Antwerp - Antwerpen

Congratulations, Belgium! You did it! You now hold the record for the longest time a country has gone without a government! Over 250 days… impressive. I’m glad I could be here to partake in this record-breaking extravaganza.

This past weekend I tagged along again with class to travel to another Belgian city, Antwerp. It’s just a short train ride away and it’s pretty cool! There are a lot of diamond stores there, and just stores in general! So some girls and I decided we’d head back there some day just to shop since Saturday was dedicated to museums and such.  We did the typical guided tour trek. Sometimes I forgot to listen to what the professor was saying. We walked around the city a lot, which was unfortunately very cold (unlike Iowa from what I hear! 60 degree weather? Unreal!). We went into some museums; saw some cool old paintings, books, statues and such. I ate frites and a kabob for lunch. We went into the church in Antwerp, too. It seems like every city has a huge church in the center of town. It makes it easy to find people if you get lost. Game plan: meet at the church!

One of the museums held the first two printing presses Gutenberg made as well as one of the first ever printed Bibles off of a Gutenberg printing press! Who knew Belgium had that? Not I! Antwerp is also the 2^nd largest seaport in Europe and the 4^th largest in the world! Belgium continues to surprise me. Speaking of surprising me! I just looked out the window and it’s snowing right now! Now that’s crazy. What odd weather the world is having this winter.

In Antwerp some girls and I were talking about the bells on bikes and we decided that the bell sound just doesn’t do the bikers’ rage justice. The cute, “ding-ding,” of a bell is more of a polite, “Hi, would it be okay if you moved over just a little bit so I could ride by? Please and thank you!” We think there should be an alternative bell sound; something like that of a semi truck so that bikers can express their road-rage a little better. It would send more of a, “Get out of my way or I’ll hit you!” type message. There could be different pitches for different ways the rider is feeling towards the people they are about to hit. Perhaps I’ll look further into this new bike bell invention. I’ll keep you posted.

Last weekend we also watched the movie, In Bruges. We were literally “In Bruges” the previous weekend! It was cool to see things in the movie we had just seen in real life! My host mom and I also finished the first season of 24. She purchased the second season online and it came today! Guess what we’re doing tonight…

Sunday I was also able to go to church for the first time! It was wonderful. I managed to find it after a tram, metro, bus ride there. It was small, maybe a 100-150 people, but very good. It was a two-hour long service. Those two hours consisted of worship, announcements, a time for people to share what God’s been doing in their life, coffee/tea break, something else and the message. During one song they sang the chorus in English, then Dutch and then French, which was pretty cool. Also, for the people who couldn't understand English, there were headsets that they could wear that would translate what people were saying! I also met two girls there who go to Vesalius, too! I hope to go back, but not this weekend because this weekend I’ll be skiing in the Swiss Alps! Woop!

I really like Belgian chocolate. I eat it a lot. The last couple of times at work my boss has had chocolate eggs. I usually have 1 or 2… or 5. I’m drinking hot tea and eating chocolate now actually. I drink a lot of hot tea, too. I’m afraid that when I return to America I’ll find my taste buds have adjusted to many things here and eating some foods at home (not my mom’s cooking though!) will be strange. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to eat Hershey’s chocolate again. We’ll see.

I’ve taken note of a couple of other things that I’ve found interesting about Belgium.

1.     There are no squirrels here. At least I haven’t seen any.

2.     Cafés and restaurants have tables outside all year around. They have little heaters out there too. No matter what the weather, you’ll usually find a couple people sitting outside. The heaters don’t help that much. I still haven’t figured out why people choose to sit outside when they can sit inside, but I can’t argue that fresh air isn’t nice.

3.     Sandwiches here are eaten frequently. In America we create sumo-sandwiches that have as many things on it that can fit like 3 kinds of meat, 2 different cheeses, lettuce, tomato, avocado, mayonnaise, etc. But here, they have the most basic sandwiches. They are fine with just salami or just one type of cheese on their sandwich. I always find myself wanting more ingredients. However, I’ve found that a meat and cheese sandwich is quite delicious.

4.     Oftentimes with dinner we have this spinach-mashed potato combination dish thing that’s so good. It’s called stoemp. You pronounce it like Shtomp. I just like saying that word.

5.     PDA in Belgium is more normal and accepted than it is in America. It happens at every level from holding hands to a little make-out session in the middle of a metro station. Generally it’s not over-the-top, it’s just the cute stuff. 
6.   It's common to see people who are riding their bikes or children walking around in bright road-constructionesque jackets so that they can be easily seen by drivers.
7.   Round abouts on the roads are quite popular here.
8.   They don't usually have street signs on poles at the corner of every road here, but rather on the side of buildings that are on the corner of streets.
9.   There are menus outside most restaurants and cafes so that you can see what food/drink the place has to offer and at what price before ever entering the restaurant! It's nice!

Bruges - Brugge

I anticipated a long, busy day today! My plan was to go to class from 8:30 – 11:30 and then work from 12 – 4.  This has all changed since the tram/metro system decided to go on strike today! Oye! I waited for a while at the tram stop. I suspected a strike when no trams rode by in either direction for a while and when people would leave the tram stop to catch a bus or go home. But it wasn’t until a guy in a car driving by waved his hands and yelled at me that there was no tram today did I finally fully catch on.

Yesterday I received a wonderful Valentine’s Day package from my family! It was filled with homemade cookies, chocolates, Girl Scout cookies, mints and chai tea! What perfect timing. I realized that since I’ve been here I’ve communicated with people via blog, e-mail, cell phone (only to those in Belgium), Facebook (wall posts and messages), Skype (video and chat), letter, and now, package! I think I’ve covered just about every angle. Anyways, in case you’re wondering… Belgians do celebrate Valentine’s Day. I saw many young students carrying flowers with them on the tram ride home from school. I’m assuming they received them from people at school. Vesalius also gave the option to buy people flowers for Valentine’s Day. There were also chocolates in the shape of hearts and such and store windows displays dedicated to yesterday’s special day of love. Yes, America gets a little more hyped up about it, but then again, what doesn’t America go all out for? We (or they? I don’t know how to refer to America right now) tend to get a little out of hand with things such as Valentine’s Day sometimes.

I want to take a paragraph to let everyone know that my Valentine is in the process of growing a protest beard. Yes, he’s protesting my being away. The growth started when I left and he says he’s not shaving until I return. I’ve heard it referred to as “ferocious” and “glorious” among other things. Burrito gets caught in it sometimes.  That’s how you know it’s a real beard. I have been able to see it via Skype numerous times but I do feel as though I’m missing out on so much of its ferocity (ferociousness?) and gloriousness (glorocity?) as I’m not able to see it in real life. If you have a chance, you should check it out and provide an adjective you deem fitting.

This weekend I trotted off to Bruges, Belgium. By trotted I mean I took the train. My host mom uses this word a lot and I wanted to use it, too. There is a class offered at Vesalius that does day/weekend trips throughout the semester. I decided not to be in this class, but they allowed me to go with them on Saturday to Bruges! I think I’ll join them again this weekend in Antwerp, Belgium.

Bruges is an adorable city! Nearly every building had a Dutch front. It was quaint and peaceful, but still bustling with people. As we walked around we heard the clip clopping of horses hoofs as carriages rode through the cobblestone streets.  There were canals running through the city, too. They have cute chocolate shops all over. There is even a “lover’s bridge.”

We walked throughout most of the city, I think. We saw many a museum and painting, mostly paintings of Jesus and Mary. I saw a statue that Michelangelo himself made! I saw Jesus’ blood, too! Well… “Jesus’ blood.” In one of the churches this was a relic they had. People on pilgrimages apparently go to all the churches with relics. So I guess I’m partway through my pilgrimage. I signed a petition against animal testing or something. We climbed the Belfry clock tower (as seen in the movie In Bruges apparently) all the way to the top! The stairs were narrow and winding. If ever we came across people going the opposite direction as us we all had to get really skinny and hope nobody fell down the stairs. The view at the top was so amazing!

We barely caught the train on the way home! We had to run to get there in time and then we ended up on the wrong platform and had to run to the correct platform. We arrived at the top of the stairs for that platform just in time to hear the beeping sound the doors make when they are closing. Luckily there was one door still open and we all hopped inside just in time to drive away! Talk about a close call.

I arrived at home just in time for my host mom and I to go out for a late dinner. We went to this wonderful restaurant in the Grand Place where I enjoyed a delicious steak with a creamy white sauce served with, you’ll never guess, frites (fries)! I wouldn’t suspect a fancy meal to be served with fries, but Belgians are all about their frites and they have reason to be! Mechthild enjoyed some kidneys for dinner. I debated on whether or not I should get mussels as Belgium is known for their mussels but I eventually decided to try them another time. As we were sitting there, our neighbors ordered though mussels so I was able to see what they look like and how you eat them. After they left, new neighbors came and ordered brain and snails. So while we were sitting there we were able to see many unique meals. I don’t think I’ll ever try brain. Mussels, yes. Brain, no. I love trying new things, especially new foods; but I don’t think I could ever eat brain. We drank wine and tea/coffee and shared a crème brûlée, too. It was a lovely evening for us girls. We chatted and ate and walked around for a bit.

On my days off I find that I keep myself very busy. However, I somehow manage to do hardly any homework amidst all the business! I’m not even sure what I do all the daylong on my computer! This habit I’ve become so used to needs to change. I have my first test on Thursday and papers due soon! I hope/need to get some studying done today. The motivation is just sort of lacking. I think I’ll eat some chocolate instead.

It's Phil! This is an example of his beard via Skype from a couple weeks back.

Tram 44

We swipe our metro pass on the red thing

The entire group in Bruges

Nuns live here. It's a quite zone.

The horse and carriage coming down the street

An ambulance from a few years back

A really old book

This piece of art was in the hospital museum. I don't think I'd want him as my doctor.

Some of the tools they used in the past in hospitals

Yep, we sign petitions against animal testing

Belfry Clock Tower

Our tour guide (and their professor for the class) for the day. We always looked for the umbrella if we got lost.

Making our way to the top

View from above

We took lots of pictures while we were up there

They were kind of excited they made it

So were we

Curious as to what cities were in which direction? The curiosity can be put to rest. You now know.

And back down we go

Clock tower conquered. 

They were all eating Subway! I deemed it picture worthy.

I don't know what it's used for. I do know that it's really sweet.

Martine (our leader) would stop and chat to us at points throughout the day about what we've seen/seeing, what's next, important things to note, etc.

During the chats (that were more like lectures) people got a little distracted... they put on chap stick...

They looked at the pictures they've taken...

They made really serious faces...

These people were standing in a very nice and straight line. Nobody could figure out why.

A frite museum! We didn't go inside.

Jan Van Eyck. He's a famous artist. 

I thought this was rather ironic. This sign was in one of the churches.

She's kind of in awe.

We got a cool souvenir after looking at Jesus' blood

I find the bear to be quite amusing. Don't you?

Weird Tree Lane. Apparently it's not just Brussels that has these trees; it's all of Belgium!

Lover's Bridge. We got a little out of hand, but it's okay because we're Americans. That's what we do.

Michelangelo's Madonna and Child  

A pulpit

This is what happens at European bachelor parties...

Oh, yeah, there's the groom! He's the one whose rear end you have a nice view of

I wasn't sure what this was but it looked delicious! My guess? Fudge or some kind of chocolate log that you can slice up. 

They had dragon benches all over

We just made it on the train! Phew!