Andie and Molly

Belgium

Belgium changed my life. Visiting this country on a whim while studying abroad in Spain was one of the best decisions that I've made. I can't get thoughts of this place from my head; even though I was in Spain for so long, everything goes back to Belgium.

I had no idea what I was in for, but I can say, truthfully, it was one of the best weekends of my life. The night before our flight, everyone stayed out too late and drank too much. We met at the train station the next morning, Seebree running on less than two hours of sleep and the rest of us with four or five. I sat on the concrete ledge by the large, winding tree and ate the apple from my packed lunch. We waited for the bus, but the stop had been temporarily moved, so we took a cab instead. Once we made it on the plane and landed, the entire climate had changed. In my head, it must have been 65 degrees, and it felt amazing.

Before we left, I purposely didn’t look up pictures of Belgium; I didn’t want any expectations, like those that I had for Spain. I just wanted to be somewhere new.

In Brussels, we took the train to Gent, my favorite city. Seebree and I stopped at a fried food shop, where the fryers are at the highest temperatures I have ever seen, and you choose what you want from a glass case in front of the store. I remember walking into a similar shop in Brussels and listening intently to men speaking French, not understanding a thing, just admiring the way that words are laced together. French is a language that I've only heard a few times in my life, and hearing it so frequently in Belguim was like hearing an entirely new genre of music. Seebree and I sat on the steps in the center of Gent and ate fries with mayonnaise, fried meat and fried cheese. I admired the people; their outfits, especially their shoes, came straight from a European movie. There were so many colors, too, and there must have been at least a thousand bikes sitting right in the middle of everything, under the trees. We took the wrong train that day, but I was alright with it. I watched the cows out the window and the old brick houses and finally stopped in Knokke, where we met Seebree’s oma.

Oma was one of the best and kindest people that I have ever met. She offered us chocolate and bought us icecream and Belgian beer on the first night. I remember nearly falling asleep, sitting at a small, outdoor table with a Karmelite, one tiny bowl of nuts and another with potato chips. It was 11 p.m. and the sun had not yet gone down. I was amazed, overwhelmed in the best way, and so content.

Belgium is nothing like Spain, it’s ten times better, based on my experience. We went to bed late in the cleanest apartment, with air conditioning, and woke up to a breakfast of Nutella and bread, chocolate, coffee, Belgian cheese and different spreads. Oma let us pack sandwiches and fruit and we took the train back to Gent to get Belgian waffles. We sat at a small café near the cathedral and drank coffee, they didn’t serve waffles until twelve. Then, the boys showed up and we ate our waffles together—I was happy. Then, we spent the day walking around, admiring buildings and cafés, the people and the atmosphere, and taking pictures. That night, Oma took Seebree, the boys and I to dinner and we helped her pay. We drank rosé (the alcohol seemed so much stronger there) and Seebree and I ate mussels; the best mussels in the world. I’m not sure that I ever find some as good. Sam and Tanner ate horse steaks, which I feel terrible for trying, but they were surprisingly delicious.

We ended the day once again at the same café as the night before. That night, I drank scotch, which I really loved. I swear the smile never left my face the whole time that we were in Belgium.

The next day, in Brussels, I listened to men speaking French, others speaking German and Spanish, even English. All of us rode the train together that time, and we laughed so much. We talked about foods that we liked and hated and really got to know each other, I felt. Even the train rides were enjoyable, fulfilling. We ate more fried food in Brussels and explored downtown. The plaza reminded me of the one in Madrid. I bought a sweatshirt from a souvenir shops, which haunts me a bit now, after finding out that someone attempted to bomb the Brussels train station just two days after we left.

It's funny how a single, spontaneous weekend trip has had such an influence on me. One wonderful thing about life is that there are an infinite number of places to see and things to learn. Belgium will be forever in my mind.

- ryan