Alrighty - so the weekend of April 17th/18th, I was a part of the ESN (Exchange Student Network) "Discover Belgium" trip, that was created for any exchange students that wished to participate. We all rode on one big coach bus together as we explored five different cities in Belgium. It was a change of pace, as normally the group I travel with is 3-4, and now was about 45-55 (see left for the whole group - in Brussels). It was a fast-paced but very fun weekend....here goes the recap:
The bus started out from Maastricht on Saturday morning....with the first stop of Leuven. Most people on the bus slept on the hour and a half ride there, myself OBVIOUSLY included. We woke up to see and quaint, beautiful city (see right). We hopped off and were given a short walking tour by a few Dutch ESN members 
(students like us who arranged the whole trip) where we saw the old historical part of town as well as the more lively, city square. We were then given a bit of free time to wander around. I walked with a few other friends to grab lunch, and then through a flea market. I found a pretty plate (ironically made in Holland) that I excitedly purchased. The sun was out, so we took our time wandering about, snapping photos throughout. Before long, we met up with the rest of the group, and were off to Brussels!!
Brussels was a city that I have been to more than any other, save Maastricht - because we frequently travel through or switch trains there. But, this was my first time seeing the actual city. We walked around for 
quite a bit of time, first taking in the numerous European Union buildings (all of which were impressively large and made almost entirely of glass). There was even a small protest going on in front of one of the EU buildings, though none of us could figure out what they were chanting. We then walked down to the city center, by way of the Palace and some beautiful gardens. (YES!!! Picture below left) Pictures, pictures, PICTURES! Then 
into the crowded city center we went, trying to keep in sight our fearless leaders. Carolyn and I dashed quickly into a store to grab a postcard (which we do in every city) and almost lost the group in the crowd. THAT would have been BAD! (Picture on the upper left is of the Arc de Triomphe, a gift from France...which can be seen in the background of the picture on the upper right - which is me and my roommate Melinda!)We caught up to the group just as the stopped in front of one of the most famous images of Brussels: a small little statue of a boy peeing. Yes, I know, WHAT THE HECK? The proper name for the state is "Manneken Pis" which is Dutch for "little man urinating". Kind of redundant name I feel. Anyways - this statue has many rumored origins,
many of which revolve around the idea that a small boy saved the city by urinating on either a fire (and put it out) or a fuse (and put it out). Not sure if that's really true or not, but the little statue is still there and famous whatever the actual story is. He has several hundred different costumes he gets dressed in (he was wearing a military type costume when we were there) and on special occasions, he actually urinates beer instead of water. Enough about the little urinating man...too odd. (Picture on right, if you couldn't tell, haha)
We were able to have our first, official Belgian waffles post-statue-viewing (see left). They were very dense, sugar coated and tasty. But, I could only eat one of those in the weekend - almost TOO sugary!! We were able to climb back aboard the bus at this point, to head to the Atomium (see below right). This large structure was created for the 1958 Brussels' World Fair. It's made up of nine spheres all connected to resemble an iron molecule (approximately magnified 165 billion 
times, according to Wikipedia.) You can go up into the structure and take a gander out the windows at the top - which is just what we did. Sadly, the view wasn't that impressive, as the Atomium is located on the outskirts of town, but it was neat to learn about the structure itself and the 1958 World Fair. Then - back on the bus!!
Off to Antwerp we went, where we'd be eating dinner and sleeping that night. We didn't travel around Antwerp at all, just went right to the hostel. We didn't have much time to check in or decompress before we were off to dinner. The place we went was SO small inside, and our whole group was shuttled to the basement, which had VERY steep stairs to get to it. Our tables were all so close together that I had to climb OVER my chair to sit down. Sassy comments may or may not have been made. :) Dinner was good however - a big bowl of fries for the table, and schnitzel (see above left) for the main dish (the other choice was fish). It was nice to fill up on good, warm food! After dinner we were all to take part in a pub crawl that the ESN had organized with the ESN located in Antwerp. We walked a LONG way to the different pubs that night, and encountered a lot of crazy Belgians. That will be discussed further in the Top Five (not enough happend to make a Top Ten...sorry to disappoint!). When we were too tired to 'pub crawl' anymore, we cabbed it home, as we were completely confused about where the heck our hostel was.
The next morning we were up early and back on the bus....off to the beautiful city of Bruges (see left)! This was by FAR my favorite city, full of canals, little twisting roads, beautiful flowers, and quaint buildings. The only downside was there were quite a few tourists, but the scenery was what 
got me. AWESOME! Once we arrived we walked through the town to find our 'boat ride'! We split into two groups and then were given a boat tour of the city, via the canals. Our guide was great...but I'll save that for you know what. Free time followed, and Carolyn and I wandered the city with our paninis we bought for lunch, looking in the shops, exploring the flea markets, and enjoying the sunshine. We found room for dessert too, don't you worry! Another Belgian waffle for Carolyn and cherry ice cream for me! :) (Pictures from the boat ride to right and below...with the addition of the ice cream picture. You know me!)
Once free time ended...guess where we went? If you guessed the bus, man you catch on quick! YES! The good ole' bus took us to our last destination: Ostend. This city was mainly on the docket because of it's beach right along the North Sea. We spent the entire time sitting on the beach, relaxing and chatting. It was pretty chilly though, and the water was ICE COLD. I dipped my toes in and they weren't happy with me after (see left). We ended the afternoon with hot chocolate to warm up! We had one last big group meal - dinner. The place we ate at was very neat,
and a funky modern place right by the beach area (see below right). I had a Thai dish (see right) that was delicious, with coconut milk as one of the main ingredients. Full and sleepy, the group trudged back to the bus for our bus ride home to Maastricht.
Yes - I slept the majority of the way home...of COURSE! We got back around ten that night, and it felt wonderful to be home. :) Amazing how a short trip, but with a LOT of people, can be so very draining. Great time though - fun to experience with a bunch of other exchange students and meet some other new people too! Also, it was the one trip I got to do with my fantastic roommate, Melinda - which I really enjoyed! :)
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