Day 15 Continued

Day 15, September 7, 2012 Leuven to Brussels, 29 miles, total mileage: 456.6

Before we could leave the lovely town of Leuven, the bike had to come downstairs from its home for the night.  Paul and Ahmet  were able to maneuver it down the staircase safely.  We were then able to pedal away from the home of Stella Artois and the oldest university in Belgium.



 An interesting and unaccustomed sight in Belgium has been the Brood Automat.  There are freshly baked loaves of bread that can be dispensed like soda or candy in a machine.

 As the never ending Belgium blocks in Belgium never end, it made for some tough riding in the morning because in addition to the bumping around, they are damp.

 It did not take for long us to leave the streets of Leuven and begin our woods ride.  Frequently we could hear the traffic on the highway, but we could not see it.

 These are two "tunnels" we passed through.  One was a culvert like tunnel under the highway. We did not have to worry about any traffic.

 This is a "tree tunnel" along a path through farmlands.  During today's ride we were able to use our granny gear since there were hills for the first time in two weeks!

 This multi-use sign certainly shows how many different uses the trails have.  We did have to get out of the way of a large tractor, but only saw evidence of horses.  We passed by corn, mustard, winter wheat, potato and kale fields. Agri-business would be a more accurate description of the farms in this area.

Believe it or not, this is a Smart car.  We had stopped at the bar behind this car for morning coffee (they do things differently in Europe).  When we arrived, I went in and ordered the coffee, then sat down out front.  Paul was still parking the bike when the coffee was brought out, so no one had seen him.  We were impressed by the sporty look of this version so Paul decided to take some pictures.

Suddenly these men came rushing out of the bar yelling at the guy near the car.  As soon as I explained what he was doing, they started laughing.  Since no one had seen my husband, they were afraid that some stranger was doing something to his new sports car.

 We managed to stay off major roads as we approached Brussels.  For most of the morning the bike lanes were to the side of the road like the one in this picture.  This huge sculpture was in a round about (traffic circle) just as we entered Brussels. The more traditional sculptures were located along Franklin Roosevelt Straat on our way into town.

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 This bike display was in one of the bike shops located along the way into Brussels.  Sometimes you need a break and a nice little shop turns up at the right moment.

After we checked into our hotel which is across from the Brussels-Midi Station, we went over to the station to buy our tickets to Luxembourg.  When Paul mentioned my name, she told me her name was also Jane,  I recognized an American accent so we had a nice chat.  She and her Navy husband were on leave and hoped to get to Switzerland.  Paul and Paul yesterday, Jane and Jane today.  Too much fun!