It’s not raining! I repeat, it’s not raining in Leuven. The sun is shining brightly for the first time since we’ve been here. It is 50 degrees and I can walk around in shorts and a t-shirt. Sorry for the people back home; I saw that it is 18 in Clifton Park with no real sign of when the cold is going to stop. It’s supposed to snow tonight, but then it is going to warm up and rain again tomorrow.
Alex, Matt, Jerry, and I went to Waterloo yesterday. It was really cool to see the place where the future of Europe was decided in three days. Had Napoleon won, there would have been no World War I, World War II, or the European Union. Everyone would be speaking French and Europe would be a much different place. I’ve been trying to load the pictures, but the website is being a jerk so I’ll have to wait.
When we got to Waterloo in the afternoon, we decided we needed to find a place for lunch. There’s really not much to the town of Waterloo. A few shops, a church, the Wellington museum, and a few restaurants. We walked for about a mile to find a Pizza Hut where we got the lunch buffet. I was very proud of myself that I was able to order lunch in French. We spent about 2 hours there just drinking fountain soda because we haven’t had any since we got here.
After lunch, we walked back to the center of town to go to the Wellington Museum. It was interesting to see where Wellington spent the nights of the battle. They have most of his personal items, like his overcoat and his swords. The tour lasted about an hour and then we had to wait for the bus to take us to the Butte de Lion. At the battlefield, there is an enormous hill erected where the Prince of Orange was wounded. On top of the hill is a 28 ton lion that is looking towards France. The lion is supposed to be a symbol of peace as well as a warning for France to stay out of Belgium.
The walk up to the lion was a tough one. There are 226 very steep stairs. However, once you get to the top, the views of the battlefield are incredible. You can see where the French had their camps and where the major fighting took place between the French and the British/Dutch. Also, you can see where Blucher and the Prussians came to save the day for the British. Blucher was 73 and wounded when he led the Prussian army into battle against the French. There is also a panorama and a wax museum at the Butte de Lion. There is a Napoleon Museum to the south of the battlefield, but we didn’t have time to see it. We can go back within the next year with the pass we bought to see the museum though.
After seeing the battlefield we headed back to Leuven for the night. In all, it was a good day and it was something that I’m glad I had the chance to see. Today, we are just taking it easy in Leuven. There’s a karaoke bar that we’re all going to tonight. Tomorrow, we are going to rest before the Superbowl. On Monday we are taking a trip to the U.S. Mission to the EU. Tuesday is back to work for two days. Classes are on Thursday and then I think we are going to Switzerland on Friday for the weekend.
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