Outgaarden - Leuven: a sensational city - A Flanders Fling

May 28, 2017

Outgaarden - Leuven: a sensational city

The B&B where we stayed last night, L'Épicurie (= the wise conduct of life), was originally a farm and is now a chic but affordable inn. All rooms are on the ground floor and accessible from the inner courtyard - love that! No carrying bags up too many stairs when you are tired at the end of the day.

Once a farm - here the courtyard of our B&B and entries to the rooms

The old tile floos in the kitchen/breakfast room were impressive, as was the breakfast itself. The owner of the hotel, a hippie in years gone by, had inherited the farm from his parents and converted it into a B&B after he returned from an extended backpacker tour of South America. You could see that he took an interest in how the place was run and had an eye to detail. However, he said he dreams of traveling and living the life of a backpacker again, perhaps when his son is old enough to accompany him, in about six years. I wonder if his son's dreams will be the same.

An impressive assortment of good cheeses and fresh croissants

We left and traveled again through Hoegaarden, a village that has been known for its witbieren (white beers) since the Middle Ages and where we went last night to get something to eat - and drink.

In the middle of a traffic circle in Hoegaarden, a copper "brewing kettle", such as is used in the production of beer

Bicycles have their own lanes in traffic circles, and usually have the right-of-way. I am impressed.

We were again constantly oh-ing and ah-ing over the wonderful bike paths, between fields of crops and meadows, hedges, little woods, with some gentle climbs, and once in a while through a village. The temperature was climbing but the heat wasn't bothering us - yet.

We were getting closer to Leuven and the idyllic bike paths disappeared. We were now on a road with a narrow and bumpy path designated for bicycles. There weren't many cars on the road, still as guests in a foreign country I chose to follow the rules. I noticed not all Belgian cyclists did ... but then they were on fast road bikes which probably gave them the right, in the eyes of the car drivers, to ride on the road.

This was the part we didn't like, but I had to admit cyclists are almost always provided for in Flanders and not left to their own devices, particularly important when there is heavier traffic.

I'm always a little apprehensive about cycling into a new city, but we had planned our route on our Garmins to the door of the place we would be staying and found it easily enough. We were too early to check in so we wandered around for a while, looking for a cafe in the shade. It was really hot by now. Around four o'clock we got the keys to our little apartment - it had a bathroom and sitting room downstairs and a bedroom one flight up. Sounds nice enough but was it ever hot, especially upstairs with the sun beating on the roof. A hotel room with air-conditioning would have been better for the two nights we spent in Leuven.

But Leuven had some good things in store for us, too. We were very close to the historic center, a five-minute bike ride, and I was quite overwhelmed by the first glimpses I got of its architecture.

This is the university library which we could see from the cafe where we had lunch. And we hadn't seen anything yet.

After a rest and a shower, we walked to the historic center. Wow! And then we looked for something to eat.

The town hall, Leuven's pride and joy. It's one of the best-known Gothic town halls worldwide. It took three architects and thirty years to build it.

We were becoming more and more shocked at the prices for meals in restaurants in Belgium. We had expected to find inexpensive restaurants and expensive restaurants, and also menus with a range of prices. But this didn't seem to be the case. An expensive meal is ok now and then, depending on your budget and priorities, but every day? Nor were we prepared to get a picnic from the supermarket and eat it on our beds at the hotel in the evening. This was my only gripe with Belgium and up until the end we couldn't quite reconcile ourselves with restaurant prices we were paying.

Mussels, a Belgian speciality, and the price also a Belgian specialty.

The Brasserie d'Achouffe is a Belgian brewery based in Achouffe. Achouffe beers have won highly coveted international awards, year after year, in recognition of their unique flavour.

We spent another day in Leuven, sightseeing and resting, although the heat made both difficult. I spent a fair amount of time in the cathedral, a cool place. And I took some pictures.

Wikipedia: "Despite the devastation during the World Wars, the church remains rich in works of art. The chancel and ambulatory were turned into a museum in 1998, where visitors can view a collection of sculptures, paintings and metalwork."

Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 433 km (269 miles)

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