after one month of crazy schoolworks (assignments + exam), i was so pleased to be at somewhere and exploring. this time, i landed at a place which is like a heaven to me. where? the name is belgium! for a chocoholic + alcoholic like myself, belgium is surely a heaven. i have lost count on how many bottles/ glasses of beer i have drank over there. ice cold beer on a summer afternoon is just perfect. and not to forget, the chocolate! belgium doesnt just offer good beer and chocolate! it has more to give!
in 7 days, we (小白 and deric) visited 7 different belgian cities. in all the 7 days, we were only manage to see blue sky in two days. anyway, it didnt stop us from tasting fine smooth beer and searching for the best chocolate in the country and it certainly didnt stop me from posing from canal side to big square.
we started off our belgian exploration in the city of ghent. ghent is a very romantic looking city. i dont know how to describe it but the town give me the feeling of getting someone and have the kiss of my life. ghent is a perfect place for bridal shots. old churches, calm canals and beautiful squares all blend in together perfectly. ghent is also home to a beguinages, a place where women dedicate their lives for god (aka almost like a nun) stay.
ghent
beguinages
brugesnext stop, the city of antwerp! the second biggest city in belgium. the city is totally different from ghent and bruges. it has the mixture of modern world hype and old world charm. when speaking of modern world, what else! shopping la! with most labels available, shopping is a fun things to do in antwerp. antwerp isnt just about shopping! like other belgian cities, it has a lot to offer and home to a few unesco world heritage sites. one of those heritage site is the plantin-moretus museum. i have seen enough oil paintings and european porcelains, hence those things wont make me go wild. but plantin-moretus museum offers something different! it is a printing museum (im not talking about laser printer or photocopy machine). the printing here is those in the 16th century. it is rather interesting to know how people back then produce books, maps and other printing materials.
antwerpon day 4, we explored two charming towns, mechelen and leuven. both towns are rather different from other towns/ cities we have visited. mechelen might be small but rich of heritage but due to its size, we spent less than 4 hours there. in the afternoon of day four, we took a train and arrived at leuven. leuven is slighty more interesting than mechelen. leuven is the belgian version of cambridge. it is a university town and the town is extremely beautiful. leuven is also belgium's beer capital and home to world famous stella artois. surprisingly, i didnt taste any stella artois when i was there. i prefer leffe brunette, a must try!
mechelen
belgian beer with cheese..... superb!
leuven
brusselsjust a few weeks before the trip, i read an articles that mentioned brussels is the most boring city in europe (london was voted as the dirtiest and amsterdam was voted as the most exciting). so, i reached brussels without much expectation. to my surprise, brussels is not boring at all. the grand place is a very stunning looking square and the most beautiful among all i have visited so far. the city is also filled up with parks, palaces, galleries, museums and shops.
brussels is also the capital of european union. im still trying to figure out why they made brussels the capital of europe.
we started off the last day (day 7 was the day we flew home, no place was visited so not counted as a touring day) of our belgian exploration at musee (museum in french) horta. i didnt know who the hell is victor horta until i've visited the museum. victor horta was a very famous belgian architect who started art nouveau. now come the question, what is art nouveau? google it! anyway, victor horta was such a great architect. all the townhouses designed by him are rather unique.
musee horta, brusselsthe last city we visited was tournai, another very beautiful belgian city. tournai is a small city in the south of brussels and is only 10 km away from the border of france. therefore, everything over there is so french influenced. with the design of the buildings, houses and alleys, you can easily be mistaken you are in france! tournai is also the home to the finest cathedral in belgium, cathedrale notre dame, a world heritage site.
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1 comment:
loved the pics...
i need beer too!!! and please... not those lousy tasteless generic american beer.
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