Apparently Belgium Knows I love Weddings

 If we have ever spoken for an extended period of time, it is more than likely that I will have gushed about something romantic I saw. Whether it is an episode of Say Yes to the Dress, an in love couple strolling by, or your own relationship I love swooning over the romance of others. This makes weddings one of my favorite things in the world. Apparently Belgium got the memo. Almost every city I have visited I catch glimpses of others on their special day.

Yesterday my program took a large group to Bruges. To my delight I saw two weddings! Naturally I creeped and took my fair share of photos.  Here are the brides!

I love the dress on the right! The bow in the back is adorable! I do not know about having the dress in this weird color though. But I guess I am a traditionalist and believe in the iconic white dress. But all the same this dress is lovely! And the picture on the left of the bride and groom walking together was too adorable not to put up!

Burges is a romantic city. So here is a little more about this medieval town regarding love. Above is the Lake of Love. There are many myths as to where the lake got its name, but the tour guide only told us one. It is a classic story. Boy meets girl. The two fall in love. And fate pulls them apart (aka parents). The girl can not bear to be away from her love and her tears make the lake that we see today. A symbol of lovers pain at being apart.

 We also went to the Church of the Lady featured on the right. It is gorgeous outside. They have been cleaning it and recently finished the outside. Now they are working on the tower until starting on the inside of the church.

Not an especially flattering picture,
 but I had to include it. This is inside the Church of Our Lady. Featured behind me is a statue by Michelangelo called Madonna and Child. This is the only piece of art by Michelangelo in all of Belgium, and I think it is rare to find really any piece of his art outside of Italy. While the statue was not originally meant for Bruges, here is where it came to reside for hundreds of years. The statue has only been moved twice, when it was taken. The first was by Napoleon, but was returned after the Battle of Waterloo. The second time was during WWII by the Nazis. However, it was later recovered and returned to Bruges undamaged. It is amazing what that one statue has been through and that it has survived!

Bruges is also referred to as the Venice of Belgium because of its canals. Therefore, of course we all went on a boat ride around the town. While not as romantic as Venice's gondola rides it was great to see the city by water. Here is a picture of Hind, Katie, and Iris while we traveled through the city. It is amazing how multilingual people are here in Europe. Our guide changed between Spanish, English, French and Dutch. There may have been a few other languages in there, but I did not recognize them. And the thing is it is common for people to speak at least 3 languages!! Wow!

As we were exploring the city I noticed a Dali exhibit. For some reason I felt the need to go see it even though I know very little about art and even less about Dali, besides that he is famous for the melting clocks. But oh my, it was an experience!! I was fascinated how in certain picture there was little more than a red dot to represent someone and yet I knew who he was portraying (in this case it was Mary, mother of God). How do artist do this? They paint abstractly and yet we can still identify the image. It just blew my mind for some reason. Also, the very explicit sexual content of his drawings. It was...um...interesting? I think we often forget that there were individuals open their sexuality, because we think of sex and sexuality as repressed under the prudish image of the earlier decades like 1950s.  Oh, and in this picture, can I just note how ridiculous this background is and how much it clashes with my shirt!

Also at this exhibit was some more modern surrealist work. I absolutely loved it! This was one of my favorite. If I remember correctly I think it is called The Immigrant. I thought it was so potent and effective.

Greetings from Bruges!

The little things I miss from the States

Now do not get me wrong, I am not homesick and ready to leave Europe. But it is amazing to me all the little things that I miss already. Some are rather superficial like free water and refills at restaurants and more options at the grocery store, especially for easy to make food (I honestly think I am going to live off of pasta and various meats). I also love the fact that I am occasionally greeted by a classic American song as I walk into a store. It just feels so nice, a little taste of home.

However, life here in Belgium has been busy busy busy. On Thursday I visited the Netherlands for the first time and saw Maastricht. I loved it! It was a very relaxing day. A small group of us went after hearing that one of the dorm RAs was heading there to drop off his car with his family. Road trip! Therefore, it was not a tour put on by the program, so we could just stroll around and soak in the environment rather than cramming in sightseeing (which I also like, but needed a break).

The first thing we did was not even make it to Maastricht, which is only a one hour car drive. What we all needed was some good lunch, so we went to this wonderful crepe restaurant located right on the border between Belgium and Netherlands. Yum!!

When we finally arrived at our destination it was already about 2pm, and Bas (the man who drove us) had to take a 4pm train in order to get back to Leuven for a meeting.  Therefore, Bas gave us a rushed tour of the city and recommendations of where we should come back to. One of my favorites was his discussion of the multiple churches in the town. Due to the decreased role of religion in people's life many cities and Europe and unused churches. Now it seems wrong to tear them down, but the question arises what to do with them? I think Maasticht totally has the right idea! Turn them into bookstores!!! I really loved it.





Maastricht also has remnants of its days as a medieval city (it is thought to be the oldest down in the Netherlands). Here is an example of it. This is the Gates of Hell. It was built in 1229!! Isn't that absurd?! It gets its name from its role during the break out of the bubonic plague in Europe. When people were cursed with the disease they were abandoned on the outside of the city, behind this gate. The healthy people remained safely inside the walls of the city. Therefore, if you went through the gates you were in hell.

The Gate of Hell naturally connects to a wall that fortifies the city. Just a note, in Europe these walls tend to circle around the city to create a ring. There was a roll of fake cannons outside of the city, and naturally we had to take a bunch of pictures. Here are some of my favorites!

One of the great things about this town was its wonderful food!! Bas insisted that we get ice cream, beer, and frites (Belgian french fries). Well we succeeded with two of those missions! As you can tell, the day was full of delicious treats that meant unhealthy decisions. Oh well. Do it while your young! Teehee. The ice cream, or really gelato, was wonderful! I felt like I was in Italy again. I had meant to share one, but once I get a sampling I knew I needed one all for myself. :) And it was well worth it. I got pomegranate.

At this point we were ready to just relax before we planned on taking a 7pm train back to Leuven. So we stopped at a cafe near the main market to have a beer/wine. A few friends has suggested that I sample a white beer (even though I admit, so far, I have predominately enjoyed darker beers). But it was pretty good. And we decided to document it all. But I could not help from laughing. So here is how the picture came out.

Now it is time to head back home to Leuven, only an hour and a half train ride. We had to change trains at Leige, which has an amazing train station architecturally.  The architect was inspired by a whale for the station. Therefore it is is full of clear lines that arch across the ceiling. It really was a sight!

Audrey Hepburn

Today we visited the largest open-air museum in Europe in Bokrijk as well s Belgium's oldest city: Tongeren.

However, at this point I am completely burnt out from tours. So instead of discussing what I saw there, I want to mention what I have been reading the last two days. This summer I had hoped to bring a few books along with me that I felt represented the countries I would be visiting. I struggled to say the least. I really did not know any Belgium writers. But right before I came to Belgium I learned that Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels. I have had a biography about her on my bookshelf for a few years, and I have not gotten the chance to read it. I felt my study abroad would be the perfect chance.

While the book has little to do with Belgium, I have enjoyed it immensely. It is called Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn and is by Donald Spoto. While it is not especially well written, I have enjoyed all the insights into her life that a biography offers (keep in mind this is the first biography I have ever read on my own...I know, sad, but I am a fiction girl, so this is a big step for me). Wow. I came in to this book knowing very little about Audrey (yes, we are on a first name basis now) besides the various films that she starred in. But now 2/3 done with the book, I am thoroughly impressed by the struggles she endured.

I first started this book yesterday. It was a wonderfully coincidence that it happened to be the day when we were visiting the cemetery of WWII victims. To me WWII has always been rather removed. We learn about it in the classroom, I watch movies about it, and I read depressing fiction about people who did not really live. This is the first time I have read a narrative of someone's personal experience (well that's a lie, I realize I have read Night).  Audrey experienced the war first hand as she was living in Arnhem, Netherlands. Her mother was a baroness, but the war immediately stripped the family of its money and not just into poverty but near starvation. The biography tells of Audrey's close escapes from the Nazis and her active support of the Resistance even as a teenager. She put on secret ballet shows to raise money for the Resistance and relayed information between American and Dutch soldiers. For instance, an American was wounded in the forest and needed information as to how to contact the Dutch Resistance for safety and medical assistance. Audrey had spent much of her childhood at an English boarding school, and she was fluent in both languages. As such she was sent to the American soldier to rely messages. On her way into the forest she collected wildflowers in case she was questioned by the SS. She managed to find the American and successfully deliver the message. But on her way out she was confronted by Nazi soldiers. Innocently, a young Hepburn presented them with the flowers she had collected and they allowed her safe passage.

The first few chapters are filled with similar situations. One time Audrey was carted onto a train, but miraculously managed to jump off and slip under the train across the tracks.

One of the more tragic scenes was when the Americans finally arrived in Arnhem. By that point the family had essentially no food. Audrey was incapable of caring herself up the stairs she was so weak. Her skin had turned yellow from jaundice, and she had to sleep to keep away the pangs of hunger. When the Americans saw her small frame they gave her 5 bars of chocolate and a cigarette.  While she devoured the chocolate, she immediately threw up. The cigarette she tried but stopped after the coughing overwhelmed her. However, she would forever have an affinity for smoking.

Anyway. I just wanted to share what an incredible life Audrey lived. This is only a snippet of the things that I learned about her childhood, which was incredibly traumatic and accounted for her chronic depression.


While this is an amazing story that I had to share, there is also the realization of how vital the US was in WWII. Yes, I knew the basic things about the war and that the US was important in the ultimate success of the Allies. But it is something completely different to read about someone's life that was actually affected by the war. It makes history feel personal rather than removed. The US involvement in the war turned the tide. What would have happened if England had fallen before the US joined? Germany just quickly took over all of England (Belgium was lost in 9 days I believe) and was marching towards global dominance, obliterating the lives of the people it thought unworthy not just with death but starvation. The combination of visiting a WWII cemetery after reading about Audrey's personal experience during WWII and the arrival of American troops at her house really had a strong impact on me as to the true heroism if the American soldiers. Which if you have ever had a serious conversation with me about wars, soldiers, and the States foreign involvement you will no that this is quiet out of character thinking.

A visit to 3 cities

Today was a busy and long day. We visited Eupen, Trois Bornes and Henri Chapelle.

However, while busy there is not too much to write about.

First we visited Eupen, home to the chocolate factory called Jacques.  We learned about how chocolate was made, but more importantly we had the opportunity to buy chocolate!!! Yum!! Belgium chocolate really is fantastic. However, after only be there for an hour and a half my senses were so overwhelmed by chocolate that I no longer craved it. Here is a picture of the factory though. It was amazing all the technology that is used to build chocolate. In one day they create 40 tons of chocolate! That is absolutely ridiculous!!

Trois Bornes is just what it sounds. It is where three borders meet: Germany, Belgium, and Netherlands. Right here you can be in 3 countries at one time!!! It is similar to the 4 Corners in the United States.

Lastly, we visited Henri Chapelle. It is an American cemetery, and the largest US cemetery in Belgium with close to 8,000 graves for American WWII soldiers.

Hello Antwerp and Breendonk

This is going to be a short entry, because I am simply exhausted.

After visiting Brussels, it is hard for any city to compare. However, Antwerp was beautiful in its own way. Antwerp is the second largest city in Belgium (Brussels holds 1 million people and is followed by Antwerp with 500,000 people). Also, it is an important city in Belgium and in the world for being a port. Antwerp became a key port for trade with India for spices and remains important today in the diamond trade. 80% of rough diamonds come and 50% all polished diamonds come through Antwerp. Incredible.

Being that it is a port city, there is naturally a red light district. The tour guide was not originally going to take us there assuming that as Americans we would think it inappropriate. But she recognized our interest, and she took us through the area. Well...it was an experience. While prostitution is not legal in Belgium it is allowed if it takes place behind a window and not on the street. As we were walking there was a little bit of drama. One girl on our trip wanted to take a picture not of the women in the windows but a black and red picture next to the window. However, when she lifted her camera up the prostitute nearby ran out and grabbed her camera thinking that she was trying to take a picture of her. Fortunately nothing happened, and the camera was returned. But it was still an intense moment, especially because the guide was far ahead.

Antwerp gets its name from a legend. Long ago there was a giant that was harassing the town. One day a sailor challenged the giant, and he successful cut of the giant's hand. In his moment of triumph the young sailor threw the hand into the river. This moment is captured in the fountain in the Grote Markt behind Iris and me. Also, at this Markt there is a town hall. While not featured here it was gorgeous. Plus, there was another wedding! However, I did not like the bride's dress, so I did not take a picture.







Last picture from Antwerp. Like mentioned previously, Belgium is famous for its chocolate, so we decided to test it out. So good!!! Antwerp's is famous for one chocolate in particular, chocolate hands. Naturally, this is due to the legend where the city gets its name. Here is Katie, me, Lindsay and Iris with our chocolate boxes.

After a few touristy hours in Antwerp we headed to Fort Breendonk. Fort Breendonk was a prisoner's camp during World War II. It served as a transition camp for many Jews, Catholic priests, Belgian resistors, gypsies, homosexuals, etc. until they were taking to concentration camps. While there are no gas chambers here, it is still disturbing to learn how the Nazis treated people. The humiliation and sheer torture that these prisoners endured is incomprehensible. And not to get on a soap box (because this is not the purpose of the blog), I would not feel right to exclude what was going through my head at times. I could not help compare some of the things that occurred in this camp to information that I learned about Maricopa County's Jails run by Sheriff Joe Arpaio. While the experiences of the prisoners in this camp was clearly worse, there were similarities in the treatment of the captives. The fact that the guards instilled fear in the prisoners through beatings and psychological treatment, the fact that prisoners received rotten food, and the fact that the prisoners reason for death was faked on the death certificate (because they were actually killed from the abuse of guards) immediately reminded me of similar situations in Arizona. That was one of the most disturbing realization. It seems that humans are slow to learn and are easily susceptible to repeating history. But I will not continue on my rant of Arizona.

Here is a picture from a memorial room. On the walls are all the names of people that went through this camp. In the middle on the table are urns. On each urn is a name of a concentration camp that the prisoners were sent to. Inside each urn is some ashes and land from each of these concentration camps. It was a powerful little memorial that was created inside the camp.


 Last picture. This picture is taken from inside a room for the soldiers.  At times cases were heard here of prisoners who were quickly tried, found guilty, and killed all in one day. Also, the guards held festivities here in the evenings. There was often heavy drinking, which lead to various bets as to who could most abuse a Jewish person the next day. The camp here was run by the SS. Therefore, featured in the middle of this picture is a banner with the SS motto and there logo (a skull). There motto was "Meine Ehre Heist Treue" (My Honor is Loyalty. However, what I found most interesting, and so why I included this picture, as the lamps. The paintings surrounding each lamp is a symbol for Germany. The bottom rectangles are green and brown and represent the rich earth of German. The triangle is green and represents the strong buildings of Germany. The long sticks are green and represent Germany's forests. And in the middle of these sticks are two carets, these represent Germany's mountains. In one image all of Germany's diversity is represented.

Greetings Brussels

Brussels. Today we had a day trip to Brussels.  Here is the strange thing though. The city just suddenly appears out from huge fields. One moment you are driving in what looks like a small town and the next moment you are in the city. There is no transition. I was completely taken aback when I found myself quickly surrounded by history.

Our trip started with a visit to the European Parliament. Amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I can not wait to take my class on EU Policy. It felt like US government structures 2.0. While the concepts were very reminiscent of our own system of government, it is immediately clear that they recognized some of our shortcomings (ie a two party system) and worked to reform it. The woman explained to us the various branches of the EU: European Parliament, European Council and Commission. All three of these building representing these varying groups can be found in Brussels.

A few of us went to the US Embassy as well thinking that we needed to register with the Embassy. No other Embassy had security outside of the Embassy, let alone guards with guns at various spots. It was really surprising and telling about the global perspective regarding the States. Sigh. How times have changed.

Well there are quiet a few things that Belgians are famous for, and one of which is their waffles. Delicious. This is us right near the Grote Markt. On the right is my new friend Katie. Oh yeah, my hair is super short now.

Oh another thing that Belgians are famous for is chocolate. Yum! Godiva was founded in Brussels at the end of the 1920s. However, while the chocolate that we get in the States is amazing, apparently it does not compare to the Godiva in Brussels. This is because in the States we do not get the chocolate from the Belgium factories. Instead, we produce it in the States ourselves. Boo. So we will have to see how it compares. But according to the tour guide, Godiva is only the "BMW" of chocolates. There is still the Ferrari and Maserati.

Ah. The Grote Markt. Stunning.  There are two main things that I would like to point out. The first is the Town Hall. I mean right! This is what the whole square looks like. All of it is stone, and it was all made in the last five years of the 17th Century (1690s). This is because in 1695 France bombed Brussels, destroying the wooden buildings that once stood there. It is super impressive that everything in the square was made in only 5 years!!!! But also at the Town Hall, one of my favorite things was taking place, a wedding. Do not worry I will only post one picture. But I did creep. Her dress was gorgeous. I just wish I knew who they are, clearly they are important.

Oh and the last thing about the square. Independent about how you feel about this philosopher, this is super cool. Karl Marx lived here when he wrote "The Communist Manifesto"!!! Crazy!!!

Rub for good luck. All over the world there are statues that are thought to be good luck if you rub them. This is a statue of Everhard 't Serclaes. He is a Brussels hero that rescued Brussels in 1356 by climbing the city walls and putting the Duke of Brabant flag on the Town Hall. He was elected alderman five times until he was murdered. However, a mob avenged his death and destroyed the perpetrator's castle. In homage to him the city has a statue of him at the square. If you rub his elbow with yours you will be rewarded with good luck and your wish granted. Fingers crossed.

Manneken Pis. This little statue has hundreds of outfits and a few times each week his outfit is changed.









Okay. I did not mean to upload so many pictures. So here is the last one. The Royal Palace of Brussels!

So It Begins

Like any good piece of writing there needs to be a preface. Here's mine: I am living in Leuven, Brussels for 100 days, and it seems the easiest way to document everything is in a blog. However, it will be full of ramblings and my beloved fragments that are too often forbidden from use by professors. Plus, pop culture references, because that is simply me. Enjoy!

Chasity: I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?
Bianca: I think you can in Europe.

Who knew that the movie 10 Things I Hate About You would best describe my feelings upon reaching Europe. Let me explain.

I have been to Europe once before. After graduating high school there was a class trip to Italy and Greece. I immediately felt that I was abroad. There was constantly that "wow" moment, because I was seeing the places I had only read about. You were a tourist, and you were overwhelmed by everything you saw.

I anticipated a similar reaction when I touched down in Brussels, but it never came.

I looked out my plane window to see green. Coming from Arizona, green is a foreign concept. Coming from The States (yes, that is how I am referring to the USA), I recognize cities as marked with towering skyscrapers. To say the least Brussels was a new world. Somehow it felt provincial, but I will have to explore it better. And don't worry with travel comes pictures.

From the airport we (ie Aly, Lizzy, and I) traveled to Leuven, Belgium. It is located 20 minutes by train from Brussels and is home to Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, which was founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V. The University is the oldest existant Catholic university in the world and the oldest university in the Low Countries.

90,706 people reside in Leuven. AND, almost 37,000 of these individuals are students, making Leuven very much a college town. That is exactly what Leuven is, a college town. People here are living their daily lives: attending classes, raising a family, falling in love, getting groceries, etc. Leuven is life like any other place. I think this is the only way I can understand why I have not felt that overwhelming feeling like I did in Italy and Greece. When I visited previously, I looked at the cities through the lens of a tourist. It was an instinctive reaction when I was seeing things like Juliet's balcony (Verona), Rome's Colosseum, and Athens' Parthenon. But while Leuven holds many architectural wonders (ie Leuven's city hall), it is not "touristy". Instead, you immediately see that it is home to thousands of people rather than an attraction to thousands of tourist.You are not an outsider looking in, instead you are easy immersed into the city. Leuven feels natural, not foreign.