Situated in the oldest city in the Netherlands, Radboud University enrolls nearly 20,000 students and is known for its strong focus on research. Among its many values, the university is also affiliated with the Roman Catholic religion. Because of this, the university adheres by all religious days, giving students the opportunity to observe the day if their faith inclines them to. Thursday, May 14 and Friday, May 15, the university closed for Ascension Day giving the students (myself included) a long weekend. Though I was at first disheartened to hear I would be unable to continue on with starting my research so early in my trip, this weekend turned out to be a wonderful adventure for me! From Amsterdam to Belgium, I spent my days off soaking up what I could of the nearby locations.
Thursday morning rolled around and I found myself navigating the train systems yet again. Amsterdam was beautiful, as always, and probably my favorite city I have seen both in Europe and the States. Elegant buildings and quaint houses placed in the midst of city buildings, trees and greenery on every corner, canals running under bridges and next to main roads… It’s a truly beautiful city. I spent my day visiting Jordan for a softer feel of the city and some overly indulgent shopping, and then back to the city heart for the night in my hotel.
Ghent was the next city on my list, and a city that I had no real love for. I had arrived early in the morning, and by mid-afternoon I had seen all there was to see of the city. The main square is small, and the main tourist attractions are placed conveniently close by. It was not that the city was not beautiful, however, but it was instead the culture I faced. Perhaps it was tourists rather than the Flemish–I have no real way of being sure–but I found people to be pushy, rude, and snappy. Asking questions was like telling someone you wished to harm their first born child. People did not take kindly to it. By the time I finished viewing the few sites there were to see, I found myself eager to leave.
Bruges on the other hand… Bruges is up there with Amsterdam in terms of one of the most beautiful cities I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. How easy it is to get happily lost wandering the narrow streets, viewing the colorful townhouses, listening to the clopping of horses shoes on tourist excursions, peering into quaint shop windows, and laughing with the broken English of the natives. Bruges was a city pulled straight from a fairy tale. Ivy covered sides of buildings and church bells rang, canals babbled under bridges and cobblestone streets tripped you back to reality as you got lost in the city’s magic. I spent a full two days in Bruges, and it wasn’t enough to fully appreciate and comprehend the beauty of this little piece of history.
But alas, Sunday arrived and my train took off after a sun soaked afternoon of Belgian beer and chocolates. I found myself four hours away from returning to Nijmegen, and, headphones in, watched the flat countryside roll past my window.
I imagined myself to be a bit disheartened to arrive back in Nijmegen after my adventures, but I was wrong yet again. I forgot the magic that this city has as well. And even as I climbed into my own bed at night, I was happy to be “home.”