A week in Leuven: First meeting \m/

Hi again!

I arrived in Seville yesterday in the afternoon just before having passed a week in Leuven and, as I´ve promised, here there is a chronicle about what I found there.

Arriving to Brussels

Almost at half past 6 in the morning and without having slept since the day before, I took a flight from Seville to Madrid, and after that, another one from there to Brussels. Once in the Brussels National Airport, I had to walk a lot and going up and downstairs, following the sign with the word “exit” and with a picture of a suitcase on it, in order to arrive to the place where people can take their luggage. After the stress of thinking “would be my suitcase there? :S” I found my luggage and I searched the train station. I have read that it was in the airport, and there it was. Going down to the -1 floor I found the ticket office, so I could by a ticket to Leuven for almost 7€. The most of the times, the trains to Leuven arrive at platform 3, and in less than fifteen minutes I went down the train in the first stop: Leuven.

Leuven

Once I arrived to the train station in Leuven I realized the first handicap: the indications are only in dutch ¬¬ Anyway, I follow the signs with the word “Centrum” and I went out the station easily. In the street I found the second handicap of Leuven and Belgium in general: there is NO SUMMER ¬¬ Well, actually there is summer, but it arrived at the end of the week.

After crossing Bondgenotenlaan, raining and following the indications from the hostel´s webpage, I found it. It was at ten minutes from the train station, but it was more difficult going there carrying the suitcase and with the rain falling. Moreover, I didn´t know where it was, so I spent an eternity to go there.

re, I took a flight from Seville to Madrid, and after that, another one from there to Brussels. Once in the Brussels National Airport, I had to walk a lot and going up and downstairs, following the sign with the word “exit” and with a picture of a suitcase on it, in order to arrive to the place where people can take their luggage. After the stress of thinking “would be my suitcase there? :S” I found my luggage and I searched the train station. I have read that it was in the airport, and there it was. Going down to the -1 floor I found the ticket office, so I could by a ticket to Leuven for almost 7€. The most of the times, the trains to Leuven arrive at platform 3, and in less than fifteen minutes I went down the train in the first stop: Leuven.


The Hostel

I slept in LeuvenCity Hostel the whole week. It´s located in Ravenstraat, near the train station and the city center, as I mentioned before. This hostel is pretty good. The owners clean it every day and the breakfast is included, so you can save a bit of money :P I recommend this hostel to those people who want to go to Leuven for a few days. The owners are really nice and I didn´t have a problem with them neither my roommates. If you want more info, click on the banner at the beginning ;)

The reception is only open from 9 to 11 in the morning and from 4 to 8 in the afternoon, so if you arrive before 8:00 you couldn´t check in. I arrived at 12, I think, but I could let my suitcase in the reception until the reception would be open.

Then David appeared at the hostel. He was a guy from Barcelona and we met in a Facebook group for Spanish Erasmus which will study in Leuven. After eating a big sandwich in a shop whose employee was from Malaga, we came back to the hostel to check in and start with our target those days: finding accommodation.

Moreover, thanks to Facebook again,  we met Truus in the hostel, a Belgian girl from the IExchange Leuven, who helped us in our search for accommodation and show us the city.

Looking for accommodation

Every people who will go to study in Leuven should go to the Housing Service in the KU Leuven, which is located in Naamsestraat. The people there will give you information and advice, and they will help you in your searching for accommodation. They will explain the kind of contract used in the University, and you could use the computers and the telephones for free.

The database used by the KU Leuven is called Kotwijs. In this database you could look for any kind of accommodation: rooms (kots in dutch) in a house, studios with private bathroom and kitchen, apartments…




In Kotwijs there is a lot of information and many ways to contact with the landlords in order to arrange a meeting with them and see the accommodation with your own eyes.

Just and advice: be patient, my friend. Probably you´ll have to phone many landlords and see many rooms or studios before renting one. Be patient and you´ll find a good one ;)

those days: finding accommodation.

The first studio

After have phoned some landlords and have arranged some meetings for the following days, I went with David and Truus to see a studio in Parijstraat. At first I was looking for a room in a student house, while David tried to find a studio with a private kitchen and bathroom and that had a good price. He found that one, so I joined him in order to see how a studio was.

That studio was pretty good and after seeing it went (finally :P) to have a beer in a nearby bar. I could taste the Estella Artois, the beer of the city, and the truth is that I really enjoyed it ;) After that, Truus took us to dinner pasta to a fairly nice place. The dinner was great, but after a tiring day, the body required me loudly to go to bed, so we returned to the hostel to have a much deserved rest.

Coming soon, the rest of the days in Leuven ;)

Keep on rocking! \m/