¡Belgium!

Hey everyone,

Last week I was in Belgium visiting my friend Lode who lived in Cannon Falls last year. He let me stay with him for free and toured me all around the sweet country of Belgium. I left on the 3rd from Bilbao, Spain. It was a short 2 hr bus ride and about a 2 hr plane ride. I landed in Brussels and Lode and his dad picked me up in their car.

We stayed at his house during most of the trip and his family is really nice. His Dad is a police officer and his mom works at a department store. His dad just took some English courses and was pretty good, even though Lode and I teased him for using British English. I think most people can speak English in this country because they don´t dub their tv shows or movies. They watch everything in English and put the subtitles on, which is the best way to do it. Dutch is a weird language but it is cool. They make the weirdest gargeling sounds when they speak but it was cool.

Belgium has two regions, Flanders, where they speak Dutch, and the south where they speak French. Lode´s family all spoke Dutch and French. This country still has political issues with these two regions but it is kind of complicated.

We went through the whole country and saw tons of historical things. This part of europe contains a lot of history. We visited Waterloo where Naploean was defeated. Another day we went to Bastogne where the very important "Battle of the Bulge took place". I have learned about the world wars but seeing this stuff is really interesting. This battle was one of the most important places in World War II because Hitler was advancing through Belgium and no one was stopping them. The Americans where surrounded in the city of Bostogne but eventually we gained the territory back and destroyed Hitlers advancement. It was a great American victory and there is a museum with tons of old war items and a memorial with all the fifty states outside.

This is a map of the Battle of the Bulge

Also, we went to an Old trench museum where you could walk the old trenches of WWI where the Belgians had to fight the Germans. It was interesting and weird to think about. I have learned about WWI but I know so much more about WWII due to the intensity of it.

We also visit some cemetaries of fallen soldiers. One interesting thing was the we went to one of the few German cementaries outside of Germany and all the stones were black. Always the gravestones will be white but these Germans all had black gravestones. It was interesting to see this difference. I assume why they might be black but who knows. Germany has a bad reputation but I think that is why they are so nice and open today. We went to the last post where they had this memorial ceremony for the allied soldiers. The town was full of British students since most of the people in this region were British.

Lode and I visited Brussels which was about a 30 minute train ride from his house. Brussels is the capital of Europe and where the EU headquarters are. It was a typical big city with tons of people and tourists. We walked around for a while, saw the Atomium and the peeing baby. I don´t know why this peeing baby is so famous? The best part of the city was the WAFFLES!!! They were about 1.50€ and you get them hot and they have a little bit of melted sugar on them, they rock. They are the best things I have eaten in Europe.

I also learned prostitution is legal in Belgium and we took a gander at the street in Brussels. It was just weird to know this was a legal profession. I guess it helped lower rape cases, but it also increases human trafficing so I don´t get it.

Lode and I would go out for a drink and I tried a lot of the beer there. It was way better and I think my favorite beer is from there. Belgium also has chocolates which are super good. I ate some of their delicious chocolate spread every morning along with truffels all the time. I think I gained 10 lbs there. Lode´s mom and dad cooked tons of means for me and they were all great. We had Flemish stew and of course brussel sprouts. I never used to like them, but they were really good there.

Lode and I left his house for a few days and went to the city of Gent where he goes to college. Lode has an apartment there, which is a lot nicer than mine. The city was full of students and it was a city with tons of waterways built within it. It was really pretty and the weather was crystal clear, which is odd for Belgium at this time I think. The one thing about this city is that everyone bikes everywhere. Everywhere you look are bikes and bike paths and bike racks. If America had a better system like this I think people would bike more. We toured this city and hung out with Lode his gf Helen and some of his other friends. We ate some more waffles and looked at some castles and cathedrals.

Lode´s roomate´s dad got us free tickets to a soccer game and we went on Saturday. It was packed with people about 30,000 which is small for a soccer game. The game was sold out and it was with two Belgian teams. It was really cool to finally go to one of these games and the hooligans are just as crazy as you have heard. They would yell and sing during the entire game. I want to go see a game in Spain, because here I can understand the language. The Hooligans have their own section and can´t harrass the other people. Also, along the base of the field is barbed wire to prevent anyone from rushing the field. So much security for a sport...

The soccer game was in Bruges which is northwest of Brussels and it is called the Venice of the North. It has tons of waterways just like Gent and tons of tourists. I heard a lot of English people, and their accent is kind of sickening to me. We walked around a lot in this city and there were so many people. Later that night we went out in Lode´s town and biked back late. In Lode´s house they have security and they set it every night. If you go in this one part of the house it will go off. I was sleep walking and all I remember is waking up in Lode´s kitchen hearing this really loud alarm. I was really embarassed and have no idea why I slept walked. My flight was at 1 the next day so we kind of got up early ate breakfast and said goodbye.

I had the best time there and I kind of miss it today. The food was so good and Lode and his family are really great people and I thank them a lot. I don´t know when I will see Lode again but I imagine we will travel again someday.