A Week in Belgium

Hanna is an American student studying in Germany as part of the CBYX (Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) scholarship exchange program. 

Why… are there bikes everywhere?

Stepping out of my car, I peered both ways down the street to see not automobiles driving, but rows of bicyclists. On the sidewalks, columns of bicycles crowded the bike racks. It was almost as if I had stepped into some alternate reality, where eco-friendly, health enthusiasts replaced the expanses of American parking lots. 

Wait, I’m just in Belgium.

On my fall break, I had the pleasure of visiting Belgium with my host family. Like any impressionable tourist who had done 10 minutes of superficial research on TripAdvisor, my only thoughts about the country were about which waffles to eat and how many chocolates to buy. 

Needless to say, I was not prepared for Belgium. 

The first thing I noticed, which I had already mentioned, was that athletic bikers replaced car drivers. Pause for a minute, and an 8-year-old cyclist is breezing past you at 70 km/hr with a sparkly unicorn helmet. Turn to the side, and an elderly man is sitting on a bike, showing calves that gym bros would trade their souls for.

One similarity I noticed between Belgium and Germany was the number of grandiose churches. These past several months, I have said “wow” more times than I can count. I can only wonder how much time, money, and energy was spent on crafting intricate details on marble columns or wooden molding. (Apparently Scandinavian minimalism was not a thing back then.) During this trip, I got to check off several well-known churches and artworks from my list, like Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child.

Although I came for Belgium's chocolate and waffles, I left with tired legs from endless walking and an awed impression from the historical legacy. And maybe in the future, I will come back to Belgium as one of the bicyclists.