It brings back to my memory of my trip to Belgium years ago. I took a day visit to the beautiful and historical town of Leuven. Love this town! Leuven might not be as famous as big cities like Brussels or Antwerp and yet it has its own characteristic which cannot be found elsewhere in Belgium. It embodies one of the European oldest and world's top universities, KU Leuven, and I am not sure if you know, Leuven is the birthplace of the well-known brewery Stella Artois. These two have already made Leuven citizens proud.
As a belgian i can conform the beautifull thing about Belgium isn't the big Well known places it's the small towns like most belgians know it good to know u enjoyed it
We traveled across Europe this summer and Belgium was our very favourite country. We visited Ghent, which is awesome and a town called Tournai - also lovely. We had a great park up in a place called Heist-op-den-berg with the most amazing indoor pool. We also visited the Herge museum - excellent if you like Tintin. Enjoying seeing your travels.
We surely did and sometimes do nice things with cement, bricks and stone but in other countries there is more nature. There is nature in the Ardennes but that region is hard to explore without a car.
How nice you came to my hometown! The area you parked isn’t sketchy, it is a space where legally street art can be painted;) Leuven is actually the oldest uni town of Belgium. During the academy year, the population almost doubled in Leuven;)
@@littleprincess8526 sadly your bad influence causes people and restaurants across the entire globe to shame our belgian fry reputation, to the extend that even you believe it. Fries were invented and are still being honoured in belgium. Ever since potatoes were brought to Europe Belgium was the supreme potato leader and it is still the only country in the world able to produce real fries. (Because the fat used to fry is trademarked and Bintje potatoes are too) Shame on you
From America, we toured all over Belgium and it is the best travel destination. We did not see the three towns you mentioned, so this will make us go back! Thank you for the ideas! Having a Volkswagen van is awesome too. Can't get them in USA.
Go to a country for a weird historical border?(it was a stupid reason that time and still, we have many more, and- of them stupid things google it) for a small country there is so much more, new art, old masters( famous for it) history, city histories, festivals, nature, food, beer, even wine in east Be., chocolat, nice stores old stores, best fries in the world (just try mayon. it's not the US stuff) B&B's (most money go's to lux. hotels, just for sleeping ?) JUST DO YOUR RESEARCH VERY VERY WELL !! Train, trams ,busses (not the US stuff) You can rent vehicles,( and lose time parking it) if so please learn how we drive over here (on line)D. Bowie " this is not America, no" Way more cheeper public transportation. On this video you see they have no clue,!! random!! who represent those figures on city hall? they don't now and why, they want to eat fries on the steps( prohibitid, on some cultural places) Touring might be the best for "enjoing" the land, but for a forreigner,( sorry) y'all mis so much, the "time" problem. But you can see and do allot when your well prepaired. Hope to meet y'all over here, ( by the way lve bleu grass mus) best regards Be.
As someone who goes to school in Leuven I think it’s so weird to see people in a video pass places that are on my route to school. I recognized so many places in this video.Also I feel like eating your fries on the steps of the town hall is a Belgian experience, at least in my experience. I’m really glad you guys visited Leuven :)
You were very close where I stay in Belgium around Turnhout. I 'm originele from Thailand and loves youre stories about Asian. As a cancerpatient you guys show me the outside world.
Belgium knows 3 official languages Dutch (known here as Flemish) French and German but each language is not spoken everywhere. In Flanders they speak Dutch, in Wallonia they speak French and in a small part of East Belgium they speak German. There are a few towns or cities which are officially bilingual such as Brussels.
Correction, In Flanders they speak flemish, that is not a language it's a Dutch dialect, in Wallonia they speak Walloon, also not a language but a French dialect, and yes in East Belgium they speak German, that's because after ww1 the east part was given to Belgium for damage compensation in ww1
@@Eph.2.8 I don't speak Walloon, I speak French, only elderly people and few others still speak Walloon fluently, and it's quite different from French ! Also, there are many dutch dialects in Vlaanderen that are called Flemish.
@@Eph.2.8your correction is not correct;-) the first explanation about the languages is right! I live in Belgium official languages are Dutch, French and German,each one with their particular belgian accent;-)
Watching your video makes me appreciate my own country again. When you live in those places en just walk around in the city every day you forget what beauty there is just one step out of your front door.
What a sweet video - love the relaxed vibe, the back & forth in that "two country city" and Leuwen was a nice surprise to me, too. I think old university cities here in Europe often are very nice! Enjoy your trip!
loved this video of you 2 nutcases 😳😳 Belgium ..... Netherlands ..... Belgium ..... Netherlands ..... 🤣😂🤣😂 looking forward to the next one - happy travels and take good care 🙏👍
I live in Belgium now and I adore Leuven, my favourite town. If you go again take your fries and eat in the Kruidtuin, the oldest botanical garden in Belgium. Not only is it beautiful, it’s also totally free!
Next time you come in Belgium, try my town, Namur. There is so much to see, you will be amazed and I could even give you a personnal guided tour if you want (for free, of course), just for fun
Born and raised in Belgium i can give you some tips: Visit Bruges (there is a movie called 'In Bruges' with Collin Farrel you will have an idea what Bruges is like), a midieval city surrounded by water with so many midieval buildings, was the center place when the flemish people (Belgium is devided in 3, you have the Flemish side called Flanders, then you have the french side called Wallonie and the German side called the east side) kicked out the french people in the 14th century. When you're interested in ww1 and ww2 there's a lot to see here. Bastogne (the battle of the bulge) many museums, Diksmuide, the trenches from ww1, also in Ypres, Passchendaele, steenstrate where the first ever chemical bomb fell called yperiet. And in my home town Ostend the remnants of the atlantikwall, then you also have Brussels, the capital of Belgium, beautiful city
Glad you liked my home town of Leuven ! Two fun facts: Every little statue on the town hall building is different and our university KUL is the first catholic university in the world which was founded in 1425.
Belgian here, visit Aalst for his buildings, Geraardsbergen for the hills. Lennik and rest of the Pajottenland. Great beers called Geuze,you must try one
Flemish is a Dutch accent. In Belgium we speak three languages. Dutch (Flemish), French and German. wonderful to see you two spreading so many positive vibes across our little country ❤️. Greetings from belgium Stabroek(Antwerp)
This definitely brought back memories from visiting that town on the border from 20 years ago.. I don't know if it still does but it used to have 2 police and fire stations (,one from either country)
french is in the south of Belgium just like german in flanders we speak dutch but on at the sea it is flemish. I know very difficult to understand if you not live here Also Leuven is a city full off students so it is pretty big
I enjoyed your video , being belgian born in Bruges most historical place of Belgium, really do a visit. And i am living at the Belgium coast city Ostend also nice place. Good videos of you 2 😉👍🍀
Its so much fun seeing you discover all the places that i visit almost daily. I still study in that library almost everyday. One of my favourite spots in Leuven. And one of my buddies stole a fire extinguisher from the friture belge where you got your fries lol. He gave it back when he sobered up tho
Dank u we👍l ik ben geboren en getogen in Oostende ik heb alle grote steden in Nederland gezien behalve Eindhoven en Den Haag. Ik wens u een goeie dinsdag 🙂
It warms my heart to be able as a Kempish Belgian to see tourists having a good time in all peace and quiet. Like a chef seeing his customers enjoy. I hope big city mentality doesn't spread too fast cause we do have small talk to strangers. The moment you stop seeing cows, people are more in to their selves. When I see what Brussels or New York is becoming, it makes me feel powerless.
@@lemongorilla96 i dont know any belgian that speaks fluent german so it really location based . And i think the percentages are from whats spoken at home
@@sam.v.v. there is a german speaking part here in Belgium. With its own parliament, PM and administration. Maybe you know that there are three official languages here in belgium.
You both are so nice. I hope you have enjoyed, and please come again. I live in Antwerp and for us everything is "normal" (cathedral, townhall, diamants cut in Antwerp, museum of Rubens, old houses, Michelin star restaurants, ...) but I'm glad that people visiting our country love it so much.
Great to see you guys explore and find out about new places and countries (Belgium is completely underrated, as you found out) but I’m rather flabbergasted to see that you’d never heard of Leuven before, as it’s home to one of the oldest universities in the world (founded in 1425).
Just so you know...that house in which the border crosses right through...it's a Belgian house, since the mailbox is placed on the Belgian side. That's how you know which country it is...The mailbox! Cheers and greetings from Belgium!
Leuven has a lot of students, Satesaus is not a Belgium thing, its a thing in the Netherlands, if you want to see a beautiful place in Belgium you schould go to Doornik. its near the French border. I love Antwerp, its the place I grew up as a kid.
Fun fact for next time: Leuven does not have a low-emission zone. The map you were looking at with the colored zones is the city's circulation plan. To keep through traffic from driving through the city center, there is a hard border for cars between the colored zones (with bollards and dead-end streets). You can enter the city by car in one colored zone, but to go to another colored zone you need to leave the city center first and then find the entrance for that new color. In Belgium, only Brussels and Antwerp have low-emission zones; with their ring roads being just outside the low-emission zone border.
Hi guys it really makes me happy to seeing you appreciating my country. Since you love Leuven, you will like Brussels. But i hope you will have some time left to visit the old town of Ghent, my town, with its friendly inhabitants 😊. Thank you for this joyful video ❤ Travel safely.
Baarle-Hertog's and Baarle-Nassaus's border complexities result from a number of treaties and agreements, land-swaps and land sales between the Lords of Breda and the Dukes of Brabant in medieval times.The fact those treaties are respected to this very day is quite insane, but actually is what makes those two places so quaint and charming 😊 Leuven is also very nice. You should have visited Antwerp too!
You guys Leuven is not sketchy at all don't worry. Some parts of Flanders just look ugly, but they're fine. Next time you stop by visit Ghent, Bruges and the little towns to the north in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (like Aardenburg, Sas van Gent, or Hulst) in the Netherlands. Also no, saté saus on fries is NOT a Belgian thing at all, but admittedly a personal guilty pleasure of mine as well :)
the fact that there is like 30 different sauces is a Belgian thing though. There is even a rule for every frituur to have at least 10 sauces to be recognized as a frituur.
@Mary---- thank you, I'm definitely planning to do so, I'm saving for travel. I am from Zambia 🇿🇲 (Southern Africa) so traveling Europe 🇪🇺 is a Treat. I plan on going to a few Countries and Belgium 🇧🇪 is one of the top 3.
Leuven is a town in Belgian Brabant, leuven and brussels fought over the status of capital of Brabant brussels build a higher tower on the town hall and de throned Leuven, this took place in the middle ages and since then Brussels remained capital true the times, the Belgian Heir to the Throne also wears the title of Duke/ Duchess of Brabant, Brabant is a historical region in Belgium in the Flemish Region, and in the region of Wallonia it is composed of the following provinces : Antwerpen, (vlaams)-Brabant, Brabant-Wallon) and the brussels capital region, you even have the Dutch province of North-Brabant above Antwerpen Province, so when you guys were in the crossing towns of Baarle Hertog/Nassau you were in both places in Brabant
Oh I love that you went to Leuven, my hometown ❤️ I married the love of my life in that city hall. Good on you for eating Belgian fries at Grote Markt. And yes, Belgian fries, Belgian beer, Belgian waffles and Belgian Chocolate really are the best in the world. Hope you had a great time! 💕
As a Belgian and one of the many students in Leuven it’s crazy to me that so many people in the comments are saying Belgium is a good travel destination when you’ve got France, Spain, Italy and many more beautiful countries not too far away. I mean, you guys are from Sweden which is a gorgeous place and you’re saying our little trash hill is beautiful. It really is a huge complement but one I can’t get behind 😂 I’m glad you enjoyed yourself though. Always welcome back 😊
Back in te 70th I have worked in Baarle Nassau/Hertog. Back than they didn't have those fancy markings on the streets: The frontdoor is telling you in which country the house/shop is. The house number has either a small Dutch flag or a Belgium flag on it. We had two purses: one with Belgium francs and one with Dutch guilders (it was far before the Euro was introduced), so every costumer was able to use the national currency.
What? You were in Leuven and did not show the Oude Markt right around the corner where you were? That is almost a crime. It is where all the pubs are and it is sometimes called "De langste toog van Europa". Leuven is the city where Stella Artois is from and thus AB InBev. the largest brewery company in the world.
Nice video. 👍 There are a couple of places you can visit next time in Leuven. Like the ‘Oude Markt’ which is said to be the longest bar in Europe. It is just next to the ‘Grote Markt’. Another interesting place is the ‘Vismarkt’ and ‘Great Beguinage’ which was listed as UNESCO world heritage in 1998.
If the border goes through the front door you can see what country the house is by looking at the housenumber. Otherwise the rule is that the house is in the country the front door is located.
I cannot post the picture here but there is a house with two appartments on the first and second floor. The have 2 frontdoors opening to one enterancehall. The two doors are in different countries? It is theoretically possible to live in Belgium on the first floor and in the Netherlands on the second floor.
I saw the most funny thing on the border of BE and NL. My parents are mixed too, my dad is Belgian and my mom Dutch. There was an older couple and the man was jumping over the border. The woman heard that my mom was Dutch too and said to her, I am married to a Belgian, he’s now 69 years old and I am still waiting for him to grow up. We were laughing because my dad is Belgian, so am I and my brother too. The older man had so much fun jumping that it was so funny and adorable to watch. 🤣🤣
Thank you for the excellent review of my home town Leuven. Satésaus is the most ‘dutch’thing you can get. In Belgium we eat friet mostly with mayonaise.
If somebody did not mention it before ... Just some extra info about the moments and things you visited in Leuven. 10:39 Low Emission Zone ? there is no LEZ zone in Leuven. Also the place you are standing, is not a parking it's private property and forbidden to park the car 11:18 'from online, this place looked a bit sketchy... Well its a place for artists to show their skills and was granted by the city. 13:40 I do understand you never heard of it ... But look at the Stella Artois beer bottle, you have seen it. 14:29 its not that old, its build between 1921 and 1928 and was a gift from America to Leuven after WWI 16:50 no its not a normal combination, that would be with Mayonaise and stoofvlees. Hope other people also have something about my reaction, and thanks for the visit ;-)
When in Baarle Hertog/Nassau and you don't know which country you're actually in, just look at the little plates showing the house number. It sports either a Dutch or a Belgian flag. I live at about a 20 minutes' drive from this wonderful place..... Greetings from Belgium!
pindasauce is default in netherlands - mayo is belgian. And yes Belgian fries are the best in the world just as the beers ;) Did you visited the library? if not should have done it.. it's magnificant and very large; one of biggest collections of books. Nice you visited one of the other cities most miss.
Adriana looks so happy and relaxed hopping between the 2 borders 3:40. How beautiful, easy and relaxed. Last time I crossed a border it was between 🇲🇽 and 🇺🇸 and ummm yeah I wasn’t smiling like Adriana 😂. Are you guys planning to drive Elton outside Europe in the future?
Hehehe it was definitely a very casual border crossing 😂😍 I can only imagine hehe!! We are hoping to take him many places in the future but he may want a little rest after this long trip and we will take a plane 👀🤗
Leuven inhabitant here! You only made one forgivable beginner mistake with those fries... just take a seat in the sun on the Oude Markt somewhere and get a couple of Stella's to go with them!
Some additional information about the Saint Peter's Church: it has an unfinished tower that was never completed. Another unique fact is that the church is built on a hill, which is unusual in Belgium, where most churches are built on flat ground. This is evident when walking around the church. Some other facts: 1. The oldest building in Leuven is the Abbey, which was built sometime in the 1100s. Therefore, the town hall and Saint Peter's Church are not the oldest buildings. 2. The university's library was almost completely destroyed in a fire during World War II. Some works were saved, but many were lost.
Flemmish is a dialect from dutch . Anywhere in the nothern part we speak dutch and everywhere in the southern part they speak french with a small part germand against the german border
The broder control is 1 thing we really love about the benelux. We can get our cigarettes without any problems from luxembourgh and our weed from the netherlands
Speaking of borders, my grandfather was a policeman in Brussels and was once called for an accident between a car and a bicycle in a busy street downtown. Brussels is divided in 19 municipalities, usually with their own police station. The accident happened on the road which is Bruxelles-Ville while the car or the bicycle, I don't remember which, ended up on one sidewalk which is Ixelles and the other ended up on the other sidewalk which is Saint-Gilles. Apparently, it was a pain in the ass to make the accident report 😅
not sure if it's been said already but the house with the front door that's on the border is actually a tricky one in our and the Netherlands their law system it says if your front door is in Belgium, you will be considered to be Belgian, follow the Belgian law system and your house will be enlisted in as Belgian "property" same goes is your front door is in the Netherlands but on this special moment, when it's right on the border, they will see in what country your mailbox is if your mailbox is in Belgium, you will have to follow the Belgian laws
The grafitti in Leuven is actually right next to a youth center and free indoor skate park. The grafitti itself is done by the city together with the community. It's a former public transport garage that has been repurposed.
There isn't actually a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in 'Leuven'. Only 3 city's have a LEZ at the moment (Brussel, Gent, Antwerpen). So your van can get into the city center, but i won't recommend it because it won't be cheap to park there. Maybe good to know for another vacation in Belgium 😁
Thank you for watching the video!! Check out our Brussels video next 😊 🇧🇪
ruclips.net/video/8M16sMgA-XA/видео.html
It brings back to my memory of my trip to Belgium years ago. I took a day visit to the beautiful and historical town of Leuven. Love this town! Leuven might not be as famous as big cities like Brussels or Antwerp and yet it has its own characteristic which cannot be found elsewhere in Belgium. It embodies one of the European oldest and world's top universities, KU Leuven, and I am not sure if you know, Leuven is the birthplace of the well-known brewery Stella Artois. These two have already made Leuven citizens proud.
Oh wow that sounds so wonderful!! We didn’t actually know that 😍 thank you
As a belgian i can conform the beautifull thing about Belgium isn't the big Well known places it's the small towns like most belgians know it good to know u enjoyed it
@@rubendesutter1966 the big ones. Are buetifull too and all people from belgium van confirm
The big-bang theory was invented in KU Leuven
Im in Belgium and you can speak English i have my own house
We traveled across Europe this summer and Belgium was our very favourite country. We visited Ghent, which is awesome and a town called Tournai - also lovely. We had a great park up in a place called Heist-op-den-berg with the most amazing indoor pool. We also visited the Herge museum - excellent if you like Tintin. Enjoying seeing your travels.
Hehehehe we DO love tintin! 😍😍 Thank you very much! 🤗
We surely did and sometimes do nice things with cement, bricks and stone but in other countries there is more nature. There is nature in the Ardennes but that region is hard to explore without a car.
Nice to hear about Heist-op-den-Berg 🎉
Wait, you went to Heist-op-den-Berg as a tourist? I live there, and there is litteraly nothing special about the place :D
@@SanderVandeWiel hahaha came to respond to this comment too. Heist od berg of all places.
How nice you came to my hometown! The area you parked isn’t sketchy, it is a space where legally street art can be painted;) Leuven is actually the oldest uni town of Belgium. During the academy year, the population almost doubled in Leuven;)
That’s good to hear!! A lovely little spot 😅
Belgium looks so nice, so many places to sit outside. Right up my street!! So excited for the rest of this eurotrip!!
It really is!! It was the perfect place 😍
Nice to see that our visitors like our small country ❤️♥️
😍😍
well yeah thats what i thought, until the guy said that fries tasted similar to the dutch ones. Shame on him.
@@rubenvangool8227It’s because the Dutch copied our way of making fries, like they also copied us in the way we make mussels and so many other things
@@littleprincess8526 sadly your bad influence causes people and restaurants across the entire globe to shame our belgian fry reputation, to the extend that even you believe it.
Fries were invented and are still being honoured in belgium. Ever since potatoes were brought to Europe Belgium was the supreme potato leader and it is still the only country in the world able to produce real fries. (Because the fat used to fry is trademarked and Bintje potatoes are too)
Shame on you
@@littleprincess8526 windmills, stock exchange, modern organization of cities, ...
From America, we toured all over Belgium and it is the best travel destination. We did not see the three towns you mentioned, so this will make us go back! Thank you for the ideas! Having a Volkswagen van is awesome too. Can't get them in USA.
Amazing!! Hope you enjoy your second trip back even more than the first 😍 we absolutely loved it!
Go to a country for a weird historical border?(it was a stupid reason that time and still, we have many more, and- of them stupid things google it) for a small country there is so much more, new art, old masters( famous for it) history, city histories, festivals, nature, food, beer, even wine in east Be., chocolat, nice stores old stores, best fries in the world (just try mayon. it's not the US stuff) B&B's (most money go's to lux. hotels, just for sleeping ?) JUST DO YOUR RESEARCH VERY VERY WELL !! Train, trams ,busses (not the US stuff) You can rent vehicles,( and lose time parking it) if so please learn how we drive over here (on line)D. Bowie " this is not America, no" Way more cheeper public transportation. On this video you see they have no clue,!! random!! who represent those figures on city hall? they don't now and why, they want to eat fries on the steps( prohibitid, on some cultural places) Touring might be the best for "enjoing" the land, but for a forreigner,( sorry) y'all mis so much, the "time" problem. But you can see and do allot when your well prepaired. Hope to meet y'all over here, ( by the way lve bleu grass mus) best regards Be.
Here in belgium you can rent a campervan if youdlike to. You are always welcome in our small country
America? Dan ben je in Limburg geweest neem ik aan.😝
DE Limburg...@@Treinbouwer
I love watching people go to belgium since I am from belgium and its so cool to see it from different perspectives
As someone who goes to school in Leuven I think it’s so weird to see people in a video pass places that are on my route to school. I recognized so many places in this video.Also I feel like eating your fries on the steps of the town hall is a Belgian experience, at least in my experience. I’m really glad you guys visited Leuven :)
That’s amazing! What a beautiful place to go to school 😍 The fries on the steps almost made us feel like locals hehe 🥹 amazing!!
U guys are just great people, love from Belgium.
Thank you so much 😊😊
You were very close where I stay in Belgium around Turnhout. I 'm originele from Thailand and loves youre stories about Asian. As a cancerpatient you guys show me the outside world.
Thank you ❤️ happy you can come along with us 🙏🏼😍
Belgium knows 3 official languages Dutch (known here as Flemish) French and German but each language is not spoken everywhere.
In Flanders they speak Dutch, in Wallonia they speak French and in a small part of East Belgium they speak German.
There are a few towns or cities which are officially bilingual such as Brussels.
It’s so amazing 😍😍
Correction, In Flanders they speak flemish, that is not a language it's a Dutch dialect, in Wallonia they speak Walloon, also not a language but a French dialect, and yes in East Belgium they speak German, that's because after ww1 the east part was given to Belgium for damage compensation in ww1
I'm flemish and i speak dutch, english and french. (No german) nein!
@@Eph.2.8 I don't speak Walloon, I speak French, only elderly people and few others still speak Walloon fluently, and it's quite different from French ! Also, there are many dutch dialects in Vlaanderen that are called Flemish.
@@Eph.2.8your correction is not correct;-) the first explanation about the languages is right! I live in Belgium official languages are Dutch, French and German,each one with their particular belgian accent;-)
Leuven is truly beautiful. 🤩
We loved it! 😍
Love this genuine and positive vid about my country, thank you!!! 🫶🫶🫶
so happy you guys liked my country !! big love from Brussels !
We loved it!! Thank you so much 😍
You guys look like you're having so much fun. Living your best life. Have the best time ❤
Hehe we areeee 😍 so happy we are able to do this! Thank you so much!
Watching your video makes me appreciate my own country again. When you live in those places en just walk around in the city every day you forget what beauty there is just one step out of your front door.
So true! Such a wonderful place for us to visit 😍❤️
What a sweet video - love the relaxed vibe, the back & forth in that "two country city" and Leuwen was a nice surprise to me, too. I think old university cities here in Europe often are very nice! Enjoy your trip!
Hehe such a wonderful place to visit! We are so glad we decided to go there 😍
loved this video of you 2 nutcases 😳😳 Belgium ..... Netherlands ..... Belgium ..... Netherlands ..... 🤣😂🤣😂 looking forward to the next one - happy travels and take good care 🙏👍
Hehehehe it was a fun place to explore! 😍
You were very close to my home in Breda. A Brit living for 32 years in the Netherlands. Glad you are enjoying everything.
Oh amazing!! Thank you very much!
From Belgium : what a beautiful duo !!! positive vibes keep it up
Thanks so much!!
Life is short… eat the fries!!!
What a charming town! The town hall is epic!
ALL THE FRIES 😍🍟 hehe isn’t it just incredible!
You talk so warmly about our country, you obviously loved our little paradise! Great to see how people enjoy the things we take for granted 😀
😍😍 thank you for having us!
Have you ever seen such a fun town? Keep up to date on our movements there 👉🏼 instagram.com/2passports1dream 😍
Thank you for sharing Belgium with us.
😍🇩🇪 you’re welcome!
or was it the Netherlands...
Oh you made it to Belgium!! Welcome!❤
❤️❤️
I live in Belgium now and I adore Leuven, my favourite town. If you go again take your fries and eat in the Kruidtuin, the oldest botanical garden in Belgium. Not only is it beautiful, it’s also totally free!
Oh wow that’s so cool! Thank you for the suggestion 😍
Next time you come in Belgium, try my town, Namur. There is so much to see, you will be amazed and I could even give you a personnal guided tour if you want (for free, of course), just for fun
Born and raised in Belgium i can give you some tips: Visit Bruges (there is a movie called 'In Bruges' with Collin Farrel you will have an idea what Bruges is like), a midieval city surrounded by water with so many midieval buildings, was the center place when the flemish people (Belgium is devided in 3, you have the Flemish side called Flanders, then you have the french side called Wallonie and the German side called the east side) kicked out the french people in the 14th century. When you're interested in ww1 and ww2 there's a lot to see here. Bastogne (the battle of the bulge) many museums, Diksmuide, the trenches from ww1, also in Ypres, Passchendaele, steenstrate where the first ever chemical bomb fell called yperiet. And in my home town Ostend the remnants of the atlantikwall, then you also have Brussels, the capital of Belgium, beautiful city
That’s so interesting!! We really appreciate all the information 😍🙏🏼
@@2Passports1Dream if you have questions aim and i will do my best to answer them
Awesome video! Another place to add to my ‘to visit’ list😊
Definitely 😍😍
You should come to Gent. It's a beautifull historic city.
Oh we definitely want to go there one day 😍
Glad you liked my home town of Leuven ! Two fun facts: Every little statue on the town hall building is different and our university KUL is the first catholic university in the world which was founded in 1425.
Oh wow that’s so cool! Thanks 🤗🤗
What a beautiful adventure. Thank you for this wonderful video.
Will there be a footage at one of the Begian chocolatiers, hehehe.
Hehehe yes 👀😍😍😍 of course!!
@@2Passports1Dream Wonderful. Hehehe. 😀
I love it as always.
It's great. Thanks for sharing it. 👍👍👍😍😍😍
Thank you Sharon 😍🙏🏼
Belgian here, visit Aalst for his buildings, Geraardsbergen for the hills. Lennik and rest of the Pajottenland. Great beers called Geuze,you must try one
Flemish is a Dutch accent. In Belgium we speak three languages. Dutch (Flemish), French and German.
wonderful to see you two spreading so many positive vibes across our little country ❤️. Greetings from belgium Stabroek(Antwerp)
Thank you so much 😍❤️
This definitely brought back memories from visiting that town on the border from 20 years ago.. I don't know if it still does but it used to have 2 police and fire stations (,one from either country)
No way!! That’s so fun - we didn’t even think about that! 😃
Yes, everything is still separated, from police to post office. But they cooperate.
Waaaaw......the views you took from up in the sky are gorgeous
french is in the south of Belgium just like german in flanders we speak dutch but on at the sea it is flemish. I know very difficult to understand if you not live here
Also Leuven is a city full off students so it is pretty big
Except when you're in Knokke. Then it's a free-for-all on the topic of languages😂
I enjoyed your video , being belgian born in Bruges most historical place of Belgium, really do a visit. And i am living at the Belgium coast city Ostend also nice place. Good videos of you 2 😉👍🍀
Thank you so much! We definitely need to come back and visit more places 😍
Its so much fun seeing you discover all the places that i visit almost daily. I still study in that library almost everyday. One of my favourite spots in Leuven. And one of my buddies stole a fire extinguisher from the friture belge where you got your fries lol. He gave it back when he sobered up tho
Hahahaah omg 🤣 I’m glad he gave it back!
I,m dutch but LOVE belgain.........
You're probably the only one
Love from Belgium, EU ❤
Dank u we👍l ik ben geboren en getogen in Oostende ik heb alle grote steden in Nederland gezien behalve Eindhoven en Den Haag. Ik wens u een goeie dinsdag 🙂
I'm Belgian and I love the Dutch...
It warms my heart to be able as a Kempish Belgian to see tourists having a good time in all peace and quiet. Like a chef seeing his customers enjoy. I hope big city mentality doesn't spread too fast cause we do have small talk to strangers. The moment you stop seeing cows, people are more in to their selves. When I see what Brussels or New York is becoming, it makes me feel powerless.
Oh that’s an interesting way to look at it!! 😊 we love seeing a mixture of both!
Belgium has three official languages. Dutch, French and German. Dutch is spoken by 60% of the population, French 39%, and German 1%
would not say german is 1%, alot of flemish speakers also speaks german, so it would a bit higher, my german is better than my french 😂
@@lemongorilla96 i dont know any belgian that speaks fluent german so it really location based . And i think the percentages are from whats spoken at home
@@sam.v.v. i did grow up with german tv etc, i speak fluent german, also my parents do speak german, and we have nothing with germany 😂
@@lemongorilla96 ok as i said most dont .
@@sam.v.v. there is a german speaking part here in Belgium. With its own parliament, PM and administration. Maybe you know that there are three official languages here in belgium.
You both are so nice. I hope you have enjoyed, and please come again. I live in Antwerp and for us everything is "normal" (cathedral, townhall, diamants cut in Antwerp, museum of Rubens, old houses, Michelin star restaurants, ...) but I'm glad that people visiting our country love it so much.
It was such a wonderful visit and we hope to come back again soon 😍
Great to see you guys explore and find out about new places and countries (Belgium is completely underrated, as you found out) but I’m rather flabbergasted to see that you’d never heard of Leuven before, as it’s home to one of the oldest universities in the world (founded in 1425).
Haha I know right?! 👀 Glad we visited 😍
Hey guys, must say your approach is so nice, and your pronunciation is so nice
Thank you so much!!
Just so you know...that house in which the border crosses right through...it's a Belgian house, since the mailbox is placed on the Belgian side. That's how you know which country it is...The mailbox! Cheers and greetings from Belgium!
I am from Leuven its like such a Nice city
Beautiful city 😍
Thanks for coming❤🎉, welcome to belgium again 😉👍, i AM from LIÈGE
You’re from THE delicious waffles place 😍😍
@@2Passports1Dream ooohh yes and a placé on fire for the Big party😉
@@2Passports1Dream check, " liège the square"👌👍
I am from Leuven Nice to see my hometown like this in a video
😍
The Benelux is a beautiful place to be in summertime
Leuven has a lot of students, Satesaus is not a Belgium thing, its a thing in the Netherlands, if you want to see a beautiful place in Belgium you schould go to Doornik. its near the French border.
I love Antwerp, its the place I grew up as a kid.
Thank you for the recommendation 😍😍
Fun fact for next time: Leuven does not have a low-emission zone. The map you were looking at with the colored zones is the city's circulation plan. To keep through traffic from driving through the city center, there is a hard border for cars between the colored zones (with bollards and dead-end streets). You can enter the city by car in one colored zone, but to go to another colored zone you need to leave the city center first and then find the entrance for that new color.
In Belgium, only Brussels and Antwerp have low-emission zones; with their ring roads being just outside the low-emission zone border.
Oh that is interesting!! Thank you for sharing!
Ghent does too.
Your boarder hopping was hysterical 😂😂😂 You definitely ate healthy on this day😉🤗💞
Hi guys it really makes me happy to seeing you appreciating my country. Since you love Leuven, you will like Brussels. But i hope you will have some time left to visit the old town of Ghent, my town, with its friendly inhabitants 😊. Thank you for this joyful video ❤
Travel safely.
Thank you so much! We absolutely loved Brussels, too! Next time we will have to visit Ghent!
15:16 old world buildings. amazing stuff. greetings from belgium.
😍😍
There is no low emission zone in Leuven. The Low emission zones in Belgium are: Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent.
Oh hahaha whoops - makes sense!
Baarle-Hertog's and Baarle-Nassaus's border complexities result from a number of treaties and agreements, land-swaps and land sales between the Lords of Breda and the Dukes of Brabant in medieval times.The fact those treaties are respected to this very day is quite insane, but actually is what makes those two places so quaint and charming 😊 Leuven is also very nice. You should have visited Antwerp too!
Antwerp is on the list for next time 😍😍 so many places we want to visit still!
You guys Leuven is not sketchy at all don't worry. Some parts of Flanders just look ugly, but they're fine. Next time you stop by visit Ghent, Bruges and the little towns to the north in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (like Aardenburg, Sas van Gent, or Hulst) in the Netherlands.
Also no, saté saus on fries is NOT a Belgian thing at all, but admittedly a personal guilty pleasure of mine as well :)
Hehe thanks so much!! We definitely have to visit again 😍 we loved it so much!
the fact that there is like 30 different sauces is a Belgian thing though. There is even a rule for every frituur to have at least 10 sauces to be recognized as a frituur.
I definitely want to visit Belgium and the Netherlands. It's beautiful
They’re really wonderful places to visit 🤗🤗
As someone from Belgium, I hope you'll come here and have a nice stay!!
@Mary---- thank you, I'm definitely planning to do so, I'm saving for travel. I am from Zambia 🇿🇲 (Southern Africa) so traveling Europe 🇪🇺 is a Treat. I plan on going to a few Countries and Belgium 🇧🇪 is one of the top 3.
Wow, looks like lots to do. Food looks yummy. Your style of exploring is what I admire. Just wing it. Carefree thanks
Hehe thank you!! 😍 the food WAS so yummy!! 🤗
Belgium is a very bad place to be on a diet. Any diet.
Leuven is a town in Belgian Brabant, leuven and brussels fought over the status of capital of Brabant brussels build a higher tower on the town hall and de
throned Leuven, this took place in the middle ages and since then Brussels remained capital true the times, the Belgian Heir to the Throne also wears the title of Duke/ Duchess of Brabant, Brabant is a historical region in Belgium in the Flemish Region, and in the region of Wallonia it is composed of the following provinces : Antwerpen, (vlaams)-Brabant, Brabant-Wallon) and the brussels capital region, you even have the Dutch province of North-Brabant above Antwerpen Province, so when you guys were in the crossing towns of Baarle Hertog/Nassau you were in both places in Brabant
Oh interesting! Thank you for sharing 🤗🤗
Oh I love that you went to Leuven, my hometown ❤️ I married the love of my life in that city hall. Good on you for eating Belgian fries at Grote Markt. And yes, Belgian fries, Belgian beer, Belgian waffles and Belgian Chocolate really are the best in the world. Hope you had a great time! 💕
We will be back 😃
Nice to see you like our tiny little country ❤
😀
As a Belgian and one of the many students in Leuven it’s crazy to me that so many people in the comments are saying Belgium is a good travel destination when you’ve got France, Spain, Italy and many more beautiful countries not too far away. I mean, you guys are from Sweden which is a gorgeous place and you’re saying our little trash hill is beautiful. It really is a huge complement but one I can’t get behind 😂
I’m glad you enjoyed yourself though. Always welcome back 😊
Hahha no no you must see it with unbiased eyes. It really is beautiful!
Back in te 70th I have worked in Baarle Nassau/Hertog. Back than they didn't have those fancy markings on the streets: The frontdoor is telling you in which country the house/shop is. The house number has either a small Dutch flag or a Belgium flag on it. We had two purses: one with Belgium francs and one with Dutch guilders (it was far before the Euro was introduced), so every costumer was able to use the national currency.
That’s so interesting!!! 😍
look forward to future van life travel content
Wohoo!! Plenty more to come 😍
What? You were in Leuven and did not show the Oude Markt right around the corner where you were? That is almost a crime. It is where all the pubs are and it is sometimes called "De langste toog van Europa". Leuven is the city where Stella Artois is from and thus AB InBev. the largest brewery company in the world.
It’s hard to know everything 😂. We only knew about Leuven a few hours before, but we would definitely go back. Such a nice place ❤️🇩🇪
@@2Passports1DreamThat’s the German flag mate 😅😅😂
@@guuzjo wrong flag!! 🇧🇪
@@2Passports1Dream apart from the flag mistake, loving the channel! 😃
Baarle Hertog is 10 min from my home. It's a cute little busy town😊
It’s so sweet 😍
From Leuven here: thanks for visiting, come back soon ;)
Nice video. 👍 There are a couple of places you can visit next time in Leuven. Like the ‘Oude Markt’ which is said to be the longest bar in Europe. It is just next to the ‘Grote Markt’. Another interesting place is the ‘Vismarkt’ and ‘Great Beguinage’ which was listed as UNESCO world heritage in 1998.
Thank you 😍😍
Im in Belgium i hope you have a great time
Baarle-Hertog is fully in Belgium. Baarle-Nassau is fully in the Netherlands. The combination of the two, Baarle, is indeed in both countries
So cool!!
If the border goes through the front door you can see what country the house is by looking at the housenumber. Otherwise the rule is that the house is in the country the front door is located.
That’s so interesting!!
@@2Passports1Dream We also have double enclaves. The Netherlands in Belgium in The Netherlands.
I cannot post the picture here but there is a house with two appartments on the first and second floor. The have 2 frontdoors opening to one enterancehall. The two doors are in different countries? It is theoretically possible to live in Belgium on the first floor and in the Netherlands on the second floor.
I love your videos new subscriber here from philippines😍
15:50 No. You missed the central town square wich is just beside.
Oh oops 🥲
I saw the most funny thing on the border of BE and NL. My parents are mixed too, my dad is Belgian and my mom Dutch. There was an older couple and the man was jumping over the border. The woman heard that my mom was Dutch too and said to her, I am married to a Belgian, he’s now 69 years old and I am still waiting for him to grow up. We were laughing because my dad is Belgian, so am I and my brother too. The older man had so much fun jumping that it was so funny and adorable to watch. 🤣🤣
Oh that’s a fun story!! 😍😍
Thank you for the excellent review of my home town Leuven. Satésaus is the most ‘dutch’thing you can get. In Belgium we eat friet mostly with mayonaise.
Haha oops!!
Love beautiful Belgium !.
I live in Belgium, i just love it❤❤
If somebody did not mention it before ... Just some extra info about the moments and things you visited in Leuven.
10:39 Low Emission Zone ? there is no LEZ zone in Leuven. Also the place you are standing, is not a parking it's private property and forbidden to park the car
11:18 'from online, this place looked a bit sketchy... Well its a place for artists to show their skills and was granted by the city.
13:40 I do understand you never heard of it ... But look at the Stella Artois beer bottle, you have seen it.
14:29 its not that old, its build between 1921 and 1928 and was a gift from America to Leuven after WWI
16:50 no its not a normal combination, that would be with Mayonaise and stoofvlees.
Hope other people also have something about my reaction, and thanks for the visit ;-)
Thank you for all the info ☺️
When in Baarle Hertog/Nassau and you don't know which country you're actually in, just look at the little plates showing the house number. It sports either a Dutch or a Belgian flag. I live at about a 20 minutes' drive from this wonderful place..... Greetings from Belgium!
Oh interesting!! Thank you 😍
Damn, in your montage you actually drove through my home town city, that's crazy.
Oh no way!! Hehe that’s cool! 😍
Great video.. Greetings from Belgium
Fries sauces in Belgium are amazing!😋👌
Yes they are! 😍😍
It was so fun seeing Leuven on a vlog every day I am in Leuven
Oh wow 😍😍
pindasauce is default in netherlands - mayo is belgian. And yes Belgian fries are the best in the world just as the beers ;)
Did you visited the library? if not should have done it.. it's magnificant and very large; one of biggest collections of books.
Nice you visited one of the other cities most miss.
You can go inside and look at the library just like that? 🥹 shame we missed it!!
Loved that you visited Leuven the city I was borne❤️
Such a lovely place 😍
As someone who lives in leuven already my whole life, this is so interesting to watch! hihi
Glad you enjoyed it! 😍
Adriana looks so happy and relaxed hopping between the 2 borders 3:40. How beautiful, easy and relaxed. Last time I crossed a border it was between 🇲🇽 and 🇺🇸 and ummm yeah I wasn’t smiling like Adriana 😂. Are you guys planning to drive Elton outside Europe in the future?
Hehehe it was definitely a very casual border crossing 😂😍 I can only imagine hehe!! We are hoping to take him many places in the future but he may want a little rest after this long trip and we will take a plane 👀🤗
Leuven inhabitant here! You only made one forgivable beginner mistake with those fries... just take a seat in the sun on the Oude Markt somewhere and get a couple of Stella's to go with them!
Oh that would have been perfect!!
Happy to see you visited my home town Leuven 😊
Such a beautiful hometown you have 😍
Some additional information about the Saint Peter's Church: it has an unfinished tower that was never completed.
Another unique fact is that the church is built on a hill, which is unusual in Belgium, where most churches are built on flat ground. This is evident when walking around the church.
Some other facts:
1. The oldest building in Leuven is the Abbey, which was built sometime in the 1100s. Therefore, the town hall and Saint Peter's Church are not the oldest buildings.
2. The university's library was almost completely destroyed in a fire during World War II. Some works were saved, but many were lost.
Oh wow that’s so interesting!! Thank you for all the facts 😍
@2Passports1Dream Happy to help. It's because that's my city of birth. So I knew those facts and thought it could be interesting to tell.
Flemmish is a dialect from dutch . Anywhere in the nothern part we speak dutch and everywhere in the southern part they speak french with a small part germand against the german border
The broder control is 1 thing we really love about the benelux. We can get our cigarettes without any problems from luxembourgh and our weed from the netherlands
Speaking of borders, my grandfather was a policeman in Brussels and was once called for an accident between a car and a bicycle in a busy street downtown. Brussels is divided in 19 municipalities, usually with their own police station. The accident happened on the road which is Bruxelles-Ville while the car or the bicycle, I don't remember which, ended up on one sidewalk which is Ixelles and the other ended up on the other sidewalk which is Saint-Gilles. Apparently, it was a pain in the ass to make the accident report 😅
Oh wow!!! That’s crazy😂 What a mess!
@@2Passports1Dream Luckily everyone was fine.
not sure if it's been said already
but the house with the front door that's on the border is actually a tricky one
in our and the Netherlands their law system it says
if your front door is in Belgium, you will be considered to be Belgian, follow the Belgian law system and your house will be enlisted in as Belgian "property"
same goes is your front door is in the Netherlands
but on this special moment, when it's right on the border, they will see in what country your mailbox is
if your mailbox is in Belgium, you will have to follow the Belgian laws
That’s so interesting!!
The grafitti in Leuven is actually right next to a youth center and free indoor skate park. The grafitti itself is done by the city together with the community. It's a former public transport garage that has been repurposed.
Ohhhhh that’s so nice!!
There isn't actually a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in 'Leuven'.
Only 3 city's have a LEZ at the moment (Brussel, Gent, Antwerpen). So your van can get into the city center, but i won't recommend it because it won't be cheap to park there.
Maybe good to know for another vacation in Belgium 😁
Ah good to know!! Thank you!