Why visiting Belgium at this time of the year? Answering this question is quite easy for me: I took part in an "International Week" in Kortrijk organised by 4 Belgian students. The sense behind an International Week is to bring students from different countries and cultures together and to spend a week together - a week full of activities: we visited various Belgian companies, museums, cities (like Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ieper) and, of course, partied a lot - social life is also important, right? :-) After this week, we all (20 international students) got a better insight into Belgian life, economy and culture. I learned for example, that people from Belgium are crazy about fries with mayonnaise, chocolate and beer - what a culture ;-)) And what's more important, I got to know a lot of interesting and nice people!
Following I wanna show you a small selection of my pictures from the International Week in Kortrijk, which is - by the way - located in Flanders.
The Flemish region has a population of about 5.8 million. Institutionally, it is the northern state of the federal kingdom of Belgium where the population is Dutch-speaking (actually they speak Flemish, a language that's - I think - very similar to German). Brussels, the capital of the European Union and Belgium, is also the capital of Flanders.
Brugge (Bruges)
Oostende
Ieper (Ypres)
Brussels
Antwerp
Kortrijk
Company / Museum visits
At Katho
People / Parties
The International Week ended officially on Saturday, February 23… on Sunday I visited Gent, one of the few cities in the world where the past and the present rub shoulders with each other comfortably creating a city of the 21st century wearing the mantle of a noble and prosperous past. No other city in Belgium has so many listed monuments.
The day after I visited Brussels again - a mix of old and new with something for everyone. Whether one is looking for the majestic grandeur of the Grote Markt with its unrivalled 15th century Town Hall or the ultra modern building of the European Parliament, Brussels will neither fail to deliver nor fail to delight. Following find some pictures of these cities. Enjoy :-)
Gent
Brussels
On Tuesday, February 26, I travelled on to the Netherlands and met up with my boyfriend Oli in Rotterdam. Unfortunately, the weather was really bad (strong wind; actually more a storm than a wind), so we couldn't do this harbour cruise which I wanted to do so badly. However, sometimes there are things you cannot change, and you definitely can't change the weather. That's why we just strolled around the city center of Rotterdam, a very modern city that is easily comparable to American cities.
Check out the pictures!
1 day in Rotterdam was definitely more than enough, so we travelled on to Amsterdam the next day. Many things have been written about Amsterdam, many stereotypes define the city: coffee shops, soft drugs, red light district and canals. Those stereotypes are definitely true but Amsterdam has much more to offer. Did you, for example, know that Amsterdam's population of 728,000 is a mix of 145 nationalities? That it is the capital of the Netherlands but not governmental residence? That Amsterdam is a city of art? - Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Mondrian, Escher, just to name a few.
Overall, Amsterdam is certainly an extraordinary city that doesn't come close to another city. A unique atmosphere prevails in Amsterdam, an atmosphere that is soaked (in the truest sense of the word *g*, just kidding ;-)) by all its visitors. I enjoyed this city a lot.
Moreover I had a jolly good time during our "India Reunion" that took place on March 2 and 3. It felt good seeing all those people I (most of them) got to know during my time in India - around 20 former trainees from Delhi gathererd together in Amsterdam to spend some days together and to remember the good old times in India. Hey guys, thanks for the good time ;-) and hope to see you in September in Prague again!
Following you find some pictures from the "Venice of the North", from Amsterdam!
