Your dear author now has to share his time between Belgium, where my family is (a new father I am!) and Congo where work is never finished or missing!
After visiting Belgium many times, I now have to think of it as home! And what a place to call home! Such a breath of fresh air (for now!). I won’t say anything about the weather or taxes or the language (in the Flemish part, Dutch is a must!).
But for the rest, especially when the weather plays along, it is super. What a change from the Congo.
Of course, I love “Les congolais”! But if you go to Matonge in Brussels or wait for a friend to visit, you can glamorise the Kinshasa vibe from afar.
Anyways. See the pictures below of the lovely Belgian “Oxford” that is Leuven. A rich in history little town outside Brussels that is home to wild student nights (not for me anymore, I think 🤔).
If you’re in the area, let me know and we can try one of the millions of beers, chocolates or pastries.
Tips
Stay in the city center : Pentahotel or Martin’s Klooster for example
Use a bike sometimes! It’s fun!
Try MOK coffee – top 20 in the world of coffee shops (2025)
Walk around and get lost
Visit the churches! They are gorgeous
Rent a car and drive OR TAKE A TRAIN around the area (Lier, Bruges, Dinant and Namur!)
Go in summer to avoid the rain but no guarantees here!
Go to the bars! Wild 🤪
Book a table AHEAD of time to Baracca, it’s always full! I haven’t tried it yet!
Check out the nearby parks (Abdij Van Park and Provincial Domain)
Bring a camera!
Visit the Stella Artois brewery
Visit the University Library
Google and search! There is so much that has been written already!
Stop for a beer in one for their terracesThe train station is amazingGo for a run near WilselePass by the Vaartkom/Waterfront for a coffee or beer or a run!Check out the University Library that was burned twice by the Germans but rebuilt thanks to the USAThe views from the library tower are great!Another view A quirky and modern set of orange buildings were built near the CenterStop for a taco at Tortilla near the Stadhuis (old city hall)The old city hall or Stadhuis“Come on Jan! We’re going to miss the bus!”Here I am! Looking down at Ladeuzeplein from the Library TowerMemorial of the first and Second World War Gunners memorialPlanes ✈️ leaving and coming from the nearby Brussels airportThe canal on the DijleWaterways cut through the city Turtles 🐢 at the botanical garden or “Kruidtuin”Planting tulips for the summerA carpet of purple flowers (CROCUS TOMMASINIANUS (Herbert)) imported from ex-Yugoslavia are worth seeing at the Kruidtuin just before spring. “The crocus, which blooms so beautifully here, was given the difficult scientific name Crocus tommasinianus. It was named after the botanist W. Herbert who first described her and named her after his Italian colleague Muzio de Tommasini (1794 – 1879). In Dutch we just call them farmer’s crocus. It occurs naturally in Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Herzegovina. It blooms there just as spectacularly as here in the botanical garden. Fortunately, you don’t have to go to the Balkans to admire the splendor of flowers. The botanist Muzio de Tommasini describes in one of his works that he saw crocuses bloom in such numbers and densities that he failed to move even a foot without trampling on a dozen. Just as M. de Tommasini did not have the idea of entering this floral wealth, we cannot allow this in our garden either. This splendor can be admired and photographed from all hiking trails. You can watch, you can’t arrive!” Signage at the Botanical garden.
Emilio in Congo (DRC) 
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