Leuven, Belgium
Journey to ‘Sweetwater’
When I asked Philippe if there was a nice place to have a relaxed stroll, he told me of the beautiful land of ‘Sweetwater’ about 10k outside of the city. If you try to google ‘Sweetwater Leuven’ you will get a bunch of Sweetwater locations in Texas and Georgia. But I eventually figured out that Sweetwater translated to Zoet water in Flemmish. I also discovered that the route to Zoet water looked like it went through some nice areas outside of the city with lakes and trails. So I figured I would just take a backpack with some snacks and walk there. If I was too tired to walk back, there was apparently a regular bus back to the city. I had no map, no phone, but a general sense of where Zoet water lay in relation to the train line and river. Zoet water ho!
I almost abandoned my mission to Zoet water entirely when I came across a tempting sauna house with a very convincing arrow
Maps in Belgium are conspicuously lacking the ‘You Are Here’ icon
Hmm, I have no idea whether I’m anywhere close to the route to Sweetwater. But at least there are ponies!
When in doubt, follow the train lines
Zoet water, zoet Zoet water!
A dense fog rolls in…..I should really be getting home before it gets dark and misty
But wait, there are giant mushroom statues!
And pony paarden kampen!
It was a harrowing journey back through the dark foggy woods, and I was so happy to return back at my hotel room (despite the ‘interesting’ painting over my bed)
You have the best adventures. Or you just know how to enjoy anything and you have the writing chops to make it sound amazing.
Love the crazy painting and from here forward I am appropriating the phrase Pony Paarden-Kampen.