Exploring Campus.....

One morning  I accompanied  Tim on the 30 minute walk to campus. After  dropping him off I walked around gawking at the  beautiful landscaped  spaces and the castle.  Yep, they have a castle were people have offices, meetings and all sorts of  normal things like that. Still I find it amazing that it's a  castle!

After seeing the space where Tim's class was held I demanded that he take some photos.  Such a cool space with circular staircases  and all sorts of engines and pieces of  machinery.

One thing we noticed immediately is that many people in Leuven use bikes as their primary mode of transportation. You needed to not  only  watch out for cars but the cyclists that were  everywhere. You can see  some in the photo  below riding down the long bike pathway leading to  campus - admittedly I  felt a little  out of  place  walking everywhere but Leuven is small enough to navigate on  foot for just a few days. My favorite sights were of moms riding bikes that had been kitted out to  transport kids, dogs, groceries, flowers and anything else you might pick up at the store. Tim told me that he saw a mom dressed in a sharp  business suit with nylons and high heels. She was riding her bike with one kid on the front, one on the back and  saddlebags  filled with the kids' backpacks and  her handbag.  And she was  booking it down the road. Now I can't fathom this  type of  commute but in Leuven I'd say it's the rule and not  the exception.