This trip was done during easter break from university.
A friend of mine from Singapore was doing a whole year exchange at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Catholic University of Leuven) in Belgium.
I decided to visit as he was proposing a short trip to Budapest, Hungary as well and I was interested in visiting one of the "non traditional" locations in Central Europe.
My routing on hindsight was pretty poor. It was: Leeds-London-Brussels-Budapest-Brussels-London-Leeds. (Leuven is a short 0h30 train ride away from Brussels). I should've done something like Leeds-Brussels-Budapest-Leeds, saving me the cost of three trips. But I did get to bring a backpack and a cabin luggage up the Eurostar which I would not have had on easyjet or ryanair.
The Eurostar to Brussels from London (232 miles) at 1h45 was quicker than the east coast main line (200 miles) from Leeds to London at 2h15.
Left Leeds at 10am or so, and arrived in London at midday.
Opposite the King's Cross St. Pancras rail station (where all east coast main line trains stop), I stopped for lunch at a small chinese restaurant, Chop Chop Noodle Bar.
For only Ł5, I got a huge bowl of Tom Yum beehoon with generous ingredients. Cheaper and better than C&R restaurant in Chinatown IMO.
A shot of the famous St. Pancras station where Platform 9 3/4 brings Harry Potter to Hogwarts!
Both the UK and Schengen Area immigration was done at St Pancras.
After a short 1h45, I reached Brussels- Zuid/Midi station!
Belgium is a trilingual nation (French, Dutch and German) with Dutch and French being the two predominantly spoken languages. All Belgians can speak both up to a certain level, proficiency depends on their heritage and region, and English as well. All official business is conducted in both languages, and street signs are bilingual as well.
Bought a single ticket to Leuven and met my friend at the Leuven train station. I noticed the Belgian trains1.) They don't announce, for the most part, which station is coming up. 2.) Apart from the three main Brussels stations, there is inadequate signage in train stations.
Leuven
Leuven is probably best known for being the home of Stella Artois. The factory is just on the outskirts of Leuven and during working hours one can smell the distinctive hops being roasted.
Leuven is an even smaller town than Canberra. Students get around mainly by walking and riding a bicycle, and there are no traffic lights in the main Leuven thoroughfare.
Some cathedral in Leuven
The longest bar in Europe. It's a stretch of road full of pubs and clubs. A big student haunt, Stella can be had here for a little more than 0,90€ on student nights. This being Easter Break, most Belgian students are home (the country is just about three times the size of Yorkshire county) and what few students left are the international students and the local Leuvenites.
The very elaborate Town Hall. Most Belgian tow-oops, cities have one of these. Very beautiful architecture though.
A 1775 map of Leuven. Arranged in a circular manner. Most Belgian cities are arranged in this way; Brugge and Brussels as well. Think it was to keep out foreign invaders in ancient times.
The Stella Artois factory. Tours can be arranged but are hard to come by, bookings have to be made weeks, if not months in advance.
KU Leuven's main library.
The Groot Begijnhof/Béguinage. In ancient times, Roman Catholic Sisters stayed here. Today, it is a residential area mainly for the University staff and postgraduate students.
Very peaceful surroundings to stay in, isn't it?
A friend of mine from Singapore was doing a whole year exchange at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Catholic University of Leuven) in Belgium.
I decided to visit as he was proposing a short trip to Budapest, Hungary as well and I was interested in visiting one of the "non traditional" locations in Central Europe.
My routing on hindsight was pretty poor. It was: Leeds-London-Brussels-Budapest-Brussels-London-Leeds. (Leuven is a short 0h30 train ride away from Brussels). I should've done something like Leeds-Brussels-Budapest-Leeds, saving me the cost of three trips. But I did get to bring a backpack and a cabin luggage up the Eurostar which I would not have had on easyjet or ryanair.
The Eurostar to Brussels from London (232 miles) at 1h45 was quicker than the east coast main line (200 miles) from Leeds to London at 2h15.
Left Leeds at 10am or so, and arrived in London at midday.
Opposite the King's Cross St. Pancras rail station (where all east coast main line trains stop), I stopped for lunch at a small chinese restaurant, Chop Chop Noodle Bar.
For only Ł5, I got a huge bowl of Tom Yum beehoon with generous ingredients. Cheaper and better than C&R restaurant in Chinatown IMO.
A shot of the famous St. Pancras station where Platform 9 3/4 brings Harry Potter to Hogwarts!
Both the UK and Schengen Area immigration was done at St Pancras.
After a short 1h45, I reached Brussels- Zuid/Midi station!
Belgium is a trilingual nation (French, Dutch and German) with Dutch and French being the two predominantly spoken languages. All Belgians can speak both up to a certain level, proficiency depends on their heritage and region, and English as well. All official business is conducted in both languages, and street signs are bilingual as well.
Bought a single ticket to Leuven and met my friend at the Leuven train station. I noticed the Belgian trains1.) They don't announce, for the most part, which station is coming up. 2.) Apart from the three main Brussels stations, there is inadequate signage in train stations.
Leuven
Leuven is probably best known for being the home of Stella Artois. The factory is just on the outskirts of Leuven and during working hours one can smell the distinctive hops being roasted.
Leuven is an even smaller town than Canberra. Students get around mainly by walking and riding a bicycle, and there are no traffic lights in the main Leuven thoroughfare.
Some cathedral in Leuven
The longest bar in Europe. It's a stretch of road full of pubs and clubs. A big student haunt, Stella can be had here for a little more than 0,90€ on student nights. This being Easter Break, most Belgian students are home (the country is just about three times the size of Yorkshire county) and what few students left are the international students and the local Leuvenites.
The very elaborate Town Hall. Most Belgian tow-oops, cities have one of these. Very beautiful architecture though.
A 1775 map of Leuven. Arranged in a circular manner. Most Belgian cities are arranged in this way; Brugge and Brussels as well. Think it was to keep out foreign invaders in ancient times.
The Stella Artois factory. Tours can be arranged but are hard to come by, bookings have to be made weeks, if not months in advance.
KU Leuven's main library.
The Groot Begijnhof/Béguinage. In ancient times, Roman Catholic Sisters stayed here. Today, it is a residential area mainly for the University staff and postgraduate students.
Very peaceful surroundings to stay in, isn't it?
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