Zarza in Leuven

 There are so many reasons to visit Leuven, the old quaint historic university town. Add to the list of known monuments, university buildings, attractions and touristic spots, a visit to the restaurant Zarza and you are in for an unforgettable treat!
My high school and university friends joined me for dinner at Zarza last Saturday evening. Obviously, there would be so much talking and catching up going on that I did not even think of taking my camera.  Now of course, I regret it, especially to do justice to the "Folie Menu" which we all thoroughly enjoyed.
There is always the phone camera though. 
Our dessert was presented as a typical Belgian dessert: waffles from Brussels, strawberries from Flanders, cheese from Wallonia and sherbet mousse from the three regions to tie it all together.

www.zarza.be

Bondgenotenlaan 92

3000 Leuven

016 205005

The university library in Leuven/Louvain

 A visit to Leuven always feels like coming home since I spent a lot of time there as a student. I always like an excuse to go back.
 Above, the University Library at  Mgr. Ladeuzeplein. In picture 2 you also see the bug on the needle. I have talked about Jan Fabre's bug before: 
http://whatisbelgium.blogspot.be/2011/11/bug-on-needle-in-leuven.html

Wikipedia says the following on the subject of the Library:
"It was designed by the American architect Whitney Warren in a neo-Flemish-Renaissance style, and built between 1921 and 1928. Its monumental size is a reflection of the Allied victory against Germany, and it is one of the largest university buildings in the city. The library's collections were rebuilt with donations from all around the world, outraged by the barbaric act which it had suffered. In 1940, during the second German invasion of Leuven, the building largely burnt down, including its 900,000 manuscripts and books. The blaze is thought to have started in an exchange of fire between the two armies, rather than a deliberate act. The building was rebuilt after the war in accordance with Warren's design.The library's collections were again restored after the war, and by the fission in 1968 had approximately four million books. The split of the university into separate French-language and Dutch-language institutions in 1968 entailed a division of the central library holdings. This was done on the basis of alternate shelfmarks (except in cases where a work clearly belonged to one section or the other, e.g. was written by a member of faculty or bequeathed by an alumnus whose linguistic allegiance was clear). This gave rise to the factoid that encyclopedias and runs of periodicals were divided by volume between the two universities, but actually such series bear single shelfmarks".http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_University_of_Leuven_(1834–1968)

Erasmus and Fons

These two form a perfect pair. 

There is Fons, Fons Sapientiae. The once very popular Flemish first name Fons, combined with the Latin word Wisdom, is a  humorous reference to the university's motto 'Sedes Sapientiae' (the Seat of Wisdom). Fons is reading or studying a book while he is pouring a delicious Belgian beer into his head. The sculptor is Jef Claerbout. 

The second statue, by sculptor René Rosseel,  represents the scholar and humanist Erasmus (1467-1536) who was a lecturer at the University of Leuven but is mostly known as the author of Lof der Zotheid (the Praise of Folly), a critical essay on 16th century life and customs.

http://www.vanderkrogt.net/statues/object.php?webpage=ST&record=bevb007

City bikes

                                         last photo by Chris
City legs  and city birds, lead me today to "city bikes". 
Somehow, in student town Leuven (Louvain), bikes sometimes just happen to end up in the river Dijle. 
I have always known about it but was never able to actually see or photograph the phenomenon until this year because of exceptionally low tide, a consequence of riverbank works.
They must be either stolen bikes, thrown in the river after a short ride by the thief, or the result of student activity... students who might or who might not have had a bit too much Belgian beer.
The environment organization cleans up the river in Leuven twice a year and on the average they come up with 300-500 bikes.

Looking up

 So much happiness high up in the air in Leuven (Louvain). Next time I get an opportunity I plan on taking a stroll trough this magnificent university town to shoot for a posting with a title "never look down, only up!" or something like that.

Beer and bread in the university town

You readers know that very rarely I practice car-photography and yesterday morning, when I was driving into the city of Leuven (Louvain) next to the canal noticing a Jupiler truck in front of the Stella Artois facilities, I just had to shoot! 

"The history of Stella Artois is closely connected with the history of Leuven. The foundation of the university of Leuven in 1425, the digging of the canal Leuven-Rupel in the 18th century, two industrial revolutions and two world wars; all were events that played a fundamental part in the development of this beer town and... of the brewery Artois".
It also was the first cold morning and the Diestsestraat was empty, no clients in the bakeries yet.  This statue represents Dorre de Bakker, "a young, dynamic pre-war baker going to fetch the bread dough from his customers to put it in the oven. The statue shows that the bakers’ craft is a fine trade with a long tradition. It was made by Roland Rens at the request of the Association of Bakers and Pastry Cooks and the Friends of Baking and unveiled in 1979". 
http://www.mcon-mannheim.de/ipokrates/download/architectuurensculpturen_tcm20-26725.pdfhttp://www.leuven.be/en/tourism/visit-leuven/breweries/inbev-en-stella-artois/

Talent hunt

 
 
These youngsters are practicing for the Talent hunt, which took place this year for the 40th time in the Theater in Leuven.
http://www.talentenjacht.org/Talentenjacht/Welkom.html

Colorfully international

I was happy that this man did not have to think for a second when I asked him if it would be ok to take his photo. He said he was from Kenya, the States and from Gabon and that his attire came from Egypt and West Africa. His was the only stand on the market that day. I guess that his colleagues listened to the weather report because shortly after this shoot rain came and stayed for the day.

Mark Eyskens

 

Remember, a few weeks ago I wrote about chatting with the street cleaners and the girls preparing their bachelors party?  I continued my promenade through Leuven and realized, just a bit too late for my camera to be ready, that Mark Eyskens, the former Belgian Prime Minister, Minister of Economics and Minister of Foreign Affairs, was walking right beside me. 

I am sure that Mr Eyskens would have agreed on posing for This is Belgium but I decided against disturbing  him and left with these two shots of him walking swiftly through the Munstraat in Leuven, where he resides.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Eyskens
www.eyskens.com

Belgian weather

It is true that Belgian weather CAN be awful, wet, grey, depressing...Maybe you too, if you live in Brussels or surroundings, could use a break from the ongoing rain and cold weather... How about looking back at how cheerful everybody looked two weeks ago.

Bachelors parties

As announced in the previous post showing early rising street cleaners in Leuven, a little further down the street these girls were decorating what was to become a doggy flap door for a bachelors celebration that night. The portrait of the lucky groom is being held up proudly to the camera but I can only imagine what the poor man will be put through by this group of  girls when they finish up their creative endeavors.
The last picture is a bachelors party in the same town. It must be that time of the year.  Minnie is getting married to Minnie. Indeed, the two girls marrying each other are shown in the middle both wearing dotted hats in blue and red. 

Saturday morning street cleaning

Quiet deserted streets on Saturday morning in university town Leuven, where most are sleeping off their party-going exploits of the previous night or week while these youngsters are picking up trash! They belong to Comac, an activist youth movement, according to their website.
http://www.chengetheworld.be/nl/over-comac
A little further down the road, a few young ladies were creatively preparing a bachelor's party (pictures to follow in the next posting).

Two chefs

These two men are chefs of restaurants in the Muntstraat, Leuven. When shooting people, I often explain why I take their photograph, ask if they have any objection appearing on my "This is Belgium" blog and whether they have a suggestion or preference as to what the text should say.
These two said that the text should say simply " Friends". It was not until I was in front of my computer that I noticed that Kwinten's eyes were closed, which is why I add a solo picture of him.
Kwinten De Paepe is the chef of restaurant Trente. I had heard of him before because his cuisine has a solid reputation. Kwinten received the Flemish Primitives Motivation Award for Young Promising Chef. His restaurant has been described as a culinary delight, and Kwinten wants to set trends in cuisine and have others copy him, instead of the other way around. 
His friend Franco is the chef at Italian restaurant Pepenero across the street. Pepenero is the successor to Da Tonio, which for many years was an "institution" for locals and students in Leuven.  From my experience Pepenero is certainly a worthy successor.
www.trente.be
www.pepenero.be

Café Commerce

Café "Commerce" in Leuven is an example of an authentic café serving Belgian beers, a place with charm and simplicity - call it old fashioned if you prefer, a café known and appreciated by locals, the large student population and others alike. 

What I like about this place is the wooden paneling and furniture, the draft beer counter, the sidewalk chairs, the newspapers provided for the customers. 

Every little item is important to make the picture complete.
Café "Commerce" is located on the square with the beetle on the needle (see posting of November 4).

A bug on a needle in Leuven.

"In the year 2000, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven celebrated its 575th anniversary. To express its connection with the city of Leuven, the university decided to present the city with a gift. Jan Fabre was commissioned to create a sculpture. Totem was unveiled in October 2004. It is a beetle, measuring 2.7 metres across, that is speared to the sky on a needle that stretches to a height of 23 metres. Totem is placed on Ladeuzeplein, the square right in front of the central university library, the university's pre-eminent icon of knowledge and science.
A totem is a meeting point as well as a symbol of a different reality, beyond human perception. That way, Totem emphasises the relationship between art and science, because imagination is indispensable for both good art and good science".
http://www.angelos.be/EN/works/7
Since this is about Leuven, I decided to show in picture 2 a progress report on the city works: slowly but surely...

The little red caboose at the Leuven fair

(photos taken by i-phone)

My blogger friend Genie author of fascinating "Paris and Beyond" http://www.blogger.com/profile/12758801373365481655,  challenged me with her comment on my previous "color purple" posting.  This is what Genie said : " you have had a colorful week so far... yellow and now purple. I can't wait to see what is next!"
I feel like I have no choice but to come up with something "red". 

In one of my very favorite Belgian towns - Leuven, known for its ancient university and modern student population,  now totally uprooted by city works, I found a red caboose. 

Leuven has a magnificent town hall, built between 1448 and 1469. I will certainly be back with one or more separate postings on the subject.

Every year in September, Leuven becomes home to a fair or kermesse in French and kermis in Dutch,  to the delight of the large youthful segment of the population,  especially since the new school year starts with a day off in honor of the fair.

The fair has bumper cars, a ghost palace, frites (french fries), waffles and smoutebollen (a rather greasy doughnut type of food which one eats in a paper bag like fries), all kinds of noisy rides,...

I was thrilled when I saw the  little red caboose which made me think of Genie but also reminded me of a children's book which I must have read a zillion times to my kids because it was their all time favorite. The book by Marian Potter tells the story of a little red caboose at the back of the train and its aspiration to become as strong as the engine at the front.