Door Carving at the Beguinages of Leuven

A small wooden carving is located on the entrance door to the Sint-Jan-de-Doperkerk church in the Beguinage of Leuven.  If you look closely you will see that it is of a Madonna and child with the child at the mother's breast. This is a very early carving since after the 14th century, the Roman church did not allow such explicit depictions of the Madonna and child.

The Beguines of Leuven

During the 12th century in Europe, towns were being established as populations concentrated on commerce and industry instead of sustenance.The period of "beginae indisciplinatae": women inspired by the mystical movement of the 12th century, retired from the world. During this period, these women formed small groups, to create a more stimulating atmosphere for a religious life. They did not want to live contemplative lives in the desert, but among other women near a church or monastery. 

Sint-Jan-de-Doperkerk Church in the Beguinage of Leuven

Beguines did not make perpetual vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, as classical monks and nuns did. Their promises were only temporal and poverty was not necessary: a beguine had her own possessions and her own income. She only promised celibacy and obedience as long as she remained in the beguinage. She was free to leave the convent at any moment, although she mostly had to give up her rights on her house in the beguinage upon leaving. The women created small towns near rivers. The Beguinage of Leuven, at one time, had nearly 300 members. 

Street in the Beguinage of Leuven

River running through the Beguinage. Water was needed for drinking, cooking and washing.
For more info about Beguinages, go to
http://www.cns.bu.edu/~satra/kaatvds/leuvenhistory.htm 

World Cup 2014 - Go Red Devils!

We went to the Oudte Markt to watch and cheer for Belgium vs. Argentina. Alas, Argentina won but we had a great time cheering them on...with a few beers. 

Shot of the crowd outside the bar.

Video of the pep band.

Me on one end of the Markt during half.

Looking down the Markt.

Frank Hellwig, my host, enjoying a Stella.

The bartender joined in with the pep band.

"To Market, To Market...'

One of my faithful readers asked if they celebrate the 4th of July in Belgium. Actually, they don't.  They go directly from the 3rd to the 5th, so I did not blog on the 4th.  However, yesterday was market day (Friday). We went to the Oude Markt to visit this oversized farmers' market. It is a combination farmers' market and flee market all in one - very common in Europe, very rare in the USA. 
Following is a photo of the coolest food truck. It sells ready-made quiche.

I'm going to see if I could purchase it. It can be my new career after retirement. 
We wanted to purchase some lamb for dinner, so we went to a butcher stall. It was located as a large food trailer with wonderful meats on display. The Kwaliteitsslagerij Penninckx (Quality Butcher Penninckx) was staffed by two very engaging and english-speaking butchers. The brothers Penninckx were very excited to talk about the World Cup (Belgium plays Saturday evening) and to give kudos to Tim Howard, goalie of the USA team. My sister-in-law Mary Hellwig (in the future referred to as Mary) needed to practice her Dutch so she made the purchase with Kris observing. See photo below:

The brothers travel to markets all around Leuven and sell meats raised on their parent's farm. This is the best of locally sourced meats. By the way, the rack of lamb we had for dinner, prepared by Mary, was buitengewoon (extraordinary). 
We finished our excursion with a lunch at a restaurant right in the market called Pepperocini.  Here we shared some white wine and had a plate of mussels. 

This was one of my goals. Now I've had Belgian beer (lots), fresh waffles from a street vendor, french fries (Pom frites with mayo) and mussels. I will wait until we get to Brussels to sample the many chocolate shops. 

We arrived at the Brussels airport about 8:30 AM local time. We were exhausted from the 8-hour flight, but excited and ready to enjoy Belgium. Mary Hellwig, Kris' sister, picked us up and brought us to her and husband Frank's home in Louvain. 
Mary had a delicious breakfast for us consisting of expresso, pate, bread, cheeses and, of course, Nutella - very European. I wondered where was the Belgian waffles, but was told that waffles were an afternoon snack -maybe later.

After breakfast, Mary took me for a walk to the city center where I met a very intriguing woman. She was an expert on the Bronze Age, but didn't have much to say. I shared a bench with her and told her of the upcoming World Cup match. 

Always be prepared

Just in case USA beats Belgium in the World Cup, I have an alternate passport.

Preparation

Getting ready for the trip. We collected resources to plan. Just a few more days.