Arriving in Leuven

I took the train from Brussels to Leuven. The country side is made up of rather flat, rolling green hills. Much of what we passed looked like farm land, but I couldn't tell what was planted there. It is winter after all. The train had been going for about 30 minutes when it stopped at a station without a sign. I noticed a sea of bicycles parked at the station and the Stella Artois Brewery and realized this must be my new home.

When I left the station I wasn't sure I was going the right way. The directions I had been given said look for the big street in front of the station and go down it, and the map itself showed a large road across from the station. I finally realized that the narrow two lane road bisecting the brick laid square in front of me was the "big" road I was looking for, and for Leuven it really is a big road. When I discovered that from the square in front of the train station, I could easily make out the spires of Leuven's town hall breaking the skyline at the end of the street and, I knew, marking the center of the city, I began to realize just how small Leuven is. Walking across the entire city wouldn't take more than 30 minutes.

Thankfully, I only had to haul my uncomfortably heavy belongings two blocks to get to my room. Anneleen, the Belgian girl I am subletting my room from, had cleaned the place up nicely and removed the vast majority of the floral decor she seems to enjoy. The room was a bit bigger than I was expecting, and the other students she introduced me to seemed nice. They were all Belgian, which I was happy about, and two of them were even law students.

After Anneleen left, I quickly unpacked and then headed out to see the city. It really is quite beautiful and full on intriguing statues. At some point I pulled out my map and in no more than 30 seconds a kind woman on a bicycle was asking me in English if I needed help finding something. This is a bad picture of the center. The town hall is on the left and Saint Peter's church is on the right.

Not everyone here is so kind. The next day I headed to the law school the meet the exchange coordinator. I found the law school easily enough, just a ten minute walk from my room. Here's a picture of the court yard. I didn't have a room number for the coordinator and the info desk was closed. I wondered around for a while searching each floor before I asked a girl there if she knew where the office was. She looked me over, harrumphed and then looked away. "No, then?" I asked. She didn't even give me a harrumph that time, just kept staring into space avoiding my eyes. I thanked her for her kindness and continued looking. After 15 more minutes of combing the halls, the info desk opened and a women told me in broken English where the office could be found. The coordinator herself was very kind and invited me to a lunch the following week with all of the exchange students.

The coordinator informed me that I would need to go to the university registrar's office to complete my registration. After getting lost in Leuven's winding streets a couple more times, I found the registrar's office. Housed in a magnificent stone building that was at one time the weaver's guild house, the registrar's office seemed closer to a palace than the dingy, cubicle filled, modern rooms I got used to registering in at the University of Washington. Here, fluted stone columns supported the high, vaulted ceiling and the bureaucrat sitting at desks between the columns were bathed in light from the stained glass lining the walls.

After getting my student I.D. card and registering with the university, I had to go to yet another office and register with the city of Leuven itself. This is quite a process. After telling them where I live and showing them my passport and rental contract, I was told that the police would come and visit me to verify that I was indeed living here and that I was the only one living here. Then I would be required to come back in to the office on an appointed day with all my information and three passport photos to complete the process. It's all a big headache, but I suppose the police in Leuven need something to do besides chasing down bike thieves.

After all this registering I was tired and hungry so I decided to go pick up some groceries. Anneleen had told me about a cheap supermarket just up the street from my room. So, I headed there. Not seeing any baskets, I tried to grab a shopping cart, but they were chained together. Apparently, I was supposed to deposit a euro to release it from the chain and then I would get the Euro back when I returned the cart, but I didn't figure this out at the time. I decided I would just grab what I could carry. The prices were pretty cheap, at least compared to New York. I grabbed some staples, including shelf milk. I haven't seen fresh milk since I got here. Instead, they sell milk which has been so pastuerized and preserved that it can sit indefinitely in an air tight container on an unrefridgerated shelf. I got used to it in Russia, but it really isn't as good as what we have in the U.S. As I waited in the checkout line, I realized that not only were the customers bagging their own groceries, they were using their own bags. The supermarket didn't have any of their own. Luckily, I had my backpack on or I don't know what I would have done. I quickly shoved my groceries in my backpack. Meanwhile, the checker and the whole line waits for you to finish bagging and paying before starting on the next customer. Besides being inefficient, it's really stressful to be holding everyone up and trying not to smash your eggs at the same time. I go to the more expensive supermarket now. It has free bags and carts, even if everyone still waits for you at the checkout line.

Still recovering from my jetlag and partying, I got up late the next day. I managed to configure my computer for internet access here. So, Sam and I were able to talk and see each other over webcams using Skype. That was really nice. After chatting with him, I did a little bit of research on things to see in London, and then I was off to catch my bus for the United Kingdom. But that's a story for another day.

I don't have a lot of great pictures of Leuven yet. The weather here has been awful and not particularly good for taking pictures. However, here's a picture of the interior of St. Peter's Church for your viewing pleasure.