I can't believe this trip is already over! :(
All I can say is that I don't regret anything on this trip at all. This is easily the most fun I could have had this summer, and I learned a lot more than I ever could have in a class setting.
I'm very glad that this group of people was pretty awesome, too. I heard that in previous years, people didn't really mesh well together until the last week or so. I don't think I could imagine being in a group like that! I've definitely had memories that I won't forget anytime soon here, and I've made lots of friends.
If you're reading this and you have a free summer sometime in the future, consider doing this program! I guarantee that you'll have fun.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Day 23: Antwerp
Today we took a train to Antwerp, the major port of Belgium. It was also raining really hard today! NOOO. :(
Our first stop was the Antwerp carillon, an immense tower built by the city. This was also a carillon that had been burned during the wars. Fires and carillons, man…
The upper part of the tower was renewed completely and used to be open to the public! However, a Romeo and Juliet-esque situation occurred, and a young couple flung themselves off the tower to their deaths. Young love makes you stupid, you guys. Wasn’t that the lesson of the book? Because that’s what I got out of it.
There is a wooden tower used for storing the counterweights. It is run by machinery now, but it was a manual process up to 1994. They are considering returning it to manual, and there are apparently a lot of volunteers, which is exciting!
The music box used for the time melodies was installed in 1660 and is one of the oldest originals in the world. The melody is changed once a year during Easter.
We then visited Our Lady’s Cathedral, a breathtaking cathedral with many paintings by Rubens. It was very fascinating and astounding to see these paintings in person.
Our last event of the trip was to take a boat tour around Antwerp’s port. The guide was giving a tour in three languages: Dutch, English, and German. However, he stopped speaking English at some point, so I’ll write down what I do have from his guide.
Antwerp’s port two oldest docks date back to 1811. King William I opened these, and one of these is now a museum. We also passed by some ports that Napoleon had decided to dig out in order to facilitate quick ship movement and transport, as well as to keep the water at the same level. There is a canal connecting Antwerp’s port to the industrial port of Liege, known as the Albert Canal. Some docks have a roof above the water to handle ships even when it rains (like today).
And that’s all I have! Seriously, boat driver? This was a three-hour boat tour! -___-
Anyway, today was our last day of class! I’ll have to put up my closing remarks soon!
Our first stop was the Antwerp carillon, an immense tower built by the city. This was also a carillon that had been burned during the wars. Fires and carillons, man…
The upper part of the tower was renewed completely and used to be open to the public! However, a Romeo and Juliet-esque situation occurred, and a young couple flung themselves off the tower to their deaths. Young love makes you stupid, you guys. Wasn’t that the lesson of the book? Because that’s what I got out of it.
 |
| I will say, though. There is nothing more terrifying than accidentally tripping and falling into this fence. |
The music box used for the time melodies was installed in 1660 and is one of the oldest originals in the world. The melody is changed once a year during Easter.
We then visited Our Lady’s Cathedral, a breathtaking cathedral with many paintings by Rubens. It was very fascinating and astounding to see these paintings in person.
Our last event of the trip was to take a boat tour around Antwerp’s port. The guide was giving a tour in three languages: Dutch, English, and German. However, he stopped speaking English at some point, so I’ll write down what I do have from his guide.
Antwerp’s port two oldest docks date back to 1811. King William I opened these, and one of these is now a museum. We also passed by some ports that Napoleon had decided to dig out in order to facilitate quick ship movement and transport, as well as to keep the water at the same level. There is a canal connecting Antwerp’s port to the industrial port of Liege, known as the Albert Canal. Some docks have a roof above the water to handle ships even when it rains (like today).
And that’s all I have! Seriously, boat driver? This was a three-hour boat tour! -___-
Anyway, today was our last day of class! I’ll have to put up my closing remarks soon!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Day 22: Leuven University and InBev Brewery
Today we visited Leuven University to learn of its history and some of its current programs.
The Catholic University of Leuven was founded on December 9, 1425 by the will of Pope Martinus V. It is one of the oldest existing Catholic universities and the oldest university in the Low Countries. The university is modeled after the University of Paris.
In the 16th century, there was a flowering in the university with the rise of humanism, leading to an increased interest in going back to original texts. The Collegium Trilingue was thus established in 1517, providing classes on the Hebrew, Latin, and Greek languages. The University of Leuven also became a training center for Roman Catholic scholars. This attracted many scholars, such as Erasmus and Pope Adrian VI.
In 1783, Minckelars discovered the suitability of coal gas. The university was put under tremendous pressure for state interference, and the French banned the university in 1797. In 1816, the university was reopened as a state university, founded by William I of the Netherlands. Belgian bishops thus founded their own Roman Catholic university in 1834 in Mechelen, though this location later changed.
The university hall and library have burned down twice. The first time was in 1914, and over 300,000 books were lost. The second time was in 1940.
The University of Leuven actually has many branches in other locations. An institution was established in Congo, which was a Belgian colony at the time. After gaining independence, this became the University de Kinshasa in 1971. A campus was also founded in Kortrijk in 1965.
Leuven University was solely a French-speaking university until 1911, when the first courses in Dutch were offered. Later, in 1936, courses became analogue and were taught in both languages. In 1968, the university split into two independent universities…something that became legally official in 1970. The Dutch-speaking campus was situated in Leuven, while the French-speaking campus was located in Ottigans.
Our next stop was the InBev brewery, where beers such as Stella Artois, Jupiler, and Budweiser are currently made. We donned these awesome orange construction vests because…uh, I don’t know, actually.
The beer we know as Stella Artois actually precedes its name. This beer was first brewed in 1366, while the name Stella Artois was established in 1770. This brewery later joined Jupiler, forming the company InBev. Budweiser later followed. InBev produces 400 million hectoliters of beer per year. That’s a lot of beer…
Beer is formed by transforming starch into sugar and adding yeast and hops. These two ingredients are the primary contributors for aroma, taste, and color of beer. It’s obviously a lot more complicated than that, though: the temperature throughout the many processes can also affect the color, aroma, and taste dramatically. For example, if the hops are dried at 80 degrees, the beer it is used for will be the color of Stella Artois. If it is dried at 100 degrees, the beer will take on the color of a Leffe Blond. If the hops are dried at temperatures higher than 130 degrees, caramelization will occur, resulting in the very dark beers. Water is also a very important ingredient for beer: for every liter of beer, you need four liters of water. Water is used for cleaning as well as for the beer itself. However, different kinds of water need to be used for its different purposes: water has to be considered “soft” for cleaning, while water cannot have iron in it if it is being used for the beer itself.
There are two kinds of fermentation that can occur, depending on the weight of the yeast used. If the yeast is lighter than the beer, fermentation happens at 60-20 degrees. This is known as top fermentation and forms beers such as Leffe. If the yeast is heavier than the beer, a process known as bottle fermentation occurs. This fermentation can only happen in temperatures lower than 15 degrees, and forms many of the lighter beers and pilsners that we are familiar with.
After fermentation, the sugar turns into alcohol. Carbon dioxide and heat are added, and the base of beer is formed within ten days. The yeast is then removed and the temperature is lowered to 7 degrees for four days. After this, the temperature is lowered to -1 degrees and the beer is filtered.
It was actually very loud in the brewery due to all the machinery, so I couldn't hear everything he was saying. If you want to learn more about the art of beer brewing, you can look at this helpful diagram made by The Oatmeal.
The factory was extremely hot, and it was a very warm day in Leuven as well. Fortunately, we were all greeted by a bar serving Stella Artois on tap for free at the end of the tour. Hooray!
The Catholic University of Leuven was founded on December 9, 1425 by the will of Pope Martinus V. It is one of the oldest existing Catholic universities and the oldest university in the Low Countries. The university is modeled after the University of Paris.
In the 16th century, there was a flowering in the university with the rise of humanism, leading to an increased interest in going back to original texts. The Collegium Trilingue was thus established in 1517, providing classes on the Hebrew, Latin, and Greek languages. The University of Leuven also became a training center for Roman Catholic scholars. This attracted many scholars, such as Erasmus and Pope Adrian VI.
In 1783, Minckelars discovered the suitability of coal gas. The university was put under tremendous pressure for state interference, and the French banned the university in 1797. In 1816, the university was reopened as a state university, founded by William I of the Netherlands. Belgian bishops thus founded their own Roman Catholic university in 1834 in Mechelen, though this location later changed.
The university hall and library have burned down twice. The first time was in 1914, and over 300,000 books were lost. The second time was in 1940.
The University of Leuven actually has many branches in other locations. An institution was established in Congo, which was a Belgian colony at the time. After gaining independence, this became the University de Kinshasa in 1971. A campus was also founded in Kortrijk in 1965.
Leuven University was solely a French-speaking university until 1911, when the first courses in Dutch were offered. Later, in 1936, courses became analogue and were taught in both languages. In 1968, the university split into two independent universities…something that became legally official in 1970. The Dutch-speaking campus was situated in Leuven, while the French-speaking campus was located in Ottigans.
Our next stop was the InBev brewery, where beers such as Stella Artois, Jupiler, and Budweiser are currently made. We donned these awesome orange construction vests because…uh, I don’t know, actually.
The beer we know as Stella Artois actually precedes its name. This beer was first brewed in 1366, while the name Stella Artois was established in 1770. This brewery later joined Jupiler, forming the company InBev. Budweiser later followed. InBev produces 400 million hectoliters of beer per year. That’s a lot of beer…
Beer is formed by transforming starch into sugar and adding yeast and hops. These two ingredients are the primary contributors for aroma, taste, and color of beer. It’s obviously a lot more complicated than that, though: the temperature throughout the many processes can also affect the color, aroma, and taste dramatically. For example, if the hops are dried at 80 degrees, the beer it is used for will be the color of Stella Artois. If it is dried at 100 degrees, the beer will take on the color of a Leffe Blond. If the hops are dried at temperatures higher than 130 degrees, caramelization will occur, resulting in the very dark beers. Water is also a very important ingredient for beer: for every liter of beer, you need four liters of water. Water is used for cleaning as well as for the beer itself. However, different kinds of water need to be used for its different purposes: water has to be considered “soft” for cleaning, while water cannot have iron in it if it is being used for the beer itself.
There are two kinds of fermentation that can occur, depending on the weight of the yeast used. If the yeast is lighter than the beer, fermentation happens at 60-20 degrees. This is known as top fermentation and forms beers such as Leffe. If the yeast is heavier than the beer, a process known as bottle fermentation occurs. This fermentation can only happen in temperatures lower than 15 degrees, and forms many of the lighter beers and pilsners that we are familiar with.
After fermentation, the sugar turns into alcohol. Carbon dioxide and heat are added, and the base of beer is formed within ten days. The yeast is then removed and the temperature is lowered to 7 degrees for four days. After this, the temperature is lowered to -1 degrees and the beer is filtered.
It was actually very loud in the brewery due to all the machinery, so I couldn't hear everything he was saying. If you want to learn more about the art of beer brewing, you can look at this helpful diagram made by The Oatmeal.
The factory was extremely hot, and it was a very warm day in Leuven as well. Fortunately, we were all greeted by a bar serving Stella Artois on tap for free at the end of the tour. Hooray!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Day 21: Leuven
Today we bid farewell to Oostende and its beautiful oceans. We took a train to Leuven, a medieval city that is currently a college student town (similar to Berkeley, I suppose).
Our tour guide, Patrick Pasteure, said that it was a medieval city due to the fact that it had a church and town hall, and that the streets all radiate from the center. The main street links the railway station to the town hall (although this is actually a fairly new road). You can tell which streets are from which period by how they move: streets that are very straight are usually not from the medieval period, as medieval streets had a tendency to follow the geography. This city has maintained its basic shape from where its medieval walls once stood as well. The bourgeois would live in mansions where the current city center is today, and the poorer folk would live in the outskirts. Even so, Leuven is a pretty small city in comparison to some of the others in Belgium.
Leuven’s main industry is the brewery (currently home to Stella Artois, Jupiler, and Budweiser). It has changed a lot in the last twenty years with many commemorative buildings to World War I. It should also be noted that Leuven was a city subject to bombing, and that almost all of the buildings were completely destroyed. Some original structures remain, but most of the buildings are reconstructed.
Leuven has a very interesting history to it. In the late 14th century, Leuven and Brussels were essentially competing for a duke’s attention. The city that the duke chose would become the capital of Belgium. Leuven was originally the stronger competitor, as it had one of the largest town halls in the world. However, two mistakes were made, both revolving around plans to make a cathedral of epic proportions.
An interesting thing to note is that the town hall and church are right across from each other. The church and state constantly competed for power. The town hall is shaped like a shrine, as it keeps the symbolic source of power inside: the liberties of the city. The church also has a shrine on the inside, also containing elements that define the city. The shrines of each building are also intended to defy the structure of the other building. Hah! Both the basic structure of the buildings survived the bombings of World War I. The details, however, did not. Many of the details seen on these buildings are reconstructed.
We got to go inside the church as well. The church of Leuven is an example of late Gothic architecture and would have been painted in the Middle Ages. This church is part of what was meant to be the huge cathedral in the 14th century. Patrick drew our attention to a very old version of a familiar painting.
It’s The Last Supper! Prior to this trip, I actually had no idea that other artists had thought to depict this scene. Shows how much I know about art, I guess.
This particular painting of The Last Supper by Dirk Bouts is an example of “primitive” Flemish art. There is a strong emphasis on decoration and detail, as was typical of the Baroque period. This painting is exceptionally clear compared to other Flemish primitives, but it is not entirely “natural” at the same time. The painting manages to both attain and transcend realism. This painting is also very serene in comparison to the dramatic take of the Last Supper painting we are most familiar with.
We then visited the University of Leuven, a prestigious part of the town. Originally, its only involvement with the church was that the church had helped with founding the university, but the University of Leuven is now a Catholic university due to the Catholic revival after the French Revolution. The present university is very much like its 19th century counterpart. The university also has a church, which is of late Gothic/early Roman style.
Within Leuven, there was a movement of women wanting to live a devout life without taking the vows of sisterhood. This movement spread within cities and churches throughout Europe, and was met with opposition by the church. Thus was the beginning of the Beguinage, an area that was completely rebuilt in the 17th century and still exists today.
Something interesting I learned today: the Belgians actually traveled to and had contact with China! In the 17th century, European missionaries (mostly Jesuits) went to China to convert their population. Their strategy was to convert the emperor, so they invested a lot of time into studying the Chinese language and classic literature. A strong interest in Chinese civilization developed as a result, contributing to the 18th century enlightenment. A man from Belgium actually ended up becoming one of the heads of the Chinese court. An astrolabe monument is dedicated to him.
It never occurred to me that Europe might have traveled throughout Asia and contacted the people there. It makes more sense now, considering that they are closer and on the same continent. You only ever hear of Asian contact with America in school. I guess that’s what an ethnocentric education does to a person.
We concluded our tour of Leuven by visiting the carillon, which is actually a Belgian instrument! If you go to UC Berkeley and you don’t know what a carillon is, something is clearly very wrong with you. Just so you know.
The carillon is located in the central university library, considered the “most American” building in Leuven. The library had originally been built in World War I, but was destroyed by German soldiers. There was a strong wave of solidarity to Belgium and Leuven after the destruction, and the library was rebuilt with the funds from 300 American universities, including ours!
There are many interesting statues along the front of this building. The center statue is of the Virgin Mary in armor killing the German eagle, and the corners of the building have animals that represent the elite countries. There are 48 stars in total on the clockwork, representing the 48 contiguous States of America.
The carillon itself was invented 500 years ago. After World War I, the carillon became very popular in the United States, as the Germans had destroyed ten. The reconstruction of the carillon in Leuven was supposed to be canceled, but Herbert Hoover, a man who brought aid to the starving Belgian population, paid for its reconstruction. When the building was bombed again during World War II, a woman from UC Riverside visited and raised enough funds—around 300,000 euros—to save the tower.
The clockwork music played by carillons was originally meant for the purpose of time, not entertainment. However, more bells were added, increasing the range of the instrument and increasing its capacity to play other songs. More bells were added to this particular carillon as a result of a competition between Belgium and the Netherlands. There were originally 48 bells to represent the 48 States of America at the time. The standard number of bells was 49, and Leuven’s carillon eventually grew to have 63 bells! However, it was beat out by Berlin when a carillon with 68 bells was constructed.
The carillon is very sensitive to temperature and is adjusted with the metal cords in the playing room. The bells are fixed and cannot be changed. It is played in a similar fashion to piano, but with foot pedals to play some of the lower (and thus larger) bells. We had the privilege of hearing the carillon player perform a ragtime piece, some Gershwin, and a popular slow song.
The person who will be my roommate this upcoming year took the carillon class. Maybe I will too, one of these days!
Our tour guide, Patrick Pasteure, said that it was a medieval city due to the fact that it had a church and town hall, and that the streets all radiate from the center. The main street links the railway station to the town hall (although this is actually a fairly new road). You can tell which streets are from which period by how they move: streets that are very straight are usually not from the medieval period, as medieval streets had a tendency to follow the geography. This city has maintained its basic shape from where its medieval walls once stood as well. The bourgeois would live in mansions where the current city center is today, and the poorer folk would live in the outskirts. Even so, Leuven is a pretty small city in comparison to some of the others in Belgium.
Leuven’s main industry is the brewery (currently home to Stella Artois, Jupiler, and Budweiser). It has changed a lot in the last twenty years with many commemorative buildings to World War I. It should also be noted that Leuven was a city subject to bombing, and that almost all of the buildings were completely destroyed. Some original structures remain, but most of the buildings are reconstructed.
Leuven has a very interesting history to it. In the late 14th century, Leuven and Brussels were essentially competing for a duke’s attention. The city that the duke chose would become the capital of Belgium. Leuven was originally the stronger competitor, as it had one of the largest town halls in the world. However, two mistakes were made, both revolving around plans to make a cathedral of epic proportions.
- The cathedral was built on a foundation of marshland, which proved to be a very poor foundation in general.
- The citizens of Leuven did not realize how much the cathedral project would cost and could not afford their overambitious plans.
An interesting thing to note is that the town hall and church are right across from each other. The church and state constantly competed for power. The town hall is shaped like a shrine, as it keeps the symbolic source of power inside: the liberties of the city. The church also has a shrine on the inside, also containing elements that define the city. The shrines of each building are also intended to defy the structure of the other building. Hah! Both the basic structure of the buildings survived the bombings of World War I. The details, however, did not. Many of the details seen on these buildings are reconstructed.
We got to go inside the church as well. The church of Leuven is an example of late Gothic architecture and would have been painted in the Middle Ages. This church is part of what was meant to be the huge cathedral in the 14th century. Patrick drew our attention to a very old version of a familiar painting.
It’s The Last Supper! Prior to this trip, I actually had no idea that other artists had thought to depict this scene. Shows how much I know about art, I guess.
This particular painting of The Last Supper by Dirk Bouts is an example of “primitive” Flemish art. There is a strong emphasis on decoration and detail, as was typical of the Baroque period. This painting is exceptionally clear compared to other Flemish primitives, but it is not entirely “natural” at the same time. The painting manages to both attain and transcend realism. This painting is also very serene in comparison to the dramatic take of the Last Supper painting we are most familiar with.
 |
| But then again, I guess there is more potential for books and movies from this version, huh? |
Within Leuven, there was a movement of women wanting to live a devout life without taking the vows of sisterhood. This movement spread within cities and churches throughout Europe, and was met with opposition by the church. Thus was the beginning of the Beguinage, an area that was completely rebuilt in the 17th century and still exists today.
Something interesting I learned today: the Belgians actually traveled to and had contact with China! In the 17th century, European missionaries (mostly Jesuits) went to China to convert their population. Their strategy was to convert the emperor, so they invested a lot of time into studying the Chinese language and classic literature. A strong interest in Chinese civilization developed as a result, contributing to the 18th century enlightenment. A man from Belgium actually ended up becoming one of the heads of the Chinese court. An astrolabe monument is dedicated to him.
It never occurred to me that Europe might have traveled throughout Asia and contacted the people there. It makes more sense now, considering that they are closer and on the same continent. You only ever hear of Asian contact with America in school. I guess that’s what an ethnocentric education does to a person.
We concluded our tour of Leuven by visiting the carillon, which is actually a Belgian instrument! If you go to UC Berkeley and you don’t know what a carillon is, something is clearly very wrong with you. Just so you know.
The carillon is located in the central university library, considered the “most American” building in Leuven. The library had originally been built in World War I, but was destroyed by German soldiers. There was a strong wave of solidarity to Belgium and Leuven after the destruction, and the library was rebuilt with the funds from 300 American universities, including ours!
 |
| Go Bears! :) |
The carillon itself was invented 500 years ago. After World War I, the carillon became very popular in the United States, as the Germans had destroyed ten. The reconstruction of the carillon in Leuven was supposed to be canceled, but Herbert Hoover, a man who brought aid to the starving Belgian population, paid for its reconstruction. When the building was bombed again during World War II, a woman from UC Riverside visited and raised enough funds—around 300,000 euros—to save the tower.
The clockwork music played by carillons was originally meant for the purpose of time, not entertainment. However, more bells were added, increasing the range of the instrument and increasing its capacity to play other songs. More bells were added to this particular carillon as a result of a competition between Belgium and the Netherlands. There were originally 48 bells to represent the 48 States of America at the time. The standard number of bells was 49, and Leuven’s carillon eventually grew to have 63 bells! However, it was beat out by Berlin when a carillon with 68 bells was constructed.
The carillon is very sensitive to temperature and is adjusted with the metal cords in the playing room. The bells are fixed and cannot be changed. It is played in a similar fashion to piano, but with foot pedals to play some of the lower (and thus larger) bells. We had the privilege of hearing the carillon player perform a ragtime piece, some Gershwin, and a popular slow song.
The person who will be my roommate this upcoming year took the carillon class. Maybe I will too, one of these days!
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