So continuing from where I stopped, I got back from Morocco in the wee hours of Monday morning, which made classes a bit rough that day, but it was definitely worth it. Tuesday and Wednesday were midterms (ok, how has the semester gone by so fast???) Overall exams went pretty well, although I forgot some vocabulary words for a few essays. I didn't dwell on my mistakes too long, though, because I was leaving Wednesday night for Belgium!
Wednesday was Halloween. Halloween isn't really celebrated that heavily in Europe. Some neighborhoods with young children have just recently started doing trick or treating, but it is definitely not that common. University students go out to the discotecas dressed up in costume, and that's about it. There are no decorations, or pumpkins, or haunted houses like back home. November 1st, (All Saints Day) however is a national holiday in most European countries, and everyone gets the day off. The 1st fell on a Thursday this year, so many people, european and american, took the long weekend (el puente) to travel.
I got to Belgium late on Wednesday night. What is in Belgium, you ask? My family! My aunt, uncle, and cousin all live right outside of Brussels. They were all in town for the long weekend, so it was a perfect time to go see them! A good high school friend of mine, Nina, also came up to Belgium from Padua, Italy where she is spending the semester. It was so great to be reunited with friends and family!
Nina and I went to bed around 1 on Wednesday night ready to have 4 days full of adventures:
Thursday:
The adventures got off to a pretty lethargic start. Nina and I wanted to sleep in a bit so we did not set an alarm. My aunts house is in the sleepy suburban area of Brussels, and it was wonderfully quiet and dark. Guess what time we ended up sleeping in til? ..... 1 freaking 30 in the afternoon! I slept 12.5 hours straight through.... Clearly Nina and I needed to catch up on sleep, so although we were a bit disappointed that we wasted half a day, we were glad to feel legitimately awake for the first time in a long time.
Thursday was All Saints Day, so many things were closed, which also made us feel a bit better about our lazy morning. We did get to do a few cool things though. In the afternoon, Nina, my Aunt and me went to the town of Waterloo. Yes, this is the Waterloo where Napoleon was finally defeated! We went to the Wellington Museum, a former 18th century inn which the Duke of Wellington, commander of the allied army fighting Napoleon's French forces, made his headquarters in 1815. It was from here that he sent the British government news of their victory.
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| Wellington Museum |
The museum was really interesting, especially if you enjoy military history. If you're ever in Brussels/Waterloo I recommend seeing it!
After the museum we drove out to the field where the battle of Waterloo actually took place. I'll be honest, it's a field. There isn't much there apart from the "Butte du Lion" or "Lion's Mound" a manmade hill with a statue of a Lion at the top, which was constructed to mark the spot where William of Orange of the Netherlands was knocked off his horse by a musket ball while fighting, and is a commemoration to all who died in the battle.
The hill was made from pieces of earth of other parts of the battle field and the Lion is supposedly made out of the canons the French left behind when in retreat. Unfortunately, we arrived just as "El Butte" was closing, so we didn't get to climb it, but it was still very impressive from ground level.
We headed back home in the evening for a wonderful Italian dinner cooked by my aunt. My cousin, his wife and his two adorable children ages 4 and 2 came over as well, so it was a full house!
Friday in Brussels:
Friday morning, Nina and I woke up at a reasonable hour to head into the heart of Brussels. We started off the day walking around Grand Place, or the central square of Brussels where the town hall is located. Most of the architecture is from the 17th century and was quite beautiful.
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| Town Hall |
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| Shops of Grand Place |
Nina and I went in to the City Museum of Brussels, which is located in Grand Place. In the museum are housed a wide variety of collections from statues to ceramics, to tapestries, all explaining the history of Belgium. Perhaps the most entertaining part of this museum was the collection of costumes from all over the world for Belgium's famous statue of "Le Mannequin Pis," roughly translatable as "the little pisser," in English. Yes, this statue is exactly what it sounds like, it's of a little boy peeing. The water of the fountain comes out exactly where you think it would. The statue is located not too far from Grand Place and is a major tourist attraction.
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| Nina and me with "Le Mannequin Pis" |
The statue is dressed up in the costumes that are in the City Museum. There must have been over 50 costumes from countries around the globe.
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| Spain sent a matador outfit |
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| USA, represent |
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| Spain also sent this....ok |
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| WAFFLES |
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| I love me some waffles |
After waffles, we continued on our food tour and went to grab some legitimate lunch at a restaurant Nina's friend recommended called A La Mort Subite. Let me tell you, it was a FANTASTIC recommendation, and you should definitely try it out if you go to Brussels. One of the reasons Nina and I were excited to come to Belgium was for the good beer (sorry Spain/Italy; when it comes to beer, you just don't cut it) and A La Mort Subite had a fantastic variety. We split a delicious herb omelet and enjoyed some dark beer.
After a delicious lunch we went headed over to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The museum has a very big collection of Flemish art work, and also a nice collection of work by Peter Paul Rubens, which were simply stunning.
My favorite painting of the day was Marat Assassiné, or The Death of Marat, by Jacques Louis David. You have probably seen this painting in history books; it is one of the signature images of the French Revolution. Marat was a radical journalist during the revolution, whose paper was called "L'ami du peuple" or "Friend of the People." He used his paper to call out the wrongdoings of powerful members of French society, especially members of the Girondins' one of the many factions that were fighting for power during the Revolution. Marat was murdered by a Girondist sympathizer while writing a piece for his paper in the bath. Marat has been immortalized in this painting as a kind of political martyr, and it is now one of the most well known images of the French Revolution.
We headed back to my aunts after the art museum for another wonderful homemade meal with family and for a night of much needed rest before our daytrip to Brugge!
Saturday in Brugge:
Brugges is a Flemish city in the north of Belgium, about an hour and a half away from Brussels. It is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe, and with it's distinct architecture and beautiful canals, some consider it to be the "Venice of the North."
Nina and I did the church tour in Brugges, visiting 3 different churches.
1) Saint Salvator's Cathedral
2) Church of Our Lady
3) Basilica of the Holy Blood
The Holy Blood, you ask? This Basilica is home to the Relic of the Holy Blood (yup, Jesus' legit blood), which, according to legend, was brought back to Brugge from Jerusalem during the 2nd Crusade in the 12th century. Nina and I waited in line to go "touch" the blood (really just the glass case that contains the vial that contains the blood). It was an interesting experience. Many people are very devout when it comes to this relic, and people travel from far in wide to see it.
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| waiting in line to touch the blood |
While in Bruges, we continued to enjoy the fantastic cuisine in Belgium. Did you know french fries are not originally from France, but rather from Belgium? Well, at least that's what the Belgians say. Nina and I had some fantastic frites with the classic condiment of not ketchup, but mayonnaise. You may think that this combo is disgusting, but I promise it's not!
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| Frites and Mayo |
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| Nina and frites with a spicy ketchup |
We spent a lot of the day just walking around, and soaking in the magic that is Brugge, enjoying the sights and the crisp fall weather. Being in Brugge is like being in a time warp. You feel like you could be in the medieval ages. It is absolutely magical. If you ever are in Belgium, Brugge is a must.
At the very least, you should see the movie In Bruges because it is hilarious.
Sunday:
Sunday morning came way too fast, and before I knew it I was dropping Nina off at the airport with my uncle. I'm so glad we were able to meet up while abroad! Since my flight wasn't until the evening, I spent the morning and early afternoon with my cousin, his wife, and their adorable 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter. These kids are growing up trilingual, learning English, Swedish, and French! From a linguistic standpoint, it was really interesting to listen to their speech, especially of the 4 year old's. He would start out his sentence in English, veer off into Swedish, and then finish in French! He was very confused when I couldn't understand him, because Mom & Dad are able to!
We had a lovely afternoon, playing with legos, being silly, eating lunch and going shopping. The day went by all too quick and before I knew it I was on the plane back to Sevilla. It was a truly fantastic weekend, and I hope to get back to Belgium to spend some more time with the European branch of my family while I can!!
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