Flowering Forest of Hallerbos

Samedi, 22 avril

"Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking."

This Miranda Priestley takedown one of the most enduring lines from The Devil Wears Prada, a movie that I have seen so many times I have lost count and that gave me incredibly unrealistic standards for the amount of time and effort that employees are supposed to commit to their jobs. Which, come to think of it, is perhaps why I found myself in Flanders this weekend, having volunteered to lead a group of American Fulbrighters on a seven kilometer walk through Hallerbos.

But when your office looks like this, wouldn't you want to work on weekends too?

Easter at the Laeken Royal Greenhouses

Dimanche, 16 avril

It is Easter Sunday and spring has sprung in Belgium! Or so they tell me. While the weather does not have any apparent plans to get any warmer (my winter coat is still in a depressingly regular rotation), the flowers are blooming, the days are getting longer, and -- as of this weekend -- the Laeken Royal Greenhouses are open.

Located on the estate of the Royal Castle of Laeken, the primary residence of the Belgian royal family, the Royal Greenhouses open to the public for several weeks in April and May as an annual spring treat for locals and tourists, who line up by the hundreds to get a glimpse of the unique flowers and plants in the historic royal collection. And what better way to spend Easter than surrounded by fancy flowers?!

The Serres Royales de Laeken or Koninklijke Serres van Laken were built by Leopold II, the second King of the Belgians. During his forty-four year reign between 1865 and 1909, Leopold II was known as the "Builder King" due to the number of public buildings he constructed across the country, including the triumphal arch in Brussels' Parc du Cinquantenaire and the Antwerpen-Centraal Railway Station.

The stunning Jardin d'Hiver, or Winter Garden, was the first of several greenhouses to be constructed on the estate. Built between 1874 and 1876, they still contain many of the massive palm trees that were part of Leopold II's collection. And that roof!

 

Built of steel and glass in a style considered quite groundbreaking for its time, the greenhouses were envisioned as a shining city of glass by architect Alphonse Balat. The structures marked a stylistic departure for Balat and an important step toward the Art Nouveau style that would later be developed by, among others, Balat's own apprentice, Victor Horta!

The greenhouses are home to a historic collection of trees and plants, many of which date back to the reign of Leopold II, but gardeners add a particularly colorful touch to the rooms of the Pier Greenhouse for the annual public viewings.

Autumn Colors in Parc de Woluwe

Mercredi, 2 novembre.

Hello from Brussels, where I'm in the midst of a mid-week weekend, as the Royal Library of Belgium has been closed in honor of All Saints' Day and All Souls Day. (But tell me more about how it's the Americans who don't have a separation of church and state, okay Europe?) Though I'm a little skeptical about the secular origins of these vacation days, I've been taking advantage of my first time off to catch up on things like fresh air and sunshine and I have to say ... I. Am. Loving. It.

Located in the suburb of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, the Parc de Woluwe is one of the city's largest parks, filled with over 180 species of trees -- the vast majority of which have burst into color over the past couple of weeks. So what better place to spend a November morning off?

 

... Three Months Later

Lundi, 11 octobre.

I moved to Belgium three months ago.

And, for all intents and purposes, promptly forgot about this blog. (Whoops!)

In my defense, it has been a busy three months. In the last ninety days, I started a new job, moved into a new house, spent a week visiting family in the U.S., went on my first business trip, organized my first major work event, and bought two new pairs of sneakers. (Shout out to Nike, official sponsor of my descent into European-ness.) The whole thing has been a whirlwind of faces and names and forms and numbers and in a way, it's surprising that a whole year hasn't passed by without me knowing it.

But if I'm being honest, the real reason behind my radio silence hasn't been the number of things going on in my life, but rather the lack thereof. While the past three months have in many ways been a wonderful tornado of change and professional development, they've also been, well, pretty uneventful. Since moving to Brussels, I've spent most of my time working and going about the unglamorous business of daily life. And while I've developed a pretty efficient grocery shopping schedule, that doesn't exactly make for a riveting blog post. Of course, I am beginning to make friends (and plans that don't revolve around groceries), but it's slow going.

It doesn't help matters that, as an employee of the Fulbright Commission, I'm constantly reminded of exactly what I was up to a year ago. I can't deny that those adventures -- a house full of friendly housemates, weekends spent hiking and exploring castle ruins -- felt distinctly more exciting, interesting, and blogworthy. In comparison, my life in Brussels is like 70% work, 30% Netflix ... and who wants to read about that?

Nostalgia, personified.

As things begin to feel a little less strange and I begin to feel a little more Belgian, I promise that this blog will become more of a priority again. Stay tuned for posts about moving to Brussels. my day trips to Flanders and Wallonia, and -- everyone's favorite topic -- the experience of an American abroad during the 2016 presidential election. (Just kidding.)

A Magical Afternoon at the Harry Potter Exhibition

Dimanche, 31 juillet.

As July comes to a close, I'm celebrating my first three weeks working in Belgium and -- as of yesterday -- being fully moved in to my new home away from home! Two of my friends drove up from Luxembourg yesterday to bring the last of my belongings and to visit for the day.

Lucie and Dikra have both been to Brussels a couple of times, so instead of hitting up the usual tourist spots, we decided to check out something a little bit different...

 

That's right, folks. Harry Potter: The Exhibition.

Never heard of it? This travelling exhibit features props, costumes, and set pieces from the Harry Potter film series -- sort of like a moving version of the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. Since 2009, it has been to over a dozen cities, including Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Paris, and now Brussels. Guests to the exhibition walk through reconstructed sets and rooms featuring everything from moving portraits to screaming mandrakes. And uh, yeah. It. Is. Awesome.

We got tired and decided to grab a seat in Hagrid's hut!

Sorry Europe -- You're Not Getting Rid of Me Yet!

Samschdeg, 2 Juli.

I first arrived in Luxembourg a whopping 295 days ago-- bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready to jump into nine months of adventures in the Grand Duchy. As the year went on and the prospect of leaving my new international life became all too real, I hemmed and hawed about finding a way to stay in Europe. ("Just find a job here!" my housemates counseled me, blissfully unaware of the challenges that face a non-EU citizen trying to enter the European workforce. Hello, work visa!) However, the plan -- as evidenced by the round-trip KLM tickets I purchased back in August 2015 -- was always to return to the United States and to the Washington, D.C., area after finishing my grant in July.

But you know what they say about plans. Namely, they change.

And so, instead of returning to the United States in July, I will be moving to Brussels (!) to begin a full-time job (!!) as the new Fulbright Program Manager and EducationUSA Adviser with the Fulbright Commission (!!!).

I'm not exaggerating when I say that this has been my dream job since day one. While I am sure that this new experience will come with its own unique set of challenges (not least of which being the continued absence of Target and authentic Mexican food in my life), I could not be more excited. I cannot express how lucky I feel for the opportunity to continue my involvement with Fulbright, to learn more about the field of global education, and to live in a city as beautiful and dynamic as Brussels.

I will be starting work in just under two weeks, which means that I'll be leaving Luxembourg ten months -- to the day! -- after I arrived, way back in September. Although I won't be moving very far away, I know that it will be difficult to say goodbye to this wonderful little country and to the people who have made the past ten months so wonderful. Instead of dwelling too much on our upcoming departure, my friends and I have decided to make the most of our last couple of weeks in Luxembourg by doing all of the things we've intended to do, but somehow never got around to. Stay tuned for nine days of indulgent bucket list fulfillment -- and, more than likely, a handful of weepy blog posts! ;)

Musée Méindeg: Bastogne War Museum

Méindeg, 20 Juni.

Today's Musée Méindeg takes us outside of the Grand Duchy to the Bastogne War Museum. Located just across the Luxembourg-Belgium border, the museum is within easy driving distance of Luxembourg and makes for a popular day trip destination.

History buffs will surely recognize Bastogne for the strategic role it played in the 1944 Battle of the Bulge, an event that was immortalized in the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers. (Haven't heard of it? Ask your dad.)

Just a few months after being liberated by Allied Forces, the town of Bastogne became the site of the one of the most dramatic events of World War II, when it was attacked by the Germans in December 1944 as part of Hitler's last-ditch attempt to recapture Antwerp and change the tide of the war. The siege lasted for a week, during which time the town -- and the small number of American soldiers defending it -- suffered many casualties. At one point during the Battle of Bastogne, German troops at succeeded in fully encircling the town and even gave the Americans the opportunity to surrender ... an offer to which General McAuliffe famously responded: "Nuts!" Ultimately, Patton's Third Army came to the relief of the exhausted forces: within a few weeks, the battle was won and the town of Bastogne re-liberated. Given the historical importance of the Battle of the Bulge, it's no wonder that Bastogne continues to be defined by its role in World War II.

An Afternoon in Darling Dinant

Freideg, 6 Mee.

After stopping in Bouillon, we continued on to Dinant. Located on the Meuse River in the Belgian province of Namur, this historic city is known for its steep limestone cliffs and crunchy gingerbread cookies (which, according to both Wikipedia and myself, are the hardest biscuits in Europe). When we arrived, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and all of the city was out to enjoy the beautiful afternoon!

Bonjour, Bouillon!

Freideg, 6 Mee.

Yesterday, as you probably know, marked Ascension Thursday. (Also Cinco de Mayo, but that's a story for another day.) As you might not know, Ascension is an official jour férié in Luxembourg ... meaning no work or school.

Although I've spent what feels like a lifetime on the train between Luxembourg and Brussels, I have not spent much time in the region of Wallonia itself. To take advantage of our time off and to get to know our northern neighbors a little better, my housemates and I decided to take a quick day trip to Belgium! We spent the day in the towns of Bouillon and Dinant. Our first stop was Bouillon, a historic town located just a few kilometers from the French border!

Bouillon is, by all accounts, pretty darn old. A castle has existed on the site since at least 988, which is -- just for context -- one thousand and one years before Taylor Swift was born. For most of the Middle Ages, the château fort de Bouillon belonged to the Ardennes-Verdun dynasty. The most famous of these lords, Godfrey of Bouillon, inherited his title from a childless uncle in 1082 and then sold the castle in order to finance his involvement in the Crusades. (As people did in the eleventh century, you know.)

Given its strategic proximity to France, Bouillon was nicknamed "the key to the Ardennes" by military strategist Vauban. He fitted the castle with state-of-the-art artillery and defense systems in the seventeenth century. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Bouillon belonged to France, to the Netherlands, and finally to Belgium. Click here to read more about the history of Bouillon.

Enjoying "Les Plaisirs d'Hiver" in Brussels

Sonndeg, 13 Dezember.

Just got back from a truly whirlwind trip to Brussels! I left my house at 8:00 a.m. and was back in Esch-sur-Alzette by 11:00 p.m. In between? Seven hours of sitting on a train, four hours of exploring Brussels, and two hours of a Fulbright "Cookies & Carols" event (aka the primary reason for the trip).

As you can imagine, American-sized amounts of caffeine were necessary.

I hadn't been to Brussels since my last visit in October and I was really looking forward to seeing the city decorated for Christmas. I popped in to mass at the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula and then met up with a fellow Fulbrighter to explore the "Plaisirs d'Hiver."

Ultimately, I didn't take too many photos. It was cold and rainy and I spent most of my time trying to avoid puddles rather than taking pictures! But I hope that you enjoy these snapshots of Christmas in Brussels.

Just your average gothic cathedral!

Apparently this building is lit up year-round. How festive!

I enjoyed seeing Brussels at Christmas and was so glad to see my fellow Fulbrighters one last time before the holidays ... but BOY OH BOY was I happy to get back to Luxembourg at the end of it all. It's strange that although Luxembourg can at times feel foreign and overwhelming, it also has begun to feel a whole lot like home. After a long day of chitchatting and dodging crowds in Brussels, nothing could have felt better than walking into the quiet familiarity of the Gare de Luxembourg. Well, nothing except for crawling into bed ... which is next on the agenda!

Bad Weather and Great Waffles: A Day Trip to Liège

Méindeg, 26 Oktouber.

After a whirlwind day in Mons, some Fulbright friends and I hopped on (yet another) Belgian train and headed to Liege.

Why Liège? I'm not going to lie -- my enthusiasm for the city was linked first and foremost to its famous waffles. Gaufres de Liège, with their thick chewy dough and crunchy pearls of sugar, are one of my favorite things on this planet and were invented by God himself. (Or so I've heard.)

But Liège is famous for a lot more than its waffles! The largest city in Wallonia (the southern, French-speaking region of Belgium), Liège boasts a population of almost 200,000 people. The city has a rich history dating back beyond the Middle Ages and, because of its close proximity to the Belgian border, played a significant role in both World War I and World War II. (It was Germany's invasion of Belgium and subsequent assault on the city of Liège in 1914 that marked the first battle of WWI.) Plus, the city is located just a quick two-hour train trip from Luxembourg City. So why not visit?!

Discovering Mons with Fulbright Belgium

Sonndeg, 25 Oktouber.

Moien from Luxembourg! I've been away since Friday night and it feels great to be back in my little country. ("How much longer until I can start telling people I'm Luxembourgish? Maybe another two weeks?" I joked on the train back from Belgium.)

This weekend, I headed back to Belgium -- for the third time this month -- for yet another Fulbright adventure. This time, however, I wasn't heading to Brussels but rather to Mons, a city in the southern French-speaking region of Belgium that has recently been named the 2015 European Capital of Culture. Fulbright had organized a special day trip to the city for current grantees and Fulbright alumni, including a guided tour and (most importantly) lunch.