This is not paella.
About an hour east of Brussels by train is the lovely university town of Leuven. It takes an hour to get there because the train service is local, but I do not think of this as a drawback by any means. If one waits for a nice, sunny day in the spring, when the flowers and the trees are coming into full bloom, that gorgeous, wonderful springtime, that riot of flowerly color and fragrance which one only finds in the Low Countries, if one takes a light but pleasants breakfast of coffee and croisant, and perhaps a cigarette, buying a ticket for a late-morning train to avoid the hustle and bustle of commuters, then this slow ride can become a fine, relaxing, pleasant little journey through the lovely Brussels suburban countryside. What better state of mind and spirit could one hope for, arriving in picturesque Leuven?
Leuven is home to one of the oldest, finest universities in Europe. Indeed, it is the oldest extant Catholic university in the world. The university district itself is beautiful, replete with some of the grandest examples of Brabant Gothic architecture in Belgium. Students scramble to and fro on our ideal spring morning, short-sleeved, enjoying the warmth both of the weather without and the academic fire from within. Perhaps later they will unwind at Belgium´s "longest bar," the Old Market, or Belgium´s smallest, Onder den Toog. Yonder stands a statue, a fountain tribute to the idealized scholar, the top of his head removed so that he himself can pour in that most precious of fluids: knowledge. This image sums up the ethos of Leuven perfectly. But who gives a fuck about all that university nonsense, right? Because Leuven is where they make Stella Artois.
Stella is considered premium drinking in Eastern Europe and the foil on the neck of the bottle is seen as classy. Whereas, in England it´s called wife-beater because it´s supposed to make you mean and prone to spousal abuse, something I reckon many Brits don´t need beer to achieve. Still, Stella does give us insite into Belgian priorities. The brewery was founded in 1366. Belgium was created in 1831. This means that, first the Belgians got themselves a beer they were happy with, and then the waited about FIVE HUNDRED YEARS before they got around to inventing their own country. Hat´s off to you Belgium. I like your style. A fellow should visit Belgium at his earliest convenience. It´s quite known for beer.
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