Advertisement
Published: February 22nd 2009
EU Parliament
In this picture is Javier Solana who is the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy for the EU. He's one of the most important people in the EU.Well, it's official. My internship is half over. I can't even believe it! I feel like I just got here! Though I have two extra weeks in Europe after my internship, I can't believe my time here is going by so quickly.
This was another great week in Brussels. Since it was only a 4 day week because of President's Day, the week went by very quickly. On Wednesday a couple of the other interns and myself attended a conference on the Lisbon Treaty at the EU Parliament with 'stagiers' (the cool sounding European word for 'intern') from the EU Commission and the EU Parliament. The Lisbon Treaty is a sort of constitution for the European Union (though they don't like to call it a constitution) that has been proposed and failed twice, but is on round three. For the Lisbon Treaty to come into effect all 27 member states have to approve of it. The first time it was shot down in referendums in France and the Netherlands, the second time it was shot down by the Irish in a referendum. The conference was incredibly interesting and on the panel was a former Prime Minister from Ireland, the Ambassador
Lisbon Treaty Conference
Panelists included: Ambassador from the Czech Republic to the EU, an MEP from the UK, Former Irish Prime Minister, Secretary General of the EU Commission, and an MEP from Spain. to the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU, a Member of the European Parliament from the UK and one from Spain, the Secretary General of the EU Commission, and a well-respected EU journalist.
On Saturday, Michael and I decided to go to Ghent, a beautiful Medieval Belgian city about 30 minutes by train outside of Brussels. We didn't really know what to do when we got there, so we made our way to the city center (always a good idea) and bought a little guide book. We looked quickly through the guidebook to see what was close that we wanted to see.
The first thing we did was visit the Cathedral of Saint Bavo. This cathedral is home to the famous Ghent Altarpiece called "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" by Jan Van Eyck and his brother Hubert. This is an incredible altarpiece with numerous panels depicting everyone from Adam and Eve to God himself. Here's a link to a picture of it since personal photographs were not allowed: http://www.artbible.info/art/large/317.html
We were very surprised to find that there is a magnificent cathedral on almost every other block in the city center in Ghent. So,
we visited a couple more and then took a nice stroll along the canal.
As a side note, I would just like to take a brief moment to emphasize the dangers of cobblestones. While strolling along the canal, just after Michael had complained of loose cobblestone, I stepped on a loose stone and stubbed my tow. (I had open-toed flats on.) It didn't seem like that big of a deal and I continued walking without hardly a pause, but as Michael asked me if I was okay I noticed my foot was bleeding. I didn't hurt, but as we continued walking I notice my foot started to feel wet and saw that (sorry for being so gruesome) my shoe was filling up with blood. Michael got incredibly grossed out as we walked to try to find a bathroom, a napkin, or something to clean up my foot with. Luckily, for some odd reason, I had a feeling I should take band-aids with me before I left my apartment that day. So, we stopped in the local meat market and I cleaned my foot, bandaged it up, and we continued our travel. Thus, when in Europe, beware of loose cobblestones!
Ghent's Belfry
Built in the 14th Century. Next, we ventured to the Gravensteen of the "Castle of the Counts". The castle has been reconstructed a number of times, and in its current form most dates back to the 12th century. I absolutely loved this castle and you are even given a video guide as you walk through with a sort of soap opera like story that had been filmed in the castle to show was life was like in the castle long ago. I loved it!
After exploring Ghent, Michael and I went back to Brussels to rest up and get ready for our big night at AutoWorld! The Cinquantenaire Arch that I've talked about in some of my previous posts has three museums connected to it, one of them being AutoWorld. Just as it sounds, AutoWorld is a museum that houses over 300 cars. On one or two Saturdays a month it is turned into a club. We met up with some of our friends from Missouri who are studying here and danced late into the night!
After finally waking up on Sunday and finally getting out of bed (it had been a really long week), Michael, another intern Chris and I went
Saint Bavo Cathedral
Home of the very famous "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" Altarpiece by Jan Van Eyck, that I unfortunately was not able to take a picture of. to the Musee des Beaux Arts of Brussels. This museum is actually composed of two museums the Museum of Ancient Art and the Museum of Modern Art. I have posted a picture of art from each of the museums: a Salvador Dali painting from the Museum of Modern Art and Jacques Louis David's 'The Death of Marat' from the Museum of Ancient Art. Both incredibly different pieces from different eras that can both be seen at the same museum!
We spent the rest of the evening walking around the Grand Place and had dinner at a delicious Chinese restaurant. My first time to eat any kind of Asian food since I've been here...delicious.
That pretty much sums up this past week in the life of a Kansas girl in Brussels. I am headed to Dublin next weekend! I can't tell you how incredibly excited I am! I get to see a bunch of my friends that live there and re-explore one of my most favorite cities! I can't wait!
Have a great week and please continue to send me messages! I love hearing from all of you!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.105s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0654s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Ann Anhalt
non-member comment
Hi
I've been reading your blogs and great that you are enjoying your time in Brussels. We will be leaving from Des Moines in 17 days for London. Will be in Brussels March 15. See our website re: our travels: www.drakesmart.com Have a great time in Dublin.