First full da;y in Europe- Leuven, Belgium

Sunday, May 11, 2009

 

LEUVEN

Wait, it is Sunday already? Today we arrived into the
Brussel’s Airport exactly at 7:30am. This translates to 12:30am Chicago time
but served as no excuse to head to bed. We met our double decker coach bus and
driver, Hugo, and were escorted back to our hotel—too early for check in.  We freshened up quickly in the bathrooms and were
off for a short guided walking tour around the city. We were familiarized with
the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven along with the magnificent city hall
building surrounded by the typical European square that serves as a relaxed
hang out throughout the day for locals and tourists alike.

After the tour ended we were off on our own to seek out
lunch. Pasta and pizza comes by the mounds and can be found relatively
inexpensive closer to the (KU) Leuven campus. We settled for a little café with
outdoor seating. All of us chose either pizza, pasta, or calzones. To split a
pasta and salad cost approximately 7.00 Euro or about $10.00.  A good strategy to save a few Euros was to
refill your water bottle in the bathroom sink. 
They charge about 1.80 to 2.00 Euro just for the water we find
complimentary in the United States. 
Another culture shock was the small size of everything, from the
Coca-Colas to the bathrooms.

We met back at the hotel at 1:00pm for a bus tour with two
historic stops.  Many of us took this as
an opportunity to sneak in some much-needed rest. Our first stop was a tour of
the Abbey at Viller-la-Ville. This was a ruin of a monastery that has been partially
reconstructed throughout the past couple centuries to help preserve this
historic site.  After another quick nap
on the bus, we were off to destination number two:  a tour of the historical sites in
Waterloo.  This was an opportunity to see
the battlegrounds (fields) where the famous Battle of Waterloo took place where
Napoleon was defeated.  A great mound was
erected with a large series of stairs overlooking the fields. As part of our
tour we purchased the tickets necessary to make the short trek up the stairway
to check out the grand view of the area. Before departure some watched a short
educational film while others opted to check out the wax museum.

The trip home was very silent as each and every one of us
passed out from the exhaustion of the last 36 hours. Arriving back at out
hotel, many of us freshened up with much-needed showers while others decided to
grab one more powernap before finding a bite to eat.  At 7:30 pm a large group of IBIP students assembled
in the entryway of our hotel to check out the dinner scene.  Some of us decided to find something quick,
convenient and cheap.  This translates
here to either Gelato or a pita wrap. 
Trying to communicate with the worker in the pita shop was an
interesting experience.  It involved a
lot of pointing and hand gestures.  We
sat out on the square and took in the sights and people.  People were enjoying themselves at cafes in
the Oude Market with their gelatos, cappuccinos, or beer.  After a relaxed dinner at outdoor tables,
some other IBIP’ers decided to take advantage of some of Belgium’s famous
delicacies.  We tried some ice-cream and
chocolate covered waffles, which were delicious, and later tried some of the
Stella Artois, which is advertised on every street corner in Belgium.  After a relaxing, pleasant night, we
navigated Leuven’s winding cobblestone streets back to the hotel.

By: Jill Czarnik, Alex Johnson, Christina Smith, and Blake
Giles

Posted by Meredith Blumthal