31 May We had originally planned to go to Leuven on the boat after Mechelen. But due to me being sick we decided to skip it. But we had heard it was a delightful university town, so we decided to take a day trip there on the train from Lier. On Thursday morning though, it was pouring so we delayed our departure for an hour. We cycled through light rain to the station, but after the 40 minute train trip the rain had stopped and we had a fine day. We picked up a self-guided walking tour and followed that route around the city. Leuven is a University town and much of what we saw related to the University. It is a Catholic University and was founded in 1425, making it the oldest in Belgium. We heard many students speaking English, and we spoke to a PhD student from Germany and she said most classes were in English. One church we came across was now celebrating the life of Father Damian who worked with the lepers of Molokai in Hawaii. Even the Grote Beguinhof (Large Beguinage) was converted into student and visiting faculty housing. We thought it would be delightful living there. We had a nice lunch at this pavement cafe. After lunch - more of the walking tour, followed by a drink in the Grote Markt, watching the world go by. Before going home we walked down to the harbour. This area was a bit more run down than the rest of the city. After this we got soaking wet walking back to the station in a downpour. However the rain was over by the time we were back in Lier. Leuven had a great vibe. It would be great to spend some more time there one day. Derelict buildings might be getting a new lease of life. Notice the guy with the jet pack hovering over the harbour?
2 Comments
Sue Veal
4/6/2018 09:45:37 am
You are visiting some wonderful places Deb. Great to see all your photos, makes me wish I was there - so much history. Xx
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Howard
4/6/2018 08:28:39 pm
Hey Sue ... you could be 😉
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