Thursday, June 23rd — Brussels Day 1
Hello, Samson here again! Today we woke up fresh off enjoying the National Day festivities. We headed to Luxembourg’s central train station and boarded a train for the short ride to Brussels. After arriving in the afternoon, we were welcomed by our Brussels host, Benjamin. He is a Harvard alumnus who lives in a Brussels suburb called Grimbergen—a historical and charming small town with a storied abbey and brewery. He recently renovated a beautiful chateau outside the town, and we had the privilege of staying in the chateau for a couple of nights. After touring around his beautiful property, we changed into our concert attire and prepared for a performance that evening.
The evening’s event was organized by the Harvard Club of Belgium. It was held at the chateau, with lovely refreshments and hors d’oeuvres available. The Dins performed a couple of musical sets for the guests, then we had plenty of time to mingle! I got to meet many amazing members of the Belgian Harvard community—and I made sure to solicit their recommendations for the next day.
Friday, June 24th — Brussels/Bruges Day 2
Today we had the day off—no concerts! On the advice of many of our Belgian friends, we decided to head to Bruges, a small town in the northwest of the country. It is known for classic Belgian charm, great waffles and fascinating history (according to Benjamin, Bruges is known as “the Venice of the North” by virtue of its beautiful system of canals. We split into small groups and explored the city all afternoon—Sam, Jay Hong and I headed to a nice outdoor restaurant for some traditional mussels and frites. We visited an art gallery, a cathedral and a café afterwards. We (reluctantly!) left Bruges in the evening. Upon returning to Grimbergen, we decided to have our rehearsal outdoors (It was beautiful weather, and the daylight lingered until 10:30pm! Amazing conditions for an outdoor rehearsal). Benjamin was kind enough to bring out food and drink for us as we rehearsed on his patio—an excellent end to a great day.
Saturday, June 25th — Brussels Day 3
Today was, regrettably, our last day in Belgium. Benjamin treated us to a nice Belgian breakfast, replete with croissants and plenty of coffee. We then headed to Brussels train station, where Hannah and Felix headed onward to Paris. The rest of us, scheduled for a later train, had a few hours to explore the city. First I walked through Cureghem, a neighborhood known for its large immigrant population from the Middle East and North Africa. After stopping for a great shawarma sandwich, I ventured into the historic city center for some coffee and sightseeing. I visited the European Parliament—the EU’s main legislative building—and took advantage of a free exhibition and the Museum of European History. The exhibition provided an interesting take on Europe’s modern history from the industrial revolution to the present day.
