BELGIUM 2016: Leuven's Market Square

I know, I know.  Just when you thought I'd finished it, here it is again.  But seriously, did you notice that I showed everything except Leuven itself????  So, of course I need to end that early December trip with the one city we went to see:  Leuven.

It was the main market square we wanted to see because of the 3 landmarks facing each other: 

St.Peter's Church, the Town Hall, and The Fourth/Tafelrond Hotel.

Where to start?  It was our first day and we wanted to see it all!

Though it was Sunday, we grabbed the church first, not knowing when it would close that afternoon.

St. Peter's Church is a Gothic church from the 15th century.

Notice the golden bell ringer near the top!

As large churches go, this one was light and elegant on a sunny day.

There were the statues, of course, but not inordinately so for a Roman Catholic church.

I was more taken by the placements throughout of votive candles for prayers...

...and was particularly moved by this alcove.

The oak pulpit was transferred to this church from the abbey in Ninove, 68 km away.

You know I'm going to say it:  I wonder what Preacher Dad would think of it!

It so happens that after touring the church, we immediately crossed the square to see the Town Hall,

and discovered we could catch a tour of it in 5 minutes, which we did.

We don't normally take such tours because we're both inclined to wander off on our own,

knowing we can get the added information from the internet, right?

However, the only way to see inside this town hall is to take the tour.

So we decided to do it.

Like the church, this Town Hall is Gothic and built at the same time, in the 15th century.

Upon entering, this is what you see.

And then, wandering throughout, we saw all the "usual suspects" of town halls.
So much history, all related to Leuven itself.

But what I most wanted to see was the wedding chamber.

In Belgium, as in the Netherlands, marriage is made official at the town hall, in the wedding room.

Can you imagine sitting around that table for your marriage ceremony!

On that note, it was time for our main meal of the day, somewhere on the square.

When we finished eating and walked back outside, it was a fairyland.

Remember that this was the end of November, getting ready for the Christmas holiday.

The Town Hall and The Fourth/Tafelrond Hotel took on new personas all lit up,

the Town Hall being the greatest spectacle of all, changing every few seconds.

But the church across the square stood stalwart against time and change,

ready to ring its bell on the hours as they passed us by.

It made a good impression on us at the start of our Sunday - Friday mini vacation.

One last post coming up, God willing and the creek don't rise, is another Leuven landmark:
 the University Library.

LUXEMBOURG: Echternach

As an example of how spontaneous we were that Luxembourg long weekend a month ago, the day we did our photo hunt in Luxembourg City (not yet posted!) ended soon enough for us to visit Luxembourg's oldest city, Echternach, on our way to that evening's B&B in Germany.

It so happen's that Echternach is on the border between these two countries.

 In fact, the river Sauer that passes through this city of approximately 5000 inhabitants is the border.

Look one way on the bridge and you're welcomed to Germany.

Look the other way and it's Luxembourg.

And since we're standing on the bridge, 

look towards the Germany side and see all the campers at the river's edge.

It was really hot that day, so I can just imagine how good that river felt.
(click any collage to enlarge)

A short walk back into town took us to the open market on the main square that Sunday.

I LOVE these market squares all over Europe, with their town halls.

 And that's where we stopped to eat our main meal of the day.

This was our first pizza ordered in my 3+ years here in the Netherlands.

It was very hard to resist, along with the wonderful salad, on which we went halvsies, like usual.

The Diekirch beer is brewed not far away in Diekirch, Luxembourg, so it was a must on a hot day.

And see that little blue-n-white train?

Every day we saw one in almost every city, taking tourists around town to see the sights.

Of the two churches in Echternach, this Basilica is the largest...what was the former abbey.

Remember when I said Echternach is Luxembourg's oldest city?

It grew up around the abbey that was built by St. Willibrord in 698.

Besides the present modern interior from 1953 (6 churches have been built on the site since 698!)...

...it has a museum where you can see artifacts dating back many centuries.

The other church in Echternach is the parish church of St. Peter and Paul from the 10th century,

and is believed to be the oldest Christian church in the country.

Too bad it wasn't open!

What a delightful little town...the size of the town where I grew up in Michigan...

...but nothing at all like what I knew back in my day!

To be continued....

Viking's Grand European River Cruise: Bratislava, Slovakia

Viking River Cruise, Day 13:  Bratislava, Slovakia (Facebook collage)

(click any collage to enlarge)

Are we really coming to the end of this cruise?!  Yes, we are.  And after just one day/stop in Austria (Vienna, last post), we now have one day/stop in Slovakia.  Formerly part of Czechoslovakia, it has been independent since 1993. Bratislava is its capital...and did we ever fall in love with it, in spite of being there for only 3 hours!

 You know the drill by now.  

Snap pictures from the boat, get on the bus and snap some more.

In the distance we could see the Bratislava Castle to which we were heading.

It has stood on one of the Little Carpathian hills since the 9th century.

And on a good day you can see Austria and Hungary from it.

See the snow?  It was still very cold.

John (top right) from Australia really got his education about "cold."

And maybe the young lad and lady in shorts also?

From the castle we went down the hill to the main square of the city for a walking tour,

starting with the St. Michael Gate, built ca. 1300.

It's the city's only gate that's been preserved from its medieval past.

The old town hall, from the 13th century, is nearby on the square.

It's one of the oldest stone buildings still standing in the city.

And while we saw other architecture to whet our appetite...

...it was all this crazy stuff that captivated us!

There are 4 "quirky statues" for which the city is known.

This one is Cumil (the Watcher)...and the most popular.

The French army soldier is also there (bottom right),

as is Schoener Naci (Beautiful Ignaz), an elegant symbol of the city life of the early 20th century.

The one we didn't see, except in the shop window, was Paparazzi with his camera.

Gotta love the competition, right?

After all, we tourists are the ones who keep such towns afloat financially, sad to say.

In spite of much delapidation, there was beauty.

 Gable stones.

Niches.

Statues.  Etc.

And more etcetera.  Impressions.

And because we had seen the steeple, we walked to find St. Martin's Cathedral from 1452.

We weren't able to enter because it was jam-packed with standing-room only at a late-morning service.

This was the Thursday before Easter, so we're assuming it was a Maundy Thursday service?

How can you not just eat them all up!

Don't you wonder what they'll grow up to be?

Every city has them...signs, bikes, trash.  We're all the same!

And transportation for your own tastes.

It was time to go back to our ship on the Danube, near the New Bridge from 1967.

"It is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane."  (Wiki)

All of that in the course of 3 hours.  No wonder we were hungry for lunch!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Next and last stop?  Budapest!  

But first...I'll be taking a 4-day break from image processing to help entertain dear friends from England who'll be visiting us tomorrow, Friday, till Monday afternoon:  Bill and wife Ange.  Bill is one of our photographer friends from our Shutterchance blog, where Astrid and I met virtually back in 2007.  It still amazes me that we've gained so many friends...through photography and our blogs...and have met so many of them!

Who knows.  Maybe one day we'll meet YOU!?!  :)