Brussels, Belgium Part II

 "It's a dangerous business going out your door.  You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."  J.R.R. Tolkien



Belgium's shops are only legally allowed to have two sales a year.  They each can be up to a month long and only can last for the month of January and the month of July.  Since we arrived in January there are sales EVERYWHERE.  Emily, my program adviser says if we're going to buy ANYTHING at all in Brussels, buy it now.

Stock exchange builidng! It's absolutely gorgeous.  Sits in the middle of one of the many large intersections in Brussels.  Right across from it is the Irish pub O'Reillys (can't see it in the picture)

Looking down one of the streets, cars can drive pretty much anywhere.  You rarely see any stop signs.  Drivers are crazy.  Rules of the road are different.  At an intersection (unless it's a stop
light) the car on your right always has the right of passage, so you have to be super careful! Somehow everyone still manages to speeds.  Also, pedestrians cross the streets everywhere and the cars WILL NOT stop for you unless you literally put your foot on the road and begin walking across (not much looking both ways - somehow it works out well in Brussels.  Very scary at first.)

Here you can see an Obama sign that has not been brought down since the election.  Belgians changed their view of Americans when Obama was elected and they were not in favor of Bush when he was in office.

"Random fact" : Belgians pay 50% of their salary to the government.

"Random fact": Right now, there really is no exisiitng government because when they met in July to form a government the leaders of Belgium could not agree on anything.  The political subject here is quite interesting to talk about with Beligans.

 Brussels is built on a swamp. Lots of water underneath the city.  The center of Brussels used to be fenced in with large stone walls.  This here is the only water left running through Brussels, visible from the streets (it's actually in the back of a courtyard which is off one of the smaller side streets in downtown Brussels).

Here is the courtyard I talked about previously.

This is a close up of the trees the surround the courtyard.  The branches are wound together to form  something that looks like a fence.

Quick! The local burger joint!  For "Quality Burgers", also known as the European McDonalds.  Although Europe has McDonalds also---a little different from the US since they sell beer with their happy meals!

There are about 45 of us in the CIEE program and we all went through our first week of both struggles with getting lost and culture shock along with trying new beers and food...here's 11 of the 45. Charlie, Amy (From Indiana), Sarra, Suzanne (From Duxbury MA), Hanna, Jimmy (From south of Boston), Gina (From Wisconsin), Kyle, and Steve.

Our first Monday in Brussels, CIEE brought us to the Cantillon Brewery.  It is the only brewery in Brussels.  The brewery was in an older building which used pulleys like the one the left to bring the big barrels of beer from the basement to the attic, etc.

Anna (From Washington, D.C., goes to school in Washington State) and I next to the barrels of Cantillon.
It takes 3 years for the beer to brew.  We got samples of 3 different kinds of the Cantillon beers - Geuze and Lambic.  The beers are known for their hoppy taste - I was not a fan of them and I like most beers I've tasted here in Beligum.  The Cantillon beer reminded me of the vinegar mom always makes me gargle when I have a sore throat. Yuck.

The bus tour CIEE took us on brough us to the Atomium - a monument in Brussels original built for the World Fair.

It was supposed to be torn down after the fair but it became a symbol of the fair and of modern architecture (there was also so much tourist attraction) that that they decided to keep it.

The shape is that of an iron crystal which is magnified 165 billion times.

Part of the Berlin Wall in front of the EU Parliament.  After the fall, many segments of the wall have been given to different institutions.  This is the view of the Western side - note all the graffiti.  The Eastern side is blank.

EU Parliament!  We didn't get to go insde but we walked around it and were able to look in.  The tour guide emphasized the fact that there are an incredible amount of different people with different languages working at the EU.

Fun Fact:  The mail, within the EU, is delivered on a golf cart.

First Belgian 3 course meal.  Champagne first then the appetizer next (I had a cheese croquette - most popular in Belgium - similar to a mozzarella stick but much tastier and a different shape).


Lauren, Tina (from Missouri), and I.

For the main course I chose Sea Bass with veggies - delicious.


Ashley, Kylie, & Anna.

First wine in Belgium - I preferred the red.


Dessert was the best part - pastry dish which consisted of creme, ice cream, whipped cream, and sugar coating along with chocolate sauce. Melt in your mouth!

The SleepWell hostel which was my home for my first 4 nights in Belgium. 

 

View of my host family's backyard.

MY ROOM!  It was so great to leave the hostel and be able to unpack my bags.  I have my own room with a nice 1 foot balcony (looks out onto the main street).  There are two other students living with my host family and I.  Jiemin is from China and goes to school in Tennessee.  Janice is from Minnesota and also goes to school in Wisconsin.  They are both extremely nice and adventurous so we get along great!

My new front door!