Belgium Adventures Day 10: Leuven (visiting part 2)

I was very excited about visiting the University Library, and its 5 story tower. I found the library down a side street, facing a courtyard. The area was set up for the next day's race, making it hard to take a good picture of the front. Lots of cafes in the square are likely more for the tourists than the locals. Without the port-o-pots and other signs of the race, it is charming. There is an underground parking lot under the square, and no parking above ground (or no parking because of the race set up?).

The library has the option of a free audio tour. While I would have enjoyed it, I passed because it meant downloading an app and the the tour. My battery was low, and my free wifi even lower. Fortunately there were lots of pictures with descriptions on each floor to educate me in their history.

After paying a small fee to enter the library, I felt immediately at home. While climbing the spiral staircase and reading pieces of its history on each floor, I learned why I felt that way.

The library (and Leuven) was bombed during World War I. The money to rebuild it came from wealthy Americans who designed it to look like an American academic library. Before learning this, my first thought when I stepped into the reading room was how much it reminded me of the New York Public Library's Fifth Avenue branch.

The tower is a separate fee

Despite the spiral staircase, overall I found Leuven more handicap-friendly than other Belgian cities. I saw people with wheelchairs and crutches able to navigate the city.

I walked another half an hour to the Abbey. By the time I arrived it was nearing 5 pm when the public buildings, and even the public courtyard where I was walking, would close. I strolled through the cemetery, saying a quick prayer for the family of the most recently deceased person. Classic cemeteries are fascinating with all of their unique stoneware.

I returned to the Oude Markt and found a table at an outdoor café on a pedestrian only street. I enjoyed boulets (a Liege specialty) and watched people going by.

It was an easy train ride back to Liege. I left Leuven wondering why I had never visited the city before.