Leuven Library at Christmas

Aachen and Volkenburg Christmas Markets

Aachen, Germany was magnificently decorated for christmas. I went to visit Susanne and Dieter family friends who are always so hospitable. We spent the evening in Aachen where I got to try glhuwin (hot wine) a festive european drink, bratwurst, chocolates, and experience the music and lights of German Christmas Markets.

The following day we went to Volkenburg, Holland where the markets are inside the caves. Years ago the Jews hid inside the caves in hiding and today they are used as huge Christmas Markets. It was nice though because it was so cold out, once you got inside you didn't feel a thing. We spent hours inside, it was neat.

Bruges Christmas Market

The Bruges Christmas Market made me feel like the main character in the most beautiful Christmas movie ever. Honestly, once it got dark and we went ice skating and the town lit up into this wonderland I was so worried I wouldn't be able to get the perfect picture but this one below does it really good justice. The whole town looked like a gingerbread village. It was unbelievable.

Sinterklaas

It snowed for six days here in Leuven. Bikes were snowed in and thank goodness my warm boots made it back with me after Thanksgiving. It made for a beautiful couple days though. Leuven is such a quaint town, I love it.

Sinterklaas is a holiday celebrated in Europe which starts the holiday season off. All the children leave their boots out, a note for sinterklaas, a beer, a carrot, and a sugar cube (kind of like our milk and cookies). Then we woke up in the morning to an orange, pear, chocolates, gingerbread, and coins inside out boot- granted we were good this year. He and his black petes, kind of like his elves, joined us in a big party where we all sung a christmas song and talked about our behavior this year. It was like a big roast and very funny. The season in Europe has been so much fun, can't wait to get home, but boy is the spirit here marvelous!

Snowing in Leuven

Thanksgiving in the USA

It was so nice to be able to go home for Thanksgiving. I did, well ate, a lot of typical American things: Dunkin Donuts coffee, Wendy's, Auntie Ann's Pretzels, Chick-Fil-A, chipotle, Thanksgiving Turkey dinner, funny the things you miss. It was also nice to go to the American mall (malls don't exist in Europe) and the movies with Mick. Also went to pick out a Christmas tree : ) Very quick visit, but only 20 days till I return for Christmas!

I AMSTERDAM

I SPENT THE LAST WEEKEND IN AMSTERDAM WITH EVERYONE FROM LOYOLA. WE WENT TO THE VAN GOGH MUSEUM, RIJKS MUSEUM, ON A BOAT TOUR, AND TO THE ANNE FRANK HOUSE. THE CITY OVERALL WASN'T MY FAVORITE I HAVE VISITED SO FAR, BUT THE ANNE FRANK HOUSE WAS MY FAVORITE HISTORICAL PLACE I HAVE SEEN SO FAR SINCE IN EUROPE. EVERYTHING WAS EXACTLY HOW IT WAS LEFT THE NIGHT THE FAMILY WAS REMOVED FROM THE ANNEX, EERIE BUT INCREDIBLE. I WASN'T ALLOWED TO TAKE PHOTOS BUT I BOUGHT A REALLY NEAT BOOK YOU CAN ONLY GET THERE I WILL BE SURE TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL.

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FABULOUS THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. LOVE, BRIGETTE

Christmas has begun!!

The city of Leuven has officially began preparing for the holiday season! City hall is completely covered in twinkling lights.

Rainy Leuven

Leuven until today hadn't really seen sun in 9 days! It got a little hard to get yourself motivated during the day, but in the midst of a heavy downpour me and my friend Corey mustered up the energy on a lazy Saturday afternoon to put on our raincoats, boots, and hoods and walk through the woods. It turned out to be really beautiful. This is a picture of my favorite little bridge in Leuven park!

Germany

Aachen, Germany was really a neat city. We were there as the Christmas markets were being set up for the next four weeks, I look forward to going back when the town is fully decorated for the holidays because the little I saw was so beautiful.

After Susanne and Dieter, family friends, took me to Aachen they took me to the three landing point, where Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands come together so I was essentially standing in three countries at once which was really cool.
We also went to the Lindt chocolate factory and a gingerbread factory, don't worry I am bringing lots of treats home for everyone to try. It was so nice to be in a home and not a hostel or hotel, they were so hospitable and I had such a fabulous time. Looking forward to going back to Germany and hitting Cologne for the Christmas markets which are supposedly phenomenal.

Scotland

Scotland was an absolute blast. We spent four days traveling through Edinburgh, the Highlands, and Glasgow. I had the opportunity to visit the smallest, yet well known whiskey distillery in Scotland where I found out two things: one, making whiskey is a much more intricate, scientific, and timely process then explainable and two, at this point in my life my taste buds do not at all like whiskey haha

In addition to the distillery we explored Sterling Castle and Fort Wallace where Braveheart was filmed, Loch Lomond, a wool factory, and miles of highlands while on a bus tour complete with bag pipes playing us sweet tunes through the loud speaker. It was really nice.
Edinburgh is supposedly the scariest and most haunted town in Europe and I happened to be there on Halloween which was so cool. We went on an underground ghost tour, which was perhaps the most legitimate ghost experience I will ever have, I didn't see anything, but we heard lots of stuff, so scary one of my friends fainted! We also visited the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, the Palace, Parliament, and went on a free walking tour done by college students who work solely for tips. It's pretty neat they have them in all the major cities and they are extensive tours 3 hours plus and at the end if you have the money you give what you think it was worth. The tour guides are students taking a year off after college or still in their studies, they always do an awesome job I have done a couple of them! I would suggest for anyone to go visit Scotland, for somewhere that wasn't on my original list of places to visit it was incredible. I stumbled upon a group who wanted to go and a good deal I couldn't have felt more lucky. It was one of the neatest places.
We learned on this trip that 6 people is the perfect number to go, it was so much easier traveling with a smaller group. We all got along so well. I am making the best friends here! Miss you all, looking forward to seeing most of you during the holidays. Brigette

Flanders Field

Flanders Field was very interesting, we visited a bunch of memorials, cemeteries, and trenches from World War I. It was one of those crazy Belgian days where it flip flops back and forth between pouring rain and wind to blue sunny skies, though the bitter cold is felt in both types of weather. Supposedly the farmers almanac says this winter will be the coldest and longest of the millennium in Europe, fabulous haha. We had a really fun day though; normally on our trips it is just the Loyola students, but today all of the internationals living in our house came with us so it was good bonding.

Unit Dinner

Last night we had the opportunity to go as a unit to our professors house for dinner. The house I live in is broken into six different units, mine is the smallest, and has the most Belgians which is really great. We had fajitas, it was really nice to have a home cooked meal!

Lanzarote, Spain

Wow. I am just looking through my pictures and can't believe I actually just spent four days on an island in Spain. I was privileged enough to get the grand tour, experience the food, and even relax on the beach. In addition to the awe of riding up the side of a volcano on a camel, i got to see a geyser spray into the air, a grill where food is cooked from the heat of the lava beneath the volcano, a boiling pot where the volcano heat boils the water in a cove, lava beaches, and a green sulfur lake. I was lucky enough to go banana boating, slide on a boat in the middle of the crystal clear water, and jump off a little cliff into the water.











The food was phenomenal, we had tapas one night which allowed my palate to just have a taste of everything, it is smaller portions then appetizers but of so many different things. I got to go to a winery where the grapes are grown in the ash left from the lava which was delicious and very interesting. I feel like I could go on and on about everything I did and saw. But, I will leave it at this was one of the most amazing weekends I have ever had. Flying home I got goosebumps looking down at these huge ranges of volcanos and thinking i was on top of them exploring. The opportunities here continue to amaze me and the sights continue to be one more beautiful then the next

Oostende

Me, Maggie, Corey, and her spanish roommate Rosa went to the Belgian Coast this weekend to a town called Oostende. It was really beautiful, we spent time walking around one of the parks, shopping, having coffee. It was the perfect weekend to spend a day near the water because it was not the typical rainy, grey Belgian weather, but seventy and sunny.

We also took a tour of the Mercator, which was a three masted ship, kind of like the Eagle which Mick sailed on in the past but smaller. It was neat to tour and explore that as well. It was only an 1.5 train ride. Definitely somewhere I would go back too.

Ethiopian Experience

Salem, one of the Loyola students studying abroad with me is Ethiopian and found an Ethiopian restaurant in Leuven that 15 of us went out to eat at this weekend. It was delicious! I won't lie, I was apprehensive when she was describing it to us, but it was such an experience. You eat everything with your hands and roll the meat and vegetables up in these little crepe/quesadilla like rolls. The only word I can use to describe it is flavorful. You all should try it at least once, I plan to go back!

Bouillon

Bouillon was very beautiful and full of autumn foliage. We took a tour of the castle and citadel, had the ever famous french fries with Mayonnaise, and watched a lovely bird show.

I was chosen to have the bird land on my head and feed it which was both thrilling and terrifying haha. It was a rather rainy and foggy day, but it was definitely nice to travel back to the french portion of Belgium for the day. I love that in 2 hours I can travel "cross country"... only in Belgium