Home to a large university (KU Leuven), Leuven is mostly a student town situated east of Brussels (It is a 20 minute train ride away).

It is on the Flemish side of Belgium, in Flanders, so don’t expect to speak French! Use your English skills or try to learn a few words of Flemish. It is a hard language to pick up. You could take an online course but it will take time and dedication (like all languages!). I’m still trying to work through the basics.

Luckily, most Flemish Belgians I have met are happy to switch to English but definitely not to French.

Read a little bit on the history and you’ll understand why there is a lot of animosity with French speakers or their desire to stick to Flemish rather than French.

Flemish vs Walloon

“The two groups have a long history of conflict, dating back to the Middle Ages. In the late 1800s, the Walloons tried to secede from Belgium, but the Flemish opposed this. The two groups eventually reached a compromise, with the Flemish getting their region and the Walloons getting theirs” Kanguro

Luckily, the weather was incredible as it usually rains most summers and it’s usually overcast, rainy, cold and windy. Instead, we got a lot of sunshine.

Without further ado, here are a few pictures I snapped during my stay there this year.

I hope you enjoy them.

All in all, Leuven and Belgium, in general, are definitely worth a visit. There are many things to see and places to get lost in. I’d like to explore the sea coast and Walloon areas (The Ardennes mountains). Summers are quite spectacular and views are incredible. Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Ypres and many other places are worth going to but maybe another time!

Thank you to my hosts and new friends (especially those from the language school, Centrum voor Levende Talen (CLT) 😉 ) for the warm welcome.

See you all soon!

PS : What did you think of this post? What should I write about next? Let me know!