My Last Adventure - Amsterdam

My oh my how it's been quite some time. Like I referenced in my last post, finals are insane here. Insanely hard. The past month I've been here has been mostly spent studying. BUT, we did take a little break for a day trip to Amsterdam a couple weeks ago. Only a 2 1/2 hour bus ride away, we said why not? I wanted to make it up there even if it was at least for a day.

There was a worker's strike with the train system at the time we went, so Izzy and I had to wake up extremely early to catch a one hour bus ride from Leuven to Brussels just so we could catch our bus that would take us to Amsterdam. We had smooth travels up to the Netherlands, and got to Amsterdam around 10:45 am.

When shall I move in? 

Our first stop? The Pancake Bakery for brunch. This is one of the most famous restaurant/bakeries in Amsterdam, known for their dutch pancakes. I tried the dutch apple pancake and was extremely pleased with my choice. We did have to wait about a half hour to be seated because it's that popular, but I'm so happy we went.

After, I was determined to get a photo at the Fault In Our Stars Bench from the movie. After getting a bit misguided, I ended up finding it, only to find people wanting to do the same thing we were. The bench was so cool, with tons of people who had signed it and quotes from the book. How cool that must be for John Green?!

We then made our way toward the Rijiksmusem where we took some photos in front of the infamous "I Amsterdam" sign. But before hand, we sat along the canals for a bit which was so nice. When they say Amsterdam is truly a bike-friendly city, they mean it. It's almost a pain to get around there by car, because it's so accommodating for cyclers.

M for Mal! 

A bit tired, we took a break and grabbed a Starbucks and walked along the Floating Flower Market. Tons of vendors have stands that literally float on one of the canals -- although I was a bit disappointed as much of it was touristy. I was hoping to find some of those beautiful Dutch tulips!

Lastly, we made our way back to the train station, cutting through the Red Light District on the way. Can't say it's a place I need to go back to. Because the Netherlands legalized marijuana, it was definitely prevalent throughout the neighborhood. You could smell it all around you, and I was quick and ready to leave as soon as we entered.

How bittersweet I was that this was my last adventure to a new country. Be on the lookout for a recap post as I am heading home a week from TODAY! 3 finals and a little packing stands between me and my ride home to America. I've got lots to reflect on - and I can't wait to do so as I'm traveling home.

Living the Belgian Life in Gent

This past weekend, I had the privilege of staying with a Belgian family just outside of Gent in De Pinte, Belgium. My grandmother actually connected me with the family through a friend of her's whose family hosted the husband when he was studying in the United States. I am so thankful she did, because it made for such a fabulous and relaxing weekend.

We got to Gent on Friday because we were to spend a day there with our Flemish Art & Culture class. It was a long day -- we spent 5 hours in one museum we definitely didn't need to stay at, as well as a contemporary art museum. After being with our class, Izzy and I went to explore the city ourselves before we met up with the family we stayed with for dinner.

Doing some research, I discovered there is a street in Gent that is completely covered in graffiti, so we went to snap some pics and to explore. If you're ever in the city, look up "Werregarenstraat" to come across a tunnel that leads into a narrow street absolutely covered in graffiti. Every so often, they completely paint it over in white so that artists can start new projects, but ultimately it's a street meant for individual expression. I wish I would've known about it sooner, because I definitely would have bought a spray can of paint to add to the art on the wall.

After, it was time to meet up with the family we stayed with for the weekend. They took us out for the best dinner at "De Gekroonde Hoofden"- one of the oldest restaurants in Gent and well worth the visit if you're a fan of ribs. I ended up getting honey glazed ribs -- and the best part? They're all you can eat. We left the restaurant with full stomachs and sticky hands.

They took us to their home after where we were to stay for the night. It was so nice to sleep somewhere quiet and peaceful for a couple days. Especially when living in a residence with 20 other housemates.

The next morning, we were off to visit Gent. Frank who was hosting us drove us into the city where we got to explore for the day. Much of it was spent walking around and we got to see the three major churches that make up the town, Sint-Michielskerk, Saint Nicholas' Church, and Saint Bavo's Cathedral. Along with this, we went up the Belfry Tower to get a lovely view of Gent. There are plenty of canals running through the entire city as well, so we had the opportunity to simply take in the atmosphere.

By the end of the day - close to dinner time - Frank came and got us by his boat. Like I said, Gent has A LOT of canals, so there are plenty of ways to enter the city. We ended up getting to chat with a couple of his friends who were having a drink with him where they docked before we made the trek back to De Pinte where they lived. The ride was so lovely.

When we got back to his house, his wife was cooking dinner, and we chatted a bit more over drinks before eating. She ended up making this delicious lamb with potatoes and carrots that was heavenly. Being a college student who has to cook for herself, this felt like such a luxury. Because I don't want to spend tons of money on spices and flavoring for only for a semester, much of what I eat is pretty bland, so it was great to have someone else cook for a change.

After dinner, Frank showed us some photos of his travels and time he spent in the United States which was really neat to see. Before we knew it, we all went to sleep to wake up for the long boat ride we were taking on our last day.

Around 10 a.m. the next day, we got out to their marina where we went on a long boat ride. It was so cool to see all the homes and towns located next to the rivers we were on. It reminded me of being up at Lake Wawasee in the summer, something I miss so much. We eventually docked at a town called Sint-Martens-Lament. This ended up being where Frank grew up, and he showed us the perfect little path we could walk along for an hour before lunch. It was all Belgian countryside, homes with huge yards, just beautiful. I even befriended a couple sheep along the way.

The town itself was very adorable as well. All white buildings, a little church, nice restaurants. I would love to eventually move to a little place like this one. It was so peaceful - maybe after I've traveled the world for awhile, I can move to some place like this one. We looped back to their boat where we had a lovely lunch full of seafood. After, an ice cream truck pulled up that makes their treats with dairy straight from the cow, and it was so yummy. The perfect way to end such a relaxing weekend. We were so thankful for the opportunity to stay with them and to see a different side of Belgium.