in rain boots through the 2-foot deep water or walk on temporary boardwalks that the city puts up every day. It is one of the strangest things I've ever seen: hundreds of people balancing on these boardwalks so they don't fall into the flooded square. In addition, none of the shops along the square seem to think its wise to shut their doors while it floods. Even the church on the piazza floods. What other city's central square floods on a regular basis? Venice is really cool, but it has to be one of the most unwisely constructed cities in the world.
Overall, the trip was amazing. Italy was one of the countries I had most wanted to visit, and I got to go there with 3 of my best friends from my program. I also was pretty much in heaven on the culinary front, as I had A LOT of pasta, pizza, and gelato. And a little red wine too :). It was interesting to see the metropolis (Rome), Tuscany, and then some moderately sized cities in the north, because while they all have similarities they are all really different too. Unfortunately, I'm now back in the real world of school, tests, and papers, but this weekend I'm going to Prague so stay tuned for details on that adventure!
Italy, Part 3
After Siena we arrived via train in Florence. Once again, Florence had a completely different feel to it than Rome or Siena. We completely lucked out with our hostel, because although it was a little weird on the inside, it was literally smack dab in the middle of the city. We had 3 full days of exploring there.
On the first day, we went to the Duomo of Florence, which rivals that of Siena. What is most interesting about it is its interior, which has striped stone patterns that are really similar to churches I've visited in Sevilla, Spain that have a huge Arabic influence. I've seen so many churches in the past three months that many of them blend together, but the Duomos in Florence and Siena are unforgettable.
Another highlight of our stay in Florence was seeing the famous statue of David by Michelangelo. Unlike my impression of the Sistine Chapel, I was very impressed. It is an unbelievably accurate sculpture, and much larger than I expected. Within the same museum are some other cool works of art, notably unfinished marble sculptures also by Michelangelo. These were cool to me because you could see the process that he went through in making his sculptures, and it was easy to imagine what his famous David statue must have looked like as it went through all these stages.
On our second day in Florence we visited the house of the Medici family, one of the most important social and political families in all of Europe during the time of the Renaissance. Needless to say, the "house," if you can even call it that, is ridiculous. It seems like a museum due to its size. Not only is it absurdly large, but every single room is ornately decorated with expensive and luxurious furniture, paintings, sculptures, wall hangings, etc. It's almost disgusting how nice the house is. However, one of the rooms may have been my favorite thing in all of Italy, although most people will probably just think I'm weird when I say it. It was a room featuring huge maps (made during the 15th-16th centuries) of every part of the world that had yet been discovered. The room easily had 40 maps. In the center of the room was a huge sculpture of a globe, which you had to walk around to view each of the maps. Maybe it's because I'm a geography loser, but the maps were so detailed, and it was super interesting to see how close (or far off) these mapmakers were. It is incredible because even places like the Caribbean, which was fairly unknown to most Europeans at the time, was pretty accurately mapped out.
We also had one day to relax in Florence, which I personally feel is important on a vacation! It was rainy out, so we all sat inside and read and just hung out. It seemed to fit the lifestyle in Florence as well, which was much more laid back and slow compared to the bustling nature of Rome. After our day of relaxation, we took a train to Venice, our last stop on our Italian tour and the subject of my final blog post.
On the first day, we went to the Duomo of Florence, which rivals that of Siena. What is most interesting about it is its interior, which has striped stone patterns that are really similar to churches I've visited in Sevilla, Spain that have a huge Arabic influence. I've seen so many churches in the past three months that many of them blend together, but the Duomos in Florence and Siena are unforgettable.
Another highlight of our stay in Florence was seeing the famous statue of David by Michelangelo. Unlike my impression of the Sistine Chapel, I was very impressed. It is an unbelievably accurate sculpture, and much larger than I expected. Within the same museum are some other cool works of art, notably unfinished marble sculptures also by Michelangelo. These were cool to me because you could see the process that he went through in making his sculptures, and it was easy to imagine what his famous David statue must have looked like as it went through all these stages.
On our second day in Florence we visited the house of the Medici family, one of the most important social and political families in all of Europe during the time of the Renaissance. Needless to say, the "house," if you can even call it that, is ridiculous. It seems like a museum due to its size. Not only is it absurdly large, but every single room is ornately decorated with expensive and luxurious furniture, paintings, sculptures, wall hangings, etc. It's almost disgusting how nice the house is. However, one of the rooms may have been my favorite thing in all of Italy, although most people will probably just think I'm weird when I say it. It was a room featuring huge maps (made during the 15th-16th centuries) of every part of the world that had yet been discovered. The room easily had 40 maps. In the center of the room was a huge sculpture of a globe, which you had to walk around to view each of the maps. Maybe it's because I'm a geography loser, but the maps were so detailed, and it was super interesting to see how close (or far off) these mapmakers were. It is incredible because even places like the Caribbean, which was fairly unknown to most Europeans at the time, was pretty accurately mapped out.
We also had one day to relax in Florence, which I personally feel is important on a vacation! It was rainy out, so we all sat inside and read and just hung out. It seemed to fit the lifestyle in Florence as well, which was much more laid back and slow compared to the bustling nature of Rome. After our day of relaxation, we took a train to Venice, our last stop on our Italian tour and the subject of my final blog post.
Italy, Part 2
After Rome, we took a train to Siena, in the middle of Tuscany, where we spent one night. It is amazing how just a couple hours on a train can take you to a totally different area. In stark contrast to Rome, Siena is a fairly quiet town, surrounded by a beautiful countryside. The streets are lined with quaint shops, and it seemed to be a good time of year to go there because there were few tourists. There are not many attractions to see; it's just one of those places you go to wander and get the vibe.
However, we did go into the Duomo of Siena, the main church that is absolutely gorgeous. It is incredible that a town of its size has such an impressively-built church. We also climbed to the top of a lookout-tower which has an amazing panoramic view. On one side was the relatively undeveloped countryside of Tuscany, and on the other was the village of Siena, with the red rooftops of the homes stretching quite a ways.
Siena did lead to one little adventure, too: it was the only night of our trip that we hadn't booked a hostel, which needless to say, is a poor idea. When we got to the city, it just so happened to be pouring rain as well. So, while trudging through the darkness and pouring rain, we had the job of finding a hostel in a fairly small town on a Monday night. Luckily, we found a tourism stand that helped us book an extremely nice hostel (it even had a tv, which is virtually unheard of in hostels) so it was fine. But, even though we had good spirits throughout the trek, it was a little disheartening to end up in a city, completely lost, with no place to stay. Thank goodness that was the only night we had to do that though!
After spending a morning exploring Siena, we took a train to Florence, the subject of my next post!
However, we did go into the Duomo of Siena, the main church that is absolutely gorgeous. It is incredible that a town of its size has such an impressively-built church. We also climbed to the top of a lookout-tower which has an amazing panoramic view. On one side was the relatively undeveloped countryside of Tuscany, and on the other was the village of Siena, with the red rooftops of the homes stretching quite a ways.
Siena did lead to one little adventure, too: it was the only night of our trip that we hadn't booked a hostel, which needless to say, is a poor idea. When we got to the city, it just so happened to be pouring rain as well. So, while trudging through the darkness and pouring rain, we had the job of finding a hostel in a fairly small town on a Monday night. Luckily, we found a tourism stand that helped us book an extremely nice hostel (it even had a tv, which is virtually unheard of in hostels) so it was fine. But, even though we had good spirits throughout the trek, it was a little disheartening to end up in a city, completely lost, with no place to stay. Thank goodness that was the only night we had to do that though!
After spending a morning exploring Siena, we took a train to Florence, the subject of my next post!
Italy, Part 1
Last week was our fall break off from classes, so a couple friends and I decided to travel to Italy for 10 days. It was an absolutely amazing trip. I could ramble on and on, but I will try to make it concise. Our first stop was Rome, which we flew into on Oct. 29. There we stayed at a great hostel located right in the center of the city. Our host there was extremely generous: he upgraded our room, served us free breakfasts, gave us two free bottles of wine, and helped us navigate the city by pointing out where to go. It was a refreshing stay, since most hostels are far from being that accomodating.
On our first day in Rome we went to Vatican City, where we spent an hour standing in line just to enter St. Peter's Basilica. It was actually quite impressive to see that many people dedicated to getting in on a seemingly random Friday in late October. Once we entered, we realized what the wait was for. St. Peter's Basilica, although not surprising as it is the seat of the Catholic Church and where the Pope regularly holds mass, is by far the most astounding church I've ever been in. It's quite hard to describe, but basically, it could easily be a castle due to its size, and every little nook has a super elaborate painting, sculpture, or other work of art. It would be quite easy to hold mass in 10 different locations within the church. We paid to climb to the top of it, which is about 550 steps through a, shall we say, harrowing passageway that is at times completely slanted. I could barely fit through some of the hallways. But the view is astounding, with the square directly in front of you and the city of Rome beyond it. You can also get a bird's eye view of the gardens and fountains that surround the basilica. Afterwards, we got to walk through the catacombs which house the tombs of many previous popes, including the most recent, John Paul II.
Later that day we also went through the Sistine Chapel, which is world-renowned for its incredibly detailed paintings on the ceiling. Personally, I found the paintings to be impressive but very over-hyped. I've seen better. Like I said, it was definitely cool to see, but it was not the most amazing artistic display in the world. Part of it is that they make you walk through all these hallways of art before you get to see the famous ceiling, and I think by the time I got there I was simply disinterested.
The next day we went to the Colosseum, an enormous former arena from the age of the ancient Romans. It was incredible to simply walk around such a famous area, especially when taking into account how intact it is after more than a thousand years. A majority of the original structure still stands. Adjacent to the Colosseum are a bunch of Roman ruins, which literally last for blocks. It is crazy to walk around them and envision what it must have looked like when they were originally built. It was also a beautiful place to wander, since it was 75 degrees, sunny, and much of the ruins are lined with palm trees, which aren't exactly a species of plant you can find in Brussels.
That night my friends and I went out to an area frequented my students in central Rome to celebrate my birthday. It was a pretty fun scene, with thousands of kids my age roaming the streets and enjoying the night life. It's probably the only birthday I'll ever spend in Rome, so I had to live it up!
Our third and final full day in Rome (my birthday!!) was spent exploring some of the free attractions: famous squares, the Trevi fountain (my personal favorite thing in Rome), and some quiet streets and parks. Overall, I absolutely love the vibe in Rome. Maybe it's because I'm a city kid, but I love how there's so many people bustling around at all times of day, and the crazy amounts of traffic just add to the madness. The mix between 2,000+ year old buildings and modern, aesthetically-pleasing museums, restaurants, and office buildings gives the city a cool feeling. Even though it's really busy, there are definitely quiet areas you can find that are surprisingly peaceful and make you forget that you are in one of the largest cities in Europe.
The next day we took a train to Siena...please see the next blog entry.
On our first day in Rome we went to Vatican City, where we spent an hour standing in line just to enter St. Peter's Basilica. It was actually quite impressive to see that many people dedicated to getting in on a seemingly random Friday in late October. Once we entered, we realized what the wait was for. St. Peter's Basilica, although not surprising as it is the seat of the Catholic Church and where the Pope regularly holds mass, is by far the most astounding church I've ever been in. It's quite hard to describe, but basically, it could easily be a castle due to its size, and every little nook has a super elaborate painting, sculpture, or other work of art. It would be quite easy to hold mass in 10 different locations within the church. We paid to climb to the top of it, which is about 550 steps through a, shall we say, harrowing passageway that is at times completely slanted. I could barely fit through some of the hallways. But the view is astounding, with the square directly in front of you and the city of Rome beyond it. You can also get a bird's eye view of the gardens and fountains that surround the basilica. Afterwards, we got to walk through the catacombs which house the tombs of many previous popes, including the most recent, John Paul II.
Later that day we also went through the Sistine Chapel, which is world-renowned for its incredibly detailed paintings on the ceiling. Personally, I found the paintings to be impressive but very over-hyped. I've seen better. Like I said, it was definitely cool to see, but it was not the most amazing artistic display in the world. Part of it is that they make you walk through all these hallways of art before you get to see the famous ceiling, and I think by the time I got there I was simply disinterested.
The next day we went to the Colosseum, an enormous former arena from the age of the ancient Romans. It was incredible to simply walk around such a famous area, especially when taking into account how intact it is after more than a thousand years. A majority of the original structure still stands. Adjacent to the Colosseum are a bunch of Roman ruins, which literally last for blocks. It is crazy to walk around them and envision what it must have looked like when they were originally built. It was also a beautiful place to wander, since it was 75 degrees, sunny, and much of the ruins are lined with palm trees, which aren't exactly a species of plant you can find in Brussels.
That night my friends and I went out to an area frequented my students in central Rome to celebrate my birthday. It was a pretty fun scene, with thousands of kids my age roaming the streets and enjoying the night life. It's probably the only birthday I'll ever spend in Rome, so I had to live it up!
Our third and final full day in Rome (my birthday!!) was spent exploring some of the free attractions: famous squares, the Trevi fountain (my personal favorite thing in Rome), and some quiet streets and parks. Overall, I absolutely love the vibe in Rome. Maybe it's because I'm a city kid, but I love how there's so many people bustling around at all times of day, and the crazy amounts of traffic just add to the madness. The mix between 2,000+ year old buildings and modern, aesthetically-pleasing museums, restaurants, and office buildings gives the city a cool feeling. Even though it's really busy, there are definitely quiet areas you can find that are surprisingly peaceful and make you forget that you are in one of the largest cities in Europe.
The next day we took a train to Siena...please see the next blog entry.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Luxembourg, Take 2
This weekend I had a very unique opportunity to check out the small country of Luxembourg, directly south of Belgium, from a local's perspective. A friend I met at school here is originally from there, so he very generously took me to his parent's house for the weekend. It was another eye-opening cultural experience (as if I haven't had enough of those!) because his parents speak 3 languages (Luxembourgish, French, German), but not English. My friend helped us communicate, but it was nevertheless a challenge! It was especially cool on Saturday night, because his parents had a number of guests over for a dinner party. Some of the younger people in attendance spoke some English, so that was nice, but it was kind of like being an animal at the zoo, because many of them had never met an American, so they were intrigued and had many questions about American culture, government, etc. It was very humbling to be so accepted by a family who had never met me, don't speak my language, and still welcomed me into their home.
We spent some time walking around classic small Luxembourgish towns, most of which have about as many bars and restaurants as people (due to many tourists in the summer). The highlight was probably the American military cemetary (similar to the one which I saw in Normandy), which has the resting place of Gen. George Patton, one of the most famous generals in American military history. Luxembourg was very much affected by WWII, as evidenced by the thousands of American men buried there. As with Normandy, it is rather hard to put into words what you feel while you walk around such a place, but it is undoubtedly impressive to see.
We also checked out a castle and drove around the rural part of the country, which is stunningly beautiful. There are many rivers and huge swaths of forest. The country is so small that you can drive across the entire thing in an hour. You can cross bridges and go into Germany and France which is pretty cool, too. Overall it was sweet to be able to explore a country that most people have never heard of, and to see it from a local's perspective and go to some places that tourists would never see. Also, I apparently have some Luxembourgish heritage, so it was cool to think that somewhere down the line my ancestors were from there!
Stay tuned for more updates, as I leave for Italy this Thursday until Nov. 9!!
We spent some time walking around classic small Luxembourgish towns, most of which have about as many bars and restaurants as people (due to many tourists in the summer). The highlight was probably the American military cemetary (similar to the one which I saw in Normandy), which has the resting place of Gen. George Patton, one of the most famous generals in American military history. Luxembourg was very much affected by WWII, as evidenced by the thousands of American men buried there. As with Normandy, it is rather hard to put into words what you feel while you walk around such a place, but it is undoubtedly impressive to see.
We also checked out a castle and drove around the rural part of the country, which is stunningly beautiful. There are many rivers and huge swaths of forest. The country is so small that you can drive across the entire thing in an hour. You can cross bridges and go into Germany and France which is pretty cool, too. Overall it was sweet to be able to explore a country that most people have never heard of, and to see it from a local's perspective and go to some places that tourists would never see. Also, I apparently have some Luxembourgish heritage, so it was cool to think that somewhere down the line my ancestors were from there!
Stay tuned for more updates, as I leave for Italy this Thursday until Nov. 9!!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Normandy
This weekend we went as a group to the northern French province of Normandy, staying in a small town called Bayeux just a few miles off the coast. On the way there we stopped at Mont Saint-Michel, known as the "Wonder of the West," which is a rocky island that has a small village and a beautiful cathedral built on it. Dating back hundreds of years, it is incredible because the terrain is pretty treacherous, and it is definitely not the most feasible place to construct a village. The craziest thing about it is that when the tides are low it is connected by a sandy strip of coast to the mainland, but when the tides are high it is an island. It is fairly touristy, but a gorgeous little town with astounding views of the Atlantic.
On Saturday, we spent the entire day touring sites that are famous for their connection to the D-Day Invasion of June 1944. For those who don't know, D-Day was the largest amphibious military mission in the history of modern warfare, in which American, British and Canadian troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to fight the Germans so that the Allies could begin to liberate Western Europe from the grips of Nazism. It is the battle famously depicted in the film Saving Private Ryan. Although the Allies were eventually successful, thousands of soldiers lost their lives on D-Day, June 6, and the following weeks in the Normandy area. We toured Omaha Beach, the strip of beach which claimed the most casualties in the fighting, and it is eerie to walk around there. To this day there are humongous craters in the ground from American bombs, and still intact are German fortifications and lodgings. While interesting to see, it is not the most comforting feeling to walk across land on which thousands of people have perished.
In the afternoon, we toured the American military cemetary in Normandy, which is easily one of the most powerful places I have ever stepped foot. There are 10 plots of graves, marked by a single cross or star of David, and the lines of graves seem to go on forever. Nearly 4,000 American soldiers are buried there. In addition, there is a wall in memory of those who went Missing in Action, with the names of nearly 2,000 additional Americans etched into it. Although it was a rather depressing and somber moment, it really put into perspective how many people have put their lives on the line in the name of the U.S., and it was pretty emotional to walk through the cemetary. It's really hard to put into words the emotions you get while touring the Normandy beaches, but its an experience I think all Americans should try to do in their lifetime.
On Sunday we left to return to Brussels, but on the way we stopped in the beautiful small French town of Amiens, home to one of the most gorgeous cathedrals I've ever seen. Dating from the Middle Ages, it is considered one of the top five most beautiful churches in France and is famous for having the head of John the Baptist, originally brought back from Constantinople and kept behind a piece of glass and fully visible to visitors. As gross as it is, it's actually pretty cool!
This was my first visit to France and an eye-opening one at that, as I got to see areas that have a very powerful significance on American and European history. Although it was not exactly the most uplifting place to tour, it was one I will treasure, and it really made me think about how much destruction and damage was caused by WWII and how many people, myself included, never really think about that. Pictures are shortly to follow on the Shutterfly website, so look for those soon!
On Saturday, we spent the entire day touring sites that are famous for their connection to the D-Day Invasion of June 1944. For those who don't know, D-Day was the largest amphibious military mission in the history of modern warfare, in which American, British and Canadian troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to fight the Germans so that the Allies could begin to liberate Western Europe from the grips of Nazism. It is the battle famously depicted in the film Saving Private Ryan. Although the Allies were eventually successful, thousands of soldiers lost their lives on D-Day, June 6, and the following weeks in the Normandy area. We toured Omaha Beach, the strip of beach which claimed the most casualties in the fighting, and it is eerie to walk around there. To this day there are humongous craters in the ground from American bombs, and still intact are German fortifications and lodgings. While interesting to see, it is not the most comforting feeling to walk across land on which thousands of people have perished.
In the afternoon, we toured the American military cemetary in Normandy, which is easily one of the most powerful places I have ever stepped foot. There are 10 plots of graves, marked by a single cross or star of David, and the lines of graves seem to go on forever. Nearly 4,000 American soldiers are buried there. In addition, there is a wall in memory of those who went Missing in Action, with the names of nearly 2,000 additional Americans etched into it. Although it was a rather depressing and somber moment, it really put into perspective how many people have put their lives on the line in the name of the U.S., and it was pretty emotional to walk through the cemetary. It's really hard to put into words the emotions you get while touring the Normandy beaches, but its an experience I think all Americans should try to do in their lifetime.
On Sunday we left to return to Brussels, but on the way we stopped in the beautiful small French town of Amiens, home to one of the most gorgeous cathedrals I've ever seen. Dating from the Middle Ages, it is considered one of the top five most beautiful churches in France and is famous for having the head of John the Baptist, originally brought back from Constantinople and kept behind a piece of glass and fully visible to visitors. As gross as it is, it's actually pretty cool!
This was my first visit to France and an eye-opening one at that, as I got to see areas that have a very powerful significance on American and European history. Although it was not exactly the most uplifting place to tour, it was one I will treasure, and it really made me think about how much destruction and damage was caused by WWII and how many people, myself included, never really think about that. Pictures are shortly to follow on the Shutterfly website, so look for those soon!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Luxembourg
Today we went on a group excursion to the small neighboring country of Luxembourg. It was originally a province of Belgium, but is now a Grand Duchy and a sovereign country that is part of the UN and NATO. In addition, it is home to the European Investment Bank, an institution of the European Union that we toured in the morning. We sat in on an informational session about the bank's activities, which essentially involve cheaply buying money of the capital markets and then loaning that money to member states of the EU (and small amounts to countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean as well) in order to build infrastructure, finance small businesses, and promote economic development. Interestingly, it is entirely financially self-sufficient, due to the fact that all 27 EU member states back it, and does not run on any EU-taxpayer money. It was cool to tour the building, but hearing presentations from EU representatives who obviously promote the good work of the EU is starting to get rather repetitive.
Afterwards we went on a walking tour of Luxembourg City, which has a little over 100,000 inhabitants and was originally an important fortress beginning in the 10th century. The city is dotted with many medieval buildings, castles and churches, many of which are still intact. And randomly, the president of Ireland happened to be in Luxembourg today, meeting with Luxembourg government officials. As part of his trip, he was given a walking tour of the city, which just so happened to be at the same time as our walking tour. And due to the fact that Luxembourg is pretty lax on security, we were able to stand on the sidewalk as the Irish and Luxembourgish presidents strolled down the street, talking about who knows what while being trailed by a posse of 30 officials and police officers. We were able to see these leaders from five feet away and snap photos, which was totally unexpected and awesome!
In the afternoon we travelled to a castle in southern Belgium, located in the Ardennes, which during this time of the year is filled with trees whose leaves are changing color, providing a beautiful backdrop to the castle. The castle was built in the 16th century and is still in great condition. In fact, descendants of the original owners still live in the upper floors! It is one of the few castles that remains intact in the area, despite the fact that 400 years ago there were dozens lining the countryside.
After enjoying a traditional Belgian dinner in a small tavern near Dinant, also in Wallonia in Southern Belgium, we travelled back to Brussels. All in all an enjoyable but tiring day. I can't complain too much when I see the EU Investment Bank, the presidents of 2 countries, and a castle within 6 hours.
Afterwards we went on a walking tour of Luxembourg City, which has a little over 100,000 inhabitants and was originally an important fortress beginning in the 10th century. The city is dotted with many medieval buildings, castles and churches, many of which are still intact. And randomly, the president of Ireland happened to be in Luxembourg today, meeting with Luxembourg government officials. As part of his trip, he was given a walking tour of the city, which just so happened to be at the same time as our walking tour. And due to the fact that Luxembourg is pretty lax on security, we were able to stand on the sidewalk as the Irish and Luxembourgish presidents strolled down the street, talking about who knows what while being trailed by a posse of 30 officials and police officers. We were able to see these leaders from five feet away and snap photos, which was totally unexpected and awesome!
In the afternoon we travelled to a castle in southern Belgium, located in the Ardennes, which during this time of the year is filled with trees whose leaves are changing color, providing a beautiful backdrop to the castle. The castle was built in the 16th century and is still in great condition. In fact, descendants of the original owners still live in the upper floors! It is one of the few castles that remains intact in the area, despite the fact that 400 years ago there were dozens lining the countryside.
After enjoying a traditional Belgian dinner in a small tavern near Dinant, also in Wallonia in Southern Belgium, we travelled back to Brussels. All in all an enjoyable but tiring day. I can't complain too much when I see the EU Investment Bank, the presidents of 2 countries, and a castle within 6 hours.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Cologne and Bonn
This past weekend I went on a little Saul adventure, taking the train to Germany partly because I had never been there, and partly because I thought I deserved a little break after a stressful week of midterm exams. I spent Friday night and Saturday in Cologne, situated right along the Rhine River, with many cathedrals and medieval architecture. The most impressive building in Cologne, and undoubtedly the most beautiful church I have ever seen, is the "Dom," a humongous cathedral located right next to the central train station. Not only is it extremely large, but the inside is gorgeous, and you can climb the belfry (only 533 steps!) and get one of the most amazing views you can imagine of the surrounding city, with the Rhine as a backdrop.
Most of my touring involved me walking around aimlessly, with no idea where I was going, snapping photos of things that looked interesting to me. I popped into several churches, all of which were beautiful, and also strolled along the Rhine for quite awhile. Due to a rainy spell, I decided to check out a museum, so I went to the German Sports and Olympic Games Museum, which has some really cool sports artifacts and some interesting tidbits on Olympic history. The 1936 Games, held in Berlin, were a pretty major event (in which Jesse Owens so famously dominated in track and field, much to the dismay of the German government) and they have some cool stuff from that era.
My hostel in Cologne was just a 10 minute walk over the railroad bridge, which crosses the Rhine, heading away from the Dom. I shared a room with a Japanese student from Kyoto, on a month-long tour of Europe as his first trip outside of Japan, and we seriously talked for 3 hours. He was extremely nice, and it was a perfect example of some of the cool people you can always meet when staying in hostels.
Saturday evening I took the short train ride to Bonn, where I stayed in a hostel literally located in a nature reserve that is a half hour bus ride from the city center. It was a really peaceful location, and just the type of place I needed to spend the night to recharge and relax. On Sunday I explored Bonn, which on a Sunday morning is quite calm and charming. The only people on the street were churchgoers, children, and people perusing through the humongous market they set up in one of the main squares. Once again, I got to go inside several churches, which are scattered all over, including the largest in the central square where my dad was baptized. In addition, Bonn has one of the most gorgeous parks I've ever seen, with what is essentially a soccer field-size green area facing a huge palatial building.
The coolest thing I did on my whole trip, however, was visiting the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven in Bonn. Not only can you tour the house in which he was born, but they also have incredible displays of instruments he owned and musical scores he wrote, which appealed to my piano-playing side! It is crazy to think that such an important musician was born in such a modest dwelling on a side street in a small town like Bonn. And it is amazing how much of his original manuscripts, writings, and compositions they still have in great condition!
Overall the weekend was extremely relaxing, and it was fun to be able to go out on my own and be a little adventuresome. It may seem goofy, but it was really nice to just get away from everyone and everything in Brussels and just have a weekend to myself. Luckily most people in Germany speak English, or at least enough to communicate. It was cool to see a country I hadn't seen before, and simply taking the train through the German countryside was breathtaking. It's definitely an area I would like to explore more! Oh and I probably gained 10 pounds from eating the amazing and rich food in Germany. What a place.
If you'd like to check out some of the pictures I took, my internet is being really slow about it, but I am in the process of posting them to my Shutterfly website. If you haven't checked it out, please do!! The address is:
http://saulinbrussels.shutterfly.com/
Most of my touring involved me walking around aimlessly, with no idea where I was going, snapping photos of things that looked interesting to me. I popped into several churches, all of which were beautiful, and also strolled along the Rhine for quite awhile. Due to a rainy spell, I decided to check out a museum, so I went to the German Sports and Olympic Games Museum, which has some really cool sports artifacts and some interesting tidbits on Olympic history. The 1936 Games, held in Berlin, were a pretty major event (in which Jesse Owens so famously dominated in track and field, much to the dismay of the German government) and they have some cool stuff from that era.
My hostel in Cologne was just a 10 minute walk over the railroad bridge, which crosses the Rhine, heading away from the Dom. I shared a room with a Japanese student from Kyoto, on a month-long tour of Europe as his first trip outside of Japan, and we seriously talked for 3 hours. He was extremely nice, and it was a perfect example of some of the cool people you can always meet when staying in hostels.
Saturday evening I took the short train ride to Bonn, where I stayed in a hostel literally located in a nature reserve that is a half hour bus ride from the city center. It was a really peaceful location, and just the type of place I needed to spend the night to recharge and relax. On Sunday I explored Bonn, which on a Sunday morning is quite calm and charming. The only people on the street were churchgoers, children, and people perusing through the humongous market they set up in one of the main squares. Once again, I got to go inside several churches, which are scattered all over, including the largest in the central square where my dad was baptized. In addition, Bonn has one of the most gorgeous parks I've ever seen, with what is essentially a soccer field-size green area facing a huge palatial building.
The coolest thing I did on my whole trip, however, was visiting the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven in Bonn. Not only can you tour the house in which he was born, but they also have incredible displays of instruments he owned and musical scores he wrote, which appealed to my piano-playing side! It is crazy to think that such an important musician was born in such a modest dwelling on a side street in a small town like Bonn. And it is amazing how much of his original manuscripts, writings, and compositions they still have in great condition!
Overall the weekend was extremely relaxing, and it was fun to be able to go out on my own and be a little adventuresome. It may seem goofy, but it was really nice to just get away from everyone and everything in Brussels and just have a weekend to myself. Luckily most people in Germany speak English, or at least enough to communicate. It was cool to see a country I hadn't seen before, and simply taking the train through the German countryside was breathtaking. It's definitely an area I would like to explore more! Oh and I probably gained 10 pounds from eating the amazing and rich food in Germany. What a place.
If you'd like to check out some of the pictures I took, my internet is being really slow about it, but I am in the process of posting them to my Shutterfly website. If you haven't checked it out, please do!! The address is:
http://saulinbrussels.shutterfly.com/
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Pictures!
After being asked many times and unfairly denying those of you who are curious a photographic glimpse into Brussels, I have finally gotten my act together and come up with a way for you to see some of the pictures I have taken. I have been having a very difficult time uploading them directly to the blog, and not all of you are unwise enough to get a time-wasting Facebook account, so instead I have taken a hint from my artistically-inclined Theisen uncles who specialize in photography and created a Shutterfly page.
Hopefully, you should all be able to go to the following webpage and view slideshows of a majority of the pictures I have taken here:
http://saulinbrussels.shutterfly.com/
You should not have to sign in or sign up for anything. You may have to search around a little bit, but there should be 3 albums, one for Brussels and Bruges, one for Delft and the Hague, and one for Waterloo and Villers-la-Ville.
A quick note: you must know a few things about me and photographs. 1. I am terrible at taking them, and you will notice that I do not appear in any of them. I just take pictures of what I see. 2. I have done a fairly poor job of capturing in photographs everything I've seen. For example, I have not yet taken pictures of many beautiful sites in Brussels. Trust me, those will come eventually, but you will have to patiently wait until I can be motivated enough to bring my camera. 3. I tried writing captions below many of the pictures, but in the slideshow many of them get cut off, so for a couple of the albums there are no captions. If you have questions about what you're looking at, don't hesitate to ask!
I hope you are all able to access the site and view the pictures without too much of a hassle. I'm sorry that the blog didn't work for putting them up, but hopefully this works just as well. Let me know if you have any problems/questions/angry complaints about my photography skills!
Hopefully, you should all be able to go to the following webpage and view slideshows of a majority of the pictures I have taken here:
http://saulinbrussels.shutterfly.com/
You should not have to sign in or sign up for anything. You may have to search around a little bit, but there should be 3 albums, one for Brussels and Bruges, one for Delft and the Hague, and one for Waterloo and Villers-la-Ville.
A quick note: you must know a few things about me and photographs. 1. I am terrible at taking them, and you will notice that I do not appear in any of them. I just take pictures of what I see. 2. I have done a fairly poor job of capturing in photographs everything I've seen. For example, I have not yet taken pictures of many beautiful sites in Brussels. Trust me, those will come eventually, but you will have to patiently wait until I can be motivated enough to bring my camera. 3. I tried writing captions below many of the pictures, but in the slideshow many of them get cut off, so for a couple of the albums there are no captions. If you have questions about what you're looking at, don't hesitate to ask!
I hope you are all able to access the site and view the pictures without too much of a hassle. I'm sorry that the blog didn't work for putting them up, but hopefully this works just as well. Let me know if you have any problems/questions/angry complaints about my photography skills!
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Hague and Delft
Yesterday we voyaged to the nearby Netherlands for a long but amazing day. In the morning we went to The Hague, home of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. I will spare most of the details, but essentially, the tribunal is set up by the United Nations (there are similar ones for Rwanda, East Timor, Cambodia) in order to put on trial those individuals who are allegedly responsible for causing mass terror and destruction in areas where conflict recently occurred. In the case of the tribunal we visited, the UN is in the process of trying 161 individuals who have been indicted for committing crimes against humanity (this can be mass killings, torture, mass deportations, destruction of cities and property, etc.)
We were fortunate enough to be able to observe part of one of these trials. When we first arrived, we were sent to a conference room where we received a one-hour briefing on the case from an advisor to the main prosecutor. After that, we were allowed to sit in the gallery and watch the trial proceed for about an hour and a half. The particular trial we saw was that of Ante Gotovina, a former commander of the Croatian army who is accused of ordering a military offensive that killed hundreds of innocent civilians in Bosnia. For this particular trial there is only one observatory room, in which we were allowed to sit, separated from the trial by only a glass panel. It a once in a lifetime opportunity to observe such a trial, and it was rather fascinating not only to see how it was conducted, but also to observe someone on trial for such a grave offense and only be separated from him by a glass panel.
In the afternoon we went to an art museum in The Hague called the Mauritshuis which is home to many famous Rembrandt paintings, as well as the famous Vermeer painting "The Girl With A Pearl Earring," from which a book and movie have been produced. I'm usually not one for art museums, but they actually had a pretty fascinating collection and we received a tour from someone who actually had a tad bit of public speaking skills, so it was worthwhile.
After that we went a short distance to Delft, a small, quaint town about a half hour away from The Hague. There we explored its canals and cool little streets, as well as walking through the main church in the city square that is the burial place of Hugo Grotius, the man credited with establishing international law, and William of Orange, a former king of the Netherlands. The town is nothing special, but it gave us a taste of rural Netherlands and was a beautiful place to walk around.
Although it was an extremely long day (gone from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.) it was a cool experience and the only trip I have planned to the wonderful country of the Netherlands, so I enjoyed it. It's not every day that you get to sit in on an international war crimes tribunal!
We were fortunate enough to be able to observe part of one of these trials. When we first arrived, we were sent to a conference room where we received a one-hour briefing on the case from an advisor to the main prosecutor. After that, we were allowed to sit in the gallery and watch the trial proceed for about an hour and a half. The particular trial we saw was that of Ante Gotovina, a former commander of the Croatian army who is accused of ordering a military offensive that killed hundreds of innocent civilians in Bosnia. For this particular trial there is only one observatory room, in which we were allowed to sit, separated from the trial by only a glass panel. It a once in a lifetime opportunity to observe such a trial, and it was rather fascinating not only to see how it was conducted, but also to observe someone on trial for such a grave offense and only be separated from him by a glass panel.
In the afternoon we went to an art museum in The Hague called the Mauritshuis which is home to many famous Rembrandt paintings, as well as the famous Vermeer painting "The Girl With A Pearl Earring," from which a book and movie have been produced. I'm usually not one for art museums, but they actually had a pretty fascinating collection and we received a tour from someone who actually had a tad bit of public speaking skills, so it was worthwhile.
After that we went a short distance to Delft, a small, quaint town about a half hour away from The Hague. There we explored its canals and cool little streets, as well as walking through the main church in the city square that is the burial place of Hugo Grotius, the man credited with establishing international law, and William of Orange, a former king of the Netherlands. The town is nothing special, but it gave us a taste of rural Netherlands and was a beautiful place to walk around.
Although it was an extremely long day (gone from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.) it was a cool experience and the only trip I have planned to the wonderful country of the Netherlands, so I enjoyed it. It's not every day that you get to sit in on an international war crimes tribunal!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
No More Stitches
Today I got the rest of the stitches taken out of my hands, a little over 10 days after I accidentally cut them. The stitches from my right hand were removed on Monday, but the ones in my left hand remained there until today. They are still not 100% healed, but they have improved to the point where stitches are no longer necessary, and I just wear a small bandage on my left hand. This means it is much easier for me to do things (like typing, taking a shower, etc.) than it has been for the last couple of weeks.
While this whole injury has been quite the hassle, there are two things about the healthcare system here that are awesome: it's extremely affordable, and they pay a lot of attention to you. Thanks to the fact that citizens of Brussels pay upwards of 50% of their income toward taxes, all of my treatment (which included an ambulance ride, an ER visit, a prescription, and 8 follow-up appointments to switch the bandages every day) cost under 150 euro. While this is no small chunk of change, a comprable bill in the U.S. would be much more, particularly if you did not hold U.S. health insurance. In addition, as I just mentioned, the doctors wanted me to come back every day to monitor the cut and to change the bandage, which is also a procedure that would probably not happen in the U.S.
Other than the excitement surrounding my hand, there is not a whole lot else new here. I've finally settled into a groove, going to classes and getting to know my way around the city. I'm having a great time learning different things about Belgian society, and I have learned how to not look so completely lost and give off the appearance that I'm possibly Belgian (as evidenced by how many people ask me for directions in French). I'm treasuring the next couple of weekends where I do not have much planned, because starting in October I will almost literally be going somewhere different every weekend until I leave.
While this whole injury has been quite the hassle, there are two things about the healthcare system here that are awesome: it's extremely affordable, and they pay a lot of attention to you. Thanks to the fact that citizens of Brussels pay upwards of 50% of their income toward taxes, all of my treatment (which included an ambulance ride, an ER visit, a prescription, and 8 follow-up appointments to switch the bandages every day) cost under 150 euro. While this is no small chunk of change, a comprable bill in the U.S. would be much more, particularly if you did not hold U.S. health insurance. In addition, as I just mentioned, the doctors wanted me to come back every day to monitor the cut and to change the bandage, which is also a procedure that would probably not happen in the U.S.
Other than the excitement surrounding my hand, there is not a whole lot else new here. I've finally settled into a groove, going to classes and getting to know my way around the city. I'm having a great time learning different things about Belgian society, and I have learned how to not look so completely lost and give off the appearance that I'm possibly Belgian (as evidenced by how many people ask me for directions in French). I'm treasuring the next couple of weekends where I do not have much planned, because starting in October I will almost literally be going somewhere different every weekend until I leave.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
NATO Headquarters
Today we went as a group to the headquarters of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, located in Brussels. For those who don't know, NATO is a military alliance consisting of 26 European countries, Canada and the U.S., bound by a treaty that essentially says that an attack on any member country is an attack on all of them. It was originally founded in 1949 in response to a perceived threat in Europe from the former USSR, and has continued in operation today by sending troops to places like Kosovo, Afghanistan, and most recently to the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia to combat piracy. Thus, the organization is quite powerful in international politics and so as a political science major it was insanely cool to be able to visit its main headquarters.
Upon entering NATO headquarters, your passport is checked, all electronics are confiscated until you exit, and you may not bring in any baggage...picture going through airport security. While we were there we received two presentations: one from a diplomat who focuses on the relationship between Scandinavia and the U.S., and another from an official from the U.S. mission to NATO. Although both presenters used a lot of jargon and did an amazing job of not really answering any of our questions (quite common for political spokespersons), it was fascinating to sit in a conference room in NATO and hear these fairly high-ranking officials give us their schpiel. In addition, hearing someone speak from the NATO perspective and and someone speak from the U.S. perspective was an interesting contrast because they were not entirely on the same page, despite the fact that the U.S. contributes more military assistance to NATO than any other member nation.
After our presentations, we got to eat lunch in the NATO cafeteria, which not only had gourmet food but provided us an opportunity to literally sit amongst military generals, diplomats, and officials from all different countries. Some of them might have just been interns or unimportant people, but it was fun to pretend that I was sitting in a room filled with politically powerful individuals. Needless to say, us American kids didn't really fit in.
I treasured the opportunity to visit the institution because it is something that would be quite difficult to do as an ordinary citizen, and hearing from people who actually work there would be next to impossible. It was one of those things that is simply cool to say I have seen!
Upon entering NATO headquarters, your passport is checked, all electronics are confiscated until you exit, and you may not bring in any baggage...picture going through airport security. While we were there we received two presentations: one from a diplomat who focuses on the relationship between Scandinavia and the U.S., and another from an official from the U.S. mission to NATO. Although both presenters used a lot of jargon and did an amazing job of not really answering any of our questions (quite common for political spokespersons), it was fascinating to sit in a conference room in NATO and hear these fairly high-ranking officials give us their schpiel. In addition, hearing someone speak from the NATO perspective and and someone speak from the U.S. perspective was an interesting contrast because they were not entirely on the same page, despite the fact that the U.S. contributes more military assistance to NATO than any other member nation.
After our presentations, we got to eat lunch in the NATO cafeteria, which not only had gourmet food but provided us an opportunity to literally sit amongst military generals, diplomats, and officials from all different countries. Some of them might have just been interns or unimportant people, but it was fun to pretend that I was sitting in a room filled with politically powerful individuals. Needless to say, us American kids didn't really fit in.
I treasured the opportunity to visit the institution because it is something that would be quite difficult to do as an ordinary citizen, and hearing from people who actually work there would be next to impossible. It was one of those things that is simply cool to say I have seen!
Monday, September 7, 2009
A Youthful Mistake, A Trip to the Hospital
So partly to quell worries of people, and partly because it is an unusual story, I thought I would post a little information about my "adventure" yesterday...
For those who don't know, yesterday was an interesting day for me. Some friends and I were attempting to play ultimate frisbee on our school's athletic fields, but the entrance was locked so we were scaling a 15 foot fence in order to enter. I know that's a terrible idea, but just bear with me on the story. On the top of the fence are rather sharp beams that protrude about 6 inches off the top of the fence to prevent people from scaling it. To make a long and graphic story short, the beams are rather effective. I ended up slipping on the top of the fence while trying to readjust my leg, and I sliced open both my hands on the metal beams.
Thanks to the calm reactions and quick thinking of my friends, I got an ambulance and made it to the hospital quickly. The injury is not terribly serious, but it required stitches in both hands and my left hand, which had the largest gash, is basically unusable for right now. Tomorrow I have to go get the bandages replaced, and I need to have the stitches in for at least a week.
One activity I participated in yesterday was not one that was on my to-do list: navigating the health care system in a country where you don't speak the language. A friend who's conversational in French came with me to the hospital, but there was little effective communication between me and the staff, which was slightly disconcerting. Basically picture being stitched up but not being able to talk to any of the people performing the procedure. That's what I did yesterday afternoon.
And trust me, I learned my lesson. The thing that makes me most upset is that I made the stupid decision in the first place to even climb the fence, since it was not only against the rules but also dangerous. I guess you live and learn, but for the hassle that this preventable accident is creating, I am frustrated with myself.
My hands should be ok...the right one only received two stitches, but my left one received 10. I will definitely keep everyone updated as the situation progresses, but I'm not in too much pain and it hasn't even been 24 hours yet since it happened. I was able to make a closed fist with my left hand, so the doctor did not seem concerned about structural damage, but once again, he also didn't speak English, so my diagnosis was a little unclear.
Moral of the story is that it that I made a bad decision, cut my hands, got to ride in a Belgian ambulance (pretty much the only part of the story that is cool) and now have the inability to get either of my hands wet (I showered with plastic bags on my hands) and a huge insurance hassle. I guess I'm coming home with plenty of interesting stories!
For those who don't know, yesterday was an interesting day for me. Some friends and I were attempting to play ultimate frisbee on our school's athletic fields, but the entrance was locked so we were scaling a 15 foot fence in order to enter. I know that's a terrible idea, but just bear with me on the story. On the top of the fence are rather sharp beams that protrude about 6 inches off the top of the fence to prevent people from scaling it. To make a long and graphic story short, the beams are rather effective. I ended up slipping on the top of the fence while trying to readjust my leg, and I sliced open both my hands on the metal beams.
Thanks to the calm reactions and quick thinking of my friends, I got an ambulance and made it to the hospital quickly. The injury is not terribly serious, but it required stitches in both hands and my left hand, which had the largest gash, is basically unusable for right now. Tomorrow I have to go get the bandages replaced, and I need to have the stitches in for at least a week.
One activity I participated in yesterday was not one that was on my to-do list: navigating the health care system in a country where you don't speak the language. A friend who's conversational in French came with me to the hospital, but there was little effective communication between me and the staff, which was slightly disconcerting. Basically picture being stitched up but not being able to talk to any of the people performing the procedure. That's what I did yesterday afternoon.
And trust me, I learned my lesson. The thing that makes me most upset is that I made the stupid decision in the first place to even climb the fence, since it was not only against the rules but also dangerous. I guess you live and learn, but for the hassle that this preventable accident is creating, I am frustrated with myself.
My hands should be ok...the right one only received two stitches, but my left one received 10. I will definitely keep everyone updated as the situation progresses, but I'm not in too much pain and it hasn't even been 24 hours yet since it happened. I was able to make a closed fist with my left hand, so the doctor did not seem concerned about structural damage, but once again, he also didn't speak English, so my diagnosis was a little unclear.
Moral of the story is that it that I made a bad decision, cut my hands, got to ride in a Belgian ambulance (pretty much the only part of the story that is cool) and now have the inability to get either of my hands wet (I showered with plastic bags on my hands) and a huge insurance hassle. I guess I'm coming home with plenty of interesting stories!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Belgian Parliament
Today for a class trip we went to the Belgian federal parliament building in downtown Brussels. The political system in Belgium is one of the most complex in the world, so I will try to explain it briefly: there are three regions (Dutch-speaking Flanders in the North, bilingual Brussels, and French-speaking Wallonia in the South) that each have a parliament, as well as three language communities (Dutch, French, German) that also each have a parliament. These parliaments make decisions in policy areas such as education, employment, environmental protection, etc. But on top of this is a federal parliament which deals with more serious issues, such as defense, and this is the establishment we visited today. Its decisions are binding over the entire country and supercede decisions made on the regional or community level. Oh yeah, and there's a king in Belgium too, but he doesn't have any political power. Confused yet?
The building is quite impressive, with most rooms lined with portraits of previous leaders and accented with gold-plated cielings and ornate furniture. The most impressive room, aesthetically speaking, is the Senate, which has a cieling plated in 18 karat gold and has three humongous paintings above where the head of the Senate speaks. This is not to mention the intricate wood carvings and busts of important figures in Belgian history that also occupy the room. The Senate is way nicer than the House of Representatives, because originally only people from the nobility served in the Senate, so naturally they had to make the room as impressive as possible.
The one downside to the visit was the unbelievably dry and drawn-out tour by our guide, who essentially gave us a lecture (lasting over 2 hours) about how the federal parliament operates, what conditions are necessary to draft and pass legislation, etc. While interesting to visit, as you can imagine, the description in broken English of how such a complex political system works was not the most invigorating part of my day. But none the less it was an impressive building, and it is cool to say I've seen it, since it is roughly equivalent to visiting the chambers of the U.S. Congress.
The building is quite impressive, with most rooms lined with portraits of previous leaders and accented with gold-plated cielings and ornate furniture. The most impressive room, aesthetically speaking, is the Senate, which has a cieling plated in 18 karat gold and has three humongous paintings above where the head of the Senate speaks. This is not to mention the intricate wood carvings and busts of important figures in Belgian history that also occupy the room. The Senate is way nicer than the House of Representatives, because originally only people from the nobility served in the Senate, so naturally they had to make the room as impressive as possible.
The one downside to the visit was the unbelievably dry and drawn-out tour by our guide, who essentially gave us a lecture (lasting over 2 hours) about how the federal parliament operates, what conditions are necessary to draft and pass legislation, etc. While interesting to visit, as you can imagine, the description in broken English of how such a complex political system works was not the most invigorating part of my day. But none the less it was an impressive building, and it is cool to say I've seen it, since it is roughly equivalent to visiting the chambers of the U.S. Congress.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Bruges
Yesterday we went to Bruges, or as the Flemish spell it, Brugge. By train it is less than an hour outside of Brussels, situated to the northwest near the North Sea. Up until the 17th century, the North Sea reached all the way to the shore of Bruges, making it an important port town that had more inhabitants than London or Amsterdam. But over the next couple hundred years, the water receded, and most of the trade that Bruges depended on disappeared. This means that, although the inner town has turned into a tourist attraction, the surrounding area is fairly secluded and beautiful.
In the morning we went on a walking tour of the center of the town. They have some fabulous Gothic-style buildings and quaint squares and streets. In the middle of it is a canal, the shores of which are lined with hundreds of long-necked swans. The coolest part of the inner city is a little commune built by a group of women in the 1200's that provided an area for women who were fed up with the male-dominated society of Europe to work and live. They were considered heretics by the church and basically made their own little society in this walled-in compound in the middle of Bruges. Even to this day only women are allowed to live there. It was essentially one of the first feminist movements of Europe, which I found quite interesting.
Bruges was very picturesque to walk through, but it is packed with tourists. I saw more tourists in Bruges than I've ever seen in a town of its size.
However, in the afternoon we did what has so far been my favorite thing in Belgium: a four-hour bike tour of the surrounding area. We got to pedal all along these fabulous canals that stretch for miles into the countryside, and we went through beautiful wooded areas all the way to the border of Holland. In the middle of the bike tour we got to stop and climb up a wooden windmill that still operates. The view from the top was amazing and it was cool to see how an old-fashioned windmill functions.
It was really cool to be able to get on a bike and just explore the area. It's really flat country, so the biking wasn't strenuous, and it's probably the only time all semester that I'll ride a bike, since biking in Brussels is basically asking to be hit by a car. That's another story for another day, but the fresh air and exercise did wonders for me!
After the bike tour we ate dinner at a small, local restaurant, at which I tried my new favorite Belgian dish: waterzooi. You can get it with chicken or fish, but just imagine a chicken pot pie without the outside part. It's amazing, plus it makes me feel like a local! And after the dinner we went to get drinks at this little hole-in-the-wall bar that our resident director knew about that was absolutely amazing. I tried the local brew of Bruges (they only have one brewery) and it was fantastic!
The downer is that today I will be spending my entire day doing homework. College here means much less time in the classroom...and much more time spent outside of it doing readings and preparing for class. In a way I'd rather have it that way so that I can maximize my time, but by the same token, I already have several hundred pages of reading assigned after one week of class. That's not terrible, but not the way I really envision spending a lot of my time in Brussels!
In the morning we went on a walking tour of the center of the town. They have some fabulous Gothic-style buildings and quaint squares and streets. In the middle of it is a canal, the shores of which are lined with hundreds of long-necked swans. The coolest part of the inner city is a little commune built by a group of women in the 1200's that provided an area for women who were fed up with the male-dominated society of Europe to work and live. They were considered heretics by the church and basically made their own little society in this walled-in compound in the middle of Bruges. Even to this day only women are allowed to live there. It was essentially one of the first feminist movements of Europe, which I found quite interesting.
Bruges was very picturesque to walk through, but it is packed with tourists. I saw more tourists in Bruges than I've ever seen in a town of its size.
However, in the afternoon we did what has so far been my favorite thing in Belgium: a four-hour bike tour of the surrounding area. We got to pedal all along these fabulous canals that stretch for miles into the countryside, and we went through beautiful wooded areas all the way to the border of Holland. In the middle of the bike tour we got to stop and climb up a wooden windmill that still operates. The view from the top was amazing and it was cool to see how an old-fashioned windmill functions.
It was really cool to be able to get on a bike and just explore the area. It's really flat country, so the biking wasn't strenuous, and it's probably the only time all semester that I'll ride a bike, since biking in Brussels is basically asking to be hit by a car. That's another story for another day, but the fresh air and exercise did wonders for me!
After the bike tour we ate dinner at a small, local restaurant, at which I tried my new favorite Belgian dish: waterzooi. You can get it with chicken or fish, but just imagine a chicken pot pie without the outside part. It's amazing, plus it makes me feel like a local! And after the dinner we went to get drinks at this little hole-in-the-wall bar that our resident director knew about that was absolutely amazing. I tried the local brew of Bruges (they only have one brewery) and it was fantastic!
The downer is that today I will be spending my entire day doing homework. College here means much less time in the classroom...and much more time spent outside of it doing readings and preparing for class. In a way I'd rather have it that way so that I can maximize my time, but by the same token, I already have several hundred pages of reading assigned after one week of class. That's not terrible, but not the way I really envision spending a lot of my time in Brussels!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Waterloo and Villers-la-Ville
Today I went on an excursion with my study abroad group to Waterloo and Villers-la-Ville, two beautiful villages located less than an hour away from Brussels. Waterloo is famously known as the battleground at which Napoleon suffered his final defeat. There we explored the visitors center and climbed up approximately 200 stairs to a large lion statue that has been erected as a monument to the nearly 30,000 soldiers who died in the battle at Waterloo. The view from the lion, which has a surrounding walkway, is jaw-dropping, with expansive fields and the village itself visible from a couple hundred feet up. The fields on which the battle was fought are still farms and are still maintained. Although there are many remains (uniforms, bullets, bones) from the battle on these fields, it is illegal to use a metal detector to look for things, so the site remains largely intact.
After Waterloo, we went a short distance farther to Villers-la-Ville, a small rural village that is home to a centuries-old abbey, the ruins of which can be seen by visitors. We ate lunch at a tavern directly across from the abbey, and a procession of monks passed us as we ate...not something you see every day. The ruins are beautiful and a large percentage of the buildings remain intact, which is impressive considering it was built in the 1300's. After touring the abbey, we went on a two-hour hike through fields and small neighborhoods surrounding the village, which was beautiful. A bees nest and excessive mud on the trail did not detract from the scenery.
Aside from the historical significance of these places, it was refreshing to see how much the landscape changes in such a short distance. The fresh air and all the walking was a relaxing way to spend what was technically my last day of summer vacation, since classes start tomorrow.
After Waterloo, we went a short distance farther to Villers-la-Ville, a small rural village that is home to a centuries-old abbey, the ruins of which can be seen by visitors. We ate lunch at a tavern directly across from the abbey, and a procession of monks passed us as we ate...not something you see every day. The ruins are beautiful and a large percentage of the buildings remain intact, which is impressive considering it was built in the 1300's. After touring the abbey, we went on a two-hour hike through fields and small neighborhoods surrounding the village, which was beautiful. A bees nest and excessive mud on the trail did not detract from the scenery.
Aside from the historical significance of these places, it was refreshing to see how much the landscape changes in such a short distance. The fresh air and all the walking was a relaxing way to spend what was technically my last day of summer vacation, since classes start tomorrow.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Le Palais Royale
Yesterday I went with some friends to the Royal Palace of Belgium, where the royal family historically lived and conducted business and still does, to a much lesser extent. It is only open during the month of August and is free to enter, so we lucked out being able to see it. The palace is, in a word, ridiculous. I think it's pretty typical for a royal palace, but there are basically dozens of rooms, each of which are very open with 30-40 ft ceilings, gold-plated everything, and really intricate carvings, sculptures, and furniture. It makes your jaw drop to see how beautiful it is in 2009, so you can imagine how amazing it was a couple hundred years ago.
Yesterday I also officially registered for classes, and I got all of the courses that I wanted, so I was quite pleased. I will be taking a required class that's all about the history and culture of Belgium, along with beginning French, policies of the European Union, the E.U.'s approach to security and development, and international law. Some of those classes probably sound terrible to most people, but to a political science loser like me, they will be amazing because the E.U. classes would simply never be offered in the U.S., and on top of that, are being taught in the city where the E.U. is based. I'm excited to hear political analysis from the European perspective too, since it will certainly be different than the U.S. view.
The class schedule is way more chill than in the U.S. There's only one day that I have three classes, and on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays I only have one class. I think there will be an equal amount of work but it's less time in class, which is nice. My first day of class is on Monday, but it shouldn't be too stressful since I don't start until 4:30 p.m. and end at 6.
Yesterday I also officially registered for classes, and I got all of the courses that I wanted, so I was quite pleased. I will be taking a required class that's all about the history and culture of Belgium, along with beginning French, policies of the European Union, the E.U.'s approach to security and development, and international law. Some of those classes probably sound terrible to most people, but to a political science loser like me, they will be amazing because the E.U. classes would simply never be offered in the U.S., and on top of that, are being taught in the city where the E.U. is based. I'm excited to hear political analysis from the European perspective too, since it will certainly be different than the U.S. view.
The class schedule is way more chill than in the U.S. There's only one day that I have three classes, and on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays I only have one class. I think there will be an equal amount of work but it's less time in class, which is nice. My first day of class is on Monday, but it shouldn't be too stressful since I don't start until 4:30 p.m. and end at 6.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Getting Settled
I apologize for the gap in between posts. The hostel we were staying at for orientation charged to use their internet connection, so I did not get a chance to update the blog.
I am starting to feel more and more comfortable in Brussels. In just a week I've seen several different sides of the city and I have tried three of the most delicious and famous traditional fares of Belgium: chocolate (amazing), waffles (to die for) and beer. You can go to cafes here and choose from a menu of hundreds of beers. I went to one bar that has a beer for every year A.D.; in other words, they now have 2009 beers you can choose from. It's mind-boggling. And it's refreshing to be in a culture where drinking does not include the concept of drinking just to black out or drinking in house parties and doing stupid things. It's quite common to sit at a cafe for hours and maybe enjoy two or three beers. Granted, the beers are much stronger, but it is a drinking culture that I find much more sophisticated.
I finally learned of my permanent housing situation and got to move in this evening! I am living with a host family, which is what I had requested so I was very grateful. I am living with a middle-aged couple who are originally from Spain, which is cool because not only is it a perfect example of the diversity of Brussels but it will ironically give me a chance to improve on my Spanish, which is not something I had been planning on doing upon my arrival in a country that is bilingual in French and Dutch!
The couple also have a 19-year old son who is living here until he starts his studies in a couple weeks. That gives me another young person to get in contact with, and it's cool because he knows of some local spots to go and seems very open to the idea of international students living in his house.
I'm living on the top floor of a four-story town house in a beautiful residential neighborhood that's only a five minute walk to school. Although that means I'm a public transporation ride away from downtown Brussels, it means that for my daily travels to school I'm in a really convenient location. I'm sharing the upstairs with another study abroad student. He's from St. Louis but is studying here with a program different from mine. He seems quite nice and gives me another contact outside of my program, which I figure could be a good way to meet more people.
I'm slowly but surely adjusting to the European lifestyle...much of it is completely different than in the U.S., but most of it is surprisingly similar. The only bad thing so far really has been the heat: there have been three days in a row of 90 degree heat and humidity, which for a country that is used to rain and cold has taken people quite off-guard. There's no air conditioning in most buildings (including my house), so it has been miserable to sleep. But other than that everything has been a blast!
I am starting to feel more and more comfortable in Brussels. In just a week I've seen several different sides of the city and I have tried three of the most delicious and famous traditional fares of Belgium: chocolate (amazing), waffles (to die for) and beer. You can go to cafes here and choose from a menu of hundreds of beers. I went to one bar that has a beer for every year A.D.; in other words, they now have 2009 beers you can choose from. It's mind-boggling. And it's refreshing to be in a culture where drinking does not include the concept of drinking just to black out or drinking in house parties and doing stupid things. It's quite common to sit at a cafe for hours and maybe enjoy two or three beers. Granted, the beers are much stronger, but it is a drinking culture that I find much more sophisticated.
I finally learned of my permanent housing situation and got to move in this evening! I am living with a host family, which is what I had requested so I was very grateful. I am living with a middle-aged couple who are originally from Spain, which is cool because not only is it a perfect example of the diversity of Brussels but it will ironically give me a chance to improve on my Spanish, which is not something I had been planning on doing upon my arrival in a country that is bilingual in French and Dutch!
The couple also have a 19-year old son who is living here until he starts his studies in a couple weeks. That gives me another young person to get in contact with, and it's cool because he knows of some local spots to go and seems very open to the idea of international students living in his house.
I'm living on the top floor of a four-story town house in a beautiful residential neighborhood that's only a five minute walk to school. Although that means I'm a public transporation ride away from downtown Brussels, it means that for my daily travels to school I'm in a really convenient location. I'm sharing the upstairs with another study abroad student. He's from St. Louis but is studying here with a program different from mine. He seems quite nice and gives me another contact outside of my program, which I figure could be a good way to meet more people.
I'm slowly but surely adjusting to the European lifestyle...much of it is completely different than in the U.S., but most of it is surprisingly similar. The only bad thing so far really has been the heat: there have been three days in a row of 90 degree heat and humidity, which for a country that is used to rain and cold has taken people quite off-guard. There's no air conditioning in most buildings (including my house), so it has been miserable to sleep. But other than that everything has been a blast!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
My Adventure Begins
Today was the first day of orientation, which meant a lot of boring information presented in a conference room, but also my first chance to really see some of the main attractions in Brussels and to get a feel for the city. I think it's similar to many nearby European cities, but it has a peculiar mix of modern, artsy European-style buildings alongside blocks of 15th century (and even earlier) architecture. Many of the people here are friendly and most speak conversational English, which makes getting around very easy.
There are 26 people in my group, and they are from all over the U.S. (I'm the only one from MN). We're all staying in a nice, but not overly spacious, hostel that's a five minute walk from the Grand Place and Mannekin Pis, two of the most famous attractions in Brussels. Pictures are hopefully to follow soon, but take my word, the Grand Place is the most fabulous square I've ever seen, with a city block perimeter of huge, ornate castle-like buildings surrounding a massive plaza filled with people, restaurants, museums, etc.
One of the coolest things about Brussels so far is its diversity: you can literally walk down the street and hear 10 different languages. It's one of those places where most of the people are not actually native, but are visiting either on business, vacation, or are recent immigrants. In fact, in what is mind-boggling to many locals, in five years an estimated 40-50% of the Brussels population will be Middle Eastern immigrants. The face of Europe is rapidly changing.
I still do not know my permanent housing situation or class schedule...those questions will hopefully be answered in the next several days. But for now I am really enjoying being independent in a city where, outside of my study group, I know no one. It is a thrilling experience that I encourage anyone interested in travelling to take on.
There are 26 people in my group, and they are from all over the U.S. (I'm the only one from MN). We're all staying in a nice, but not overly spacious, hostel that's a five minute walk from the Grand Place and Mannekin Pis, two of the most famous attractions in Brussels. Pictures are hopefully to follow soon, but take my word, the Grand Place is the most fabulous square I've ever seen, with a city block perimeter of huge, ornate castle-like buildings surrounding a massive plaza filled with people, restaurants, museums, etc.
One of the coolest things about Brussels so far is its diversity: you can literally walk down the street and hear 10 different languages. It's one of those places where most of the people are not actually native, but are visiting either on business, vacation, or are recent immigrants. In fact, in what is mind-boggling to many locals, in five years an estimated 40-50% of the Brussels population will be Middle Eastern immigrants. The face of Europe is rapidly changing.
I still do not know my permanent housing situation or class schedule...those questions will hopefully be answered in the next several days. But for now I am really enjoying being independent in a city where, outside of my study group, I know no one. It is a thrilling experience that I encourage anyone interested in travelling to take on.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Arrived Safely
I arrived in Brussels around 10:30 their time today after a long but painless travel day. However, after the airport my day has not been going as smoothly...the cab from the airport was ridiculously expensive and I am finding boring ways to burn the three hours I have before I can check into my room at the hostel I'm staying at (today is a national holiday so no stores/restaurants are open). I haven't seen much but Brussels seems beautiful, with lots of old architecture mixed in with a modern European vibe.
I haven't slept in about 24 hours so excuse me if this post is not worded very clearly. I was really nervous about things going wrong on the way here, seeing as its the first time I've travelled alone internationally, but so far everything (with the exception of being homeless for 3 hours) is going well. Tonight I will be going out for an informal drink with the participants in the program and tomorrow my orientation begins, so I should be learning a lot more about what I will be doing for the semester, and I will be able to answer a lot of questions people (including myself) want to know.
I haven't slept in about 24 hours so excuse me if this post is not worded very clearly. I was really nervous about things going wrong on the way here, seeing as its the first time I've travelled alone internationally, but so far everything (with the exception of being homeless for 3 hours) is going well. Tonight I will be going out for an informal drink with the participants in the program and tomorrow my orientation begins, so I should be learning a lot more about what I will be doing for the semester, and I will be able to answer a lot of questions people (including myself) want to know.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Starting a blog
Blogging is something I've never done before, so please bear with me as I try to figure out how to make this look good. I decided to start not only so that I could remember all my experiences while studying and travelling, but also so that I didn't have to tell the same stories or share the same pictures a hundred times. This way if you're ever curious what I'm up to you can check up on me (I'll try my hardest to keep it updated).
I leave tomorrow and I literally have not packed one thing, nor am I mentally prepared, so the next 24 hours could be an interesting and stressful time. But I wouldn't have it any other way!
I leave tomorrow and I literally have not packed one thing, nor am I mentally prepared, so the next 24 hours could be an interesting and stressful time. But I wouldn't have it any other way!
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