Europe, I’ll See You Later

For our final send off from Europe, Olivia and I spent some time seeing Belgium. On Thursday we checked out of our room and took the train to Brussels. With plans set to visit two other cities the next two days, we were excited and wanted to take it easy. However, we had to see Brussels so we walked to the city center so that we could see the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula along with the Grand Place.

The Cathedral has been the site of many Belgium National Events, including funerals for kings, royal weddings, and Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1995.

The Grand Place is the most important tourist destination in Brussels and houses the city’s Town Hall and the Museum of the City of Brussels. The square was decorated for Christmas and there were several chocolate shops surrounding the area.

On Friday morning we took a 30 minute train ride to Ghent. Ghent has a very rich history and is the capital of the East Flanders province. We were excited to see the city's medieval architecture that remains intact and is remarkably well preserved and restored. We started our tour of Ghent with Saint Bavo Cathedral which houses the famous Ghent Altarpiece. This altarpiece is also known as the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, and has survived fire, looting, theft, and the panels have been taken during both world wars. After the Cathedral we saw the belfry, Saint Nicholas’ Church, Saint Michael’s Church, had a delicious hot chocolate, toured Gravensteen castle, and took in the architecture along the old Graslei harbour.

Saint Bavo Cathedral

Belfry Tower

View from St. Michael's Church

Castle of the Counts

View of Gent from the castle

We saved one of the best trips until the last day. On Saturday we took the hour train ride to Bruges, aka “The Venice of the North”. The tourist destination has attracted a lot of visitors and our visit was no different. We were able to get away from the crowd at the start by heading to a non-tourist breakfast location. The Tearoom Carpe Diem had some delicious Belgian waffles and coffee. From there we started off with the Church of Our Lady and one of the most well-known sites in Bruges, Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges. Both Olivia and I noted that the detail of this statue was outstanding and the two figures were incredibly lifelike.

Breakfast

Madonna of Bruges

From there we walked around the city center, taking in sites like the Quai of the Rosary, Burg Square, Grote Markt Square, the Belfry, and the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The Basilica was built between 1134 and 1157 and houses the relic of the Holy Blood, collected by Joseph of Arimathea and later brought from the Holy Land in 1150.

Onze Lieve Vrouw Kerk Tower

Sint Salvatorskathedraal

Quai of the Rosary

Basilica of the Holy Blood

Grote Markt

Belfry Tower

We finished up our tour of Bruges by walking to the outskirts of the city center to see some windmills and a Kruispoort gate. The city was incredibly easy to walk around and very small.

Europe has made an impact on me and I'm not saying goodbye. I'll be back and hopefully very soon. For now, I'll finish with a quote from John Hope Franklin:

“We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.”

Thank you for letting me share my journey.

Two Doors Close, Thousands Open

Shakespeares!!!!

In the mix of finishing two papers, two presentations, and preparing for two exams, it occurred to me that I am in my final week as a MBA student along with my final week and a half of my study abroad journey. Wow! How did this all go by so fast? I looked back at my decision to start the MBA program and thought of a quote by Carl Bard.

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”

My choice to return to school has started a brand new ending. It’s been the best decision I have ever made and provided me with some of these exciting memories:

• Making some terrific new friends
• Meeting someone special and realizing what’s truly important
• MIZZOU Tailgates
• A trip to the SEC Championship Game
• Fun happy hours with MBA Candidates
• Living in Europe for 2 months
• Visiting big European Cities; Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and Brussels
• And small ones; Maastricht, Trier, Monschau, and Wirschweiler
• Realizing how much friendly strangers can help
• Understanding the uniqueness of different cultures

Most importantly, I am confident that the experiences I have gone through over the last year-and-a-half will influence my decisions in the future. I now realize more than ever that there are so many opportunities to continue to learn and enjoy life. I am very excited to return home and see what the future has in store. I hope it will continue to be as good as it has been.

Missing the graduation banquet but Olivia surprised me
with decorations to celebrate!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

Last week was busy and stressful. My Wednesday was full of nearing deadlines and a big interview that I was really worried about and thought I had screwed up. Thursday taught me that I shouldn't worry about things so much and that it was a new where everything ended up working out. I did very well on a report in one of my classes, recieved a call to set up an in person interview and everything worked out nicely. So before the Christmas themed weekend, I was already in a jolly mood and the weekend visiting Christmas markets in two different cities and touring one beautiful Cathedral added to my mood.

Friday started with a visit to the Maastricht shopping district at 5:30pm to find out that all of the shops closed at 5pm. Yes, you read that right, on a Friday during December the shops were already closed. So Olivia and I decided to make the best of it and head over to the Christmas market to ride the big ferris wheel, do a little ice skating, eat some good food, and enjoy a couple drinks. The views from above were a nice site and well, I survived ice skating with only one fall so that was a victory in my book. (Don't forget that you can click on the pictures to look at all of them in a larger size.)

Saturday we traveled via bus for €16 to Köln, Germany aka Cologne for a day trip. This was a short 2 hour bus ride that went by quickly and allowed us to visit the fourth largest town in Germany for 7 hours. As we walked across the Rhine River, we had a beautiful view of the city enter and the massive Köloner Dom. Touring the Cathedral was a top priority on my list and is something that I’ve been excited to see before we even left for our study abroad adventure. Construction began on the Cathedral in 1248 to house the bones of the Three Magi along with the faithful followers from Europe as the Cologne Pilgrimage became one of the largest of the Middle Ages.

Out of all of the churches that we’ve seen in our European adventures, this was my favorite. The stained glass windows were very decadent, detailed, and had vibrant colors. 

From the Cathedral we walked through the four Christmas markets in the city center. The first one was the Weihnachtsmarkt that is in the shadow of the Cathedral. We enjoyed a hot chocolate with some Bailey’s and some caroling by the glee club. We also visited a lot of mini booths, and looked at what the locals were selling throughout the market. It was a very enjoyable time and a nice beginning to the Christmas season. The Heimet Der Heinzel had a large ice skating rink along with an interesting game that was similar to curling. The Markt der Engel and Rudolfplatz were the other two markets that each had unique shops and sites.

The video is one of the glee clubs songs. It's interesting to note the traditional Christmas carol that they are singing.

As we walked back to bus and over the river, we had a wonderful view. It capped off our trip. Overall it was a nice weekend but I’ll be excited to come home soon and celebrate Christmas with family and friends. Happy Holidays!