Thursday 9th Feb
It wasn’t raining to day so I felt like exploring a bit more. A feed on Instagram liked one of my Leuven photos, so I checked theirs out -@aboutsomethingaround- They had some photos of Leuven and some interesting descriptions for Goot Bergijnhof and Mussenstraat. These areas are slightly off the beaten track and looked interesting
Mussenstraat
I quote : ‘The Mussenstraat is by far the cosiest neighbourhood you can find in Leuven and a place of peace and quiet in the sprawling student city. The narrow cobblestone streets with small colourful houses and plants is an absolute delight to walk around in. You can also find one of the murals of the street artist Bisset’
There are not many plants awake in February but it was quiet and the scale of the buildings is startling after all the shops and buildings in this area. Apparently Leuven was extensively bombed in the WW1 – which accounts for the variety of different architecture
Groot Bergijnhof
More from @somethingaround ‘The Groot Bergijnhof or Grand Beguinage in Leuven looks like a small medieval town with its narrow streets and small squares. The beguinage served as a community for unmarried religious women: the beguinage has a long history that dates back to the 13th century…..Today it is one of the largest still in existence. It is currently owned by Leuven Uni and serves as student and guest housing’
One of the thing that struck me the most apart from the beauty of it was the medieval buildings structures had serious double glazing and that there was a wall all around the circumference .
On my way back to town I walked along one of the out side walls and was amused to see a series of round holes – who was looking at whom?
Botanical Garden
On my way back into town I stumbled across the botanical garden – this is relatively small and manicured but very pretty. ‘De Kruidtuin in Dutch and officially the Hortus Botanicus Lovaniensis – is the oldest botanical garden of Belgium.’
http://wonderfulwanderings.com/the-botanical-garden-in-leuven-belgium/
I went inside the palm house
Other photos from today:
Textures- bricks and the wooden stairwell from the Airbnb
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