Belgium Waffles, Belgium Chocolate and (maybe) Belgium Beer

Drum roll….. it’s the long awaited updated blog post! I can hardly believe that I have been in Luxembourg for 2 weeks already! In the last day or so I have just started to feel comfortable that I actually know where I am going…. And what I mean by that is when I get on a bus I am not accidently going to end up in France or Belgium (which is actually quiet easy to do).

I have been settling into my classes, I some how created a pretty decent schedule with two classes a day (all of our classes are 2 hours so that we only have to meet 2 days a week) and with the exception of class on Friday I have a morning and afternoon class each day which is a very nice. The biggest culture shock that I have had thus far has been professors. Most of my professors are European and thus teach completely differently and have different expectations and customs than US professors. (For example in Europe it is considered highly rude to eat or drink in class thus most of my professors don’t even let us drink water during their class. Considering I typically drink a water bottle a class this has been a huge adjustment.) Most of my professors however have really great credentials (My music professor is on the board of directors to the Luxembourg Philharmonic and was apparently an amazing singer when he was younger, my political science professor was a Luxembourg ambassador to the USSR and my business professor is an executive for BNP Paribus – I think don’t quote me on that one).

All of my classes are taught in English, are pretty interesting and everyone is really nice -- my Political Science professor even invited his entire class to his house in two weeks to have dinner with his wife and his friend who was the British ambassador. 

During the week I have been at school pretty much from early morning to 7 or 8 pm. I have fully embraced being European and have tried to eat as much of the large meal (aka dinner at lunchtime rather than saving part of it to diner, I don’t know if I could eat leftovers for 4 months!) I have starting buying cheese and ham and a small baguette during the day and having it for dinner. Basically I am in no stretch of the imagination starving, the food is pretty good and I have fully embraced the “no carb left behind diet!”

Last weekend my friends and I decided that it would be smart to start off at a city that is close to Luxembourg and relatively small so that we could test the waters with traveling on trains, hostels etc. We took a 1:19 train from Differdange to Luxembourg City (about a 40 minute train ride). We then caught a 2:20 train to Brussels Belgium, Kat and I had an Amazing Race moment on the train as our ticket didn’t specify which Brussels station to get off at and we didn’t want to miss our connecting train! We managed to catch our connecting train to Brugge, which departed at 5:44.

We arrived in Brugge around 8 pm when we got there we decided to walk to the main square in order to see the city. Brugge is an adorable city and particularly during the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th centuries was extremely powerful, influential and wealthy because of its ports and as a center of trade. And with power and wealth comes amazing buildings, monuments and support for the arts! However the canals that liked Brugges port to the ocean silted over during the mid 15^th century and the city subsequently “fell asleep” as the city was no longer the center for trade and the town essentially didn’t change until the 20^th century when tourists realized that it was a largely preserved medieval city with relative few later influences. The city is also known as the Venice of the North because of the canals throughout the city and the charming bridges and roads that cross them!

Thanks to a recommendation made by a local that we sat next to on the train we knew where the best fries were and stopped and had some on the way to the hostel … absolutely delicious. The hostel was about 5 minutes from the main square (also known as the market square) and still within the main area of the town center (the hotel across the streets rooms were 300 euros a night just to give you an idea of how amazing our location was!) After dropping off our stuff (we had a private room) we went exploring the city, which is absolutely amazing. After sampling the Cherry Beer which Brugge is known for but kind of tastes like a snow cone, having a sip of Kat’s dark beer that I didn’t particularly care for it and having a delicious local beer we headed up to bed around 1 am so we could get a good nights sleep and go exploring the next day.

Outside our hostel in Brugge, Charlie Rockets

 We left around 10 am (we decided as we were tired from our week and Brugge is a very manageable day city to sleep in and not kill ourselves from exhaustion the first weekend). We wandered the city looking for a good little place to have breakfast along the way two of my friends decided that it was time to try some chocolate (can you tell we are traveling without parents french fries, cherry beer and chocolates). We ended up at a cute little mom and pop café and had delicious Belgium Waffles. I honestly have no idea how they could be that amazing.

Belgium Waffles... enough said

After we finished we went back to the market square, which is the center of the city (and has been for over 700 years). The square is a giant open cobble stone square which clearly displaces the wealth and influences that the city had at one point. Two sides have dozens of charming buildings, the third side is the Provincial Court which was constructed in the 19^th century in the neo-gothic style. It actually looks like 3 separate buildings. The building was originally built in the classical style (center portion) which was at the time considered modern and ugly. When a fire destroyed mostly the left side of the building in 1875 it was rebuilt in the neo-gothic aesthetic in order to better fit into the city. The right side or post office is in red brick was originally a separate building and was connected at some point.  In the center of the square is the statue of Jon Breydel and Pieter de Connick who were the heroes of a 1302 uprising against the operating French, today the flags of the European Union encircle it. 

market square, Brugge Belgium statue of Jon Breydel and Pieter de Connick in the center

Provincial Court

Kat and me in front of the Provincial Court

Buildings in the Market Square

The Final side of the square is the Belfry or bell tower. The bell tower was originally built in 1240 and was then added to in the 15^th century. The ~300 foot tower has a narrow winding staircase which was absolutely terrifying to climb (the tower is 300 feet but has only about 335 steps to give you and idea of how steep they were). However the near death experience was worth it as the panoramic view of the city was worth it and the view of the city was amazing. The view impressed on me just how cute and charming the city is with adorable winding pathways, canals and streets. 

Belfry or Bell Tower

Kat and me in front of the Belfry.

View of Market Square from the top of the Belfry

After the equally terrifying experience of coming back down we decided to meander through the city and eventually made in the Church of Our Lady, which is the 2^nd tallest brick structure in the world  and was built during the 13^th century. The most exciting aspect of this church is that it houses Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child one of the few Michelangelo’s outside of Italy. I can’t even explain how amazing it is. The detail and precision in the stone make it seem like it is weightless and moving. I am glad that I took Art History in high school because it allows me to appreciate and understand the artwork. 

Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child, Church of Our Lady Brugge Belgium

Our ticket to the Belfry also included an admission to another portion of the church, which includes the tombs of, Charles the Bold and Mary of Burghandy who were influential figures in this region and who even stayed at our chateau at some point during their lives. 

Tomb of Charles the Bold, Church of Our Lady Brugge Belgium

After exploring the church we went outside where we stumbled across an adorable sugar shop where we saw a demonstration of making incredibly detailed sugar candies and was amazing to watch and also sample. And by far the best spontaneous thing we did all day. 

Hard candy - notice the intricate details.

The remainder of the afternoon we wandered around the streets and canals, which was like steeping back in time. Caroline, Kat and I decided that for dinner we wanted to try the mussels (which sorry Grandpa) were the best that I have ever had in my life – by far (fries, cherry beer, chocolates, Belgium waffles and mussels I doubt if Jillian would approve). 

Left to right: Megan, Me, Kat, Amanda, Annie wandering through the canals in Brugge

Annie and me on one of the many bridges in Brugge.

The entire group, Brugge Belgium

Me on a bridge over a canal during sunset.

typical canal in Brugge.

Mussels! Delicious dinner in Brugge.

We got up early Sunday morning and took the 9:58 train back to Brussels for the day which was completely different from Brugge as it was a large, busy and in many ways a more modern city. Brussels was also unique as it was a little bit of a funky town with a very distinct style and attitude. 

View of Brussels Belgium (The Grand Place in the Distance). The Statue is of Prince Albert Queen Victoria's husband.

Arrived in Brussels!

Modern office building with a 18th century building reflected in it.

As we only had a couple hours we had to decide where we wanted to go, we went to the Grand Place, which is the enormous, extravagant gilded Baroque Style square! It was incredible – the detail was absolute amazing. We bought sandwiches and had a picnic in the square, which was a perfect way to take in the beauty and detail. Also today was one of the first days where there were crystal blue skies and the sun was really warm! 

Kat and me in the Grand Place, Brussles

The Grand Place, Brussels Belgium

After lunch we went to Mannequin Piss, which is a small bronze statue which legend says commemorates a young boy who put out a fire in an important building by peeing on it. However I am not really sure what all the hype is about. However thanks to Kat’s sister we had a recommendation to the best waffle stand (directly to the left of Mannequin Piss). The waffles were absolute amazing I’m sorry I can’t describe it any better than that. 

Mannequin Piss, its hard to tell by the fountain is "peeing" ... I was very underwhelmed.

More waffles.

We finally went to the Brussels Cathedral which is by far the best and my favorite thus far (including Switzerland). I loved it because the windows seemed exceptionally big and the stain glass was incredibly realistic and also was lighter colors and therefore less dark and gloomy.

Beautiful windows in cathedral.

With waffle filled stomachs and very tired feet we took a 3:30 train back home (amazing how in only 14 days a foreign country is now considered home). I arrived home around 8 pm which was the perfect end to an amazing weekend.

Plans for this weekend are not yet finalized … and don’t want to jinx them as they are AMAZING. The following weekend which is the start of my 9 days in Venice, Rome, Pesaro, Arezzo, Pisa, Lucca, Torre del Lago (were Puccini lived) Busseto, Milan, and the Teatro Alla Scala (the world famous Opera house to seen an actual opera) were finalized and all booked yesterday!!!!!!

I am considering going to Spain and Portugal for my next week off (which is late February) opinions and suggestions would be greatly appreciated (other contenders are UK, Ireland, Scotland or Greece). Available to skype most days from 9 pm to 12 pm (3 pm to 6 pm EST) best if you send me an email earlier that day to confirm.

Love you all,

Katie