So, it was more than a month ago that on March 15, our little group of Mercer/Oxford girls set off for the country of Belgium, or Belgique, as the French speakers say. Some people think that it's a little strange for us to have chosen to visit Belgium, but there was a larger reason for this choice. On of my dearest professors, Dr. Chris Grant, was leading a Mercer group of students across Europe for their spring break, and we were going to be able to catch them on their final few days of travel. The plan was to meet up with them in Brussels and join them on their tours of the European Union Consilium and the United States Mission to the E.U., and then we would part ways, leaving for Bruges when they left for the States.
What a wonderful week this was! With little previous knowledge of Belgium, I don't think it could have worked out any better. The flight was just about an hour to get to Belgium and once in Brussels, I was charmed by the culture and surroundings. Of course there were Belgium waffle stands on nearly every corner, but beyond that, the city was a lovely mix of lovely European flavor and modern European governmental hub. Here are a few pictures from Brussels:
The streets and squares were so quaint and SO very Euro.
Belgian waffles are not overrated.
One thing about the trip to Brussels that was wonderful aside from seeing some wonderful Mercerians was the trip to the European Union Consilium. My first term at Oxford was devoted to learning about the structure and workings of the European Union, so it was a nice test of my learning to tour the facilities. It was so interesting to see what could sort of be described as the "Washington DC" of the E.U. We actually were there just a few days before the meeting of all the heads of states of the member nations, which was also pretty exciting.
After we said farewell to the Mercer group on Tuesday of that week, we caught the train to Bruges (pronounced Brooj) which is just an hour or so north of Brussels. It is a canal city that I really knew nothing about, other than having heard that it is beautiful and the best place to visit in Belgium. Well, that couldn't be more accurate! Bruges is one of my favorite cities of all time now, because it is unlike any other that I have visited. We were fortunate to have two beautiful, sunny days while in Bruges, and the streets are lined with lovely shops and happy people. I will also tell you that there was an abundance of adorable dogs in this city, which you know boosted my level of happiness. Though we were only in Bruges for just about 24 hours, we had so many wonderful experiences while there. We started with a canal tour on a boat that took us around this absolutely adorable city that was filled with swans and tulips. Here are a few shots:
After a day of exploring, we retired to our lovely hostel that was just a block from the center of town. I loved this place! It was cozy and small, with a Bohemian, collegey vibe, as well as fancy chandeliers and other details that were leftover from when it used to be a nice hotel many years ago. We actually took part in a Belgian beer tasting here (drink it slow... the ABV is double what Americans are used to) and then went out for a drink with our guide. It was such a great environment with so many great people. And, the Belgian beer is really, reallllly good! Here is a picture of the main room of the hostel:
From Bruges, we then took the train to the city of Charleroi, in French speaking Belgium. This was where our airport was located, thanks for Ryanair. Ryanair is the inexpensive airline that makes flying around Europe so cheap, but they also tend to make it a little difficult. They do this by operating out of completely random airports in strange places... like Charleroi. So, we arrive in Charleroi, an unattractive, industrial city, feeling a little sad to have left such a lovely city behind us for a night in this one. Then we start asking directions to our hostel, which was difficult when most everyone spoke only French and none of us know anything other than 'hello' and 'thank you'. What we did soon glean from our difficult conversations was that our hotel was not actually a hostel and that it was no actually in Charleroi. It was so far that buses wouldn't actually even take us there! Whhhhat? We were distressed and stressed and growing rapidly impatient, so we finally found a trustworthy cabbie that had zero English skills, and he took us on the long, strange journey into the middle of nowhere. I am not exaggerating. It took us half an hour to get out of the city, at which point I started to worry that this man was taking us somewhere to keep us captive and sell us on the black market. I know, not really funny, but I am always jumping to the worst case scenario. The four of us girls nervously smiled at one another, but after another twenty minutes, we arrived in a tiny village at a bar that bore the name of the 'hostel' I had booked online. After venturing inside, I met the one English speaker in town, Bubu, a man from Kosovo that assured me the upstairs of the bar was a hotel. All worked out and we ended up in this strange, 1960s-esque hotel that night, across from beautiful ruins of a historic abbey in this strange town in French speaking Belgium. Bubu even bought us each a glass of wine later that night, and then we rested up for our morning flight to... MADRID!! I will blog on my week in Spain with Mom later today or tomorrow, so look out for that, as well as picture updates. I am actually in a cafe in Edinborough, Scotland now, and have to go and catch my train in an hour for Oxford. Cheers!
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