One of the things I love the most about this program I'm attending is the fact that I get to travel and learn a lot at the same time. This last week was our second field trip around Europe. My group traveled to Luxembourg, Brussels, and Paris. The main European Union institutions are seated in Luxembourg and Brussels. The European Court of Justice (aka ECJ) is in Luxembourg, (which was a surprisingly beautiful city) and the European Commission, Parliament, and Council have their main headquarters in Brussels. Paris, being one of the main players in European politics and not that far from Brussels, was the stage for two meetings with a pro-EU think tank employee and a professor at the prestigious ScienPo. Exciting as it sounds, the trip was a wild ride of ups and downs. First stop... Luxembourg.

Luxembourg is a small city in a tiny country, although in terms of GDP/capita it's the wealthiest nation of the EU. It is built on a very hilly placed, and it has amazing bridges and fortifications. I was not expecting Luxembourg to be as nice as it is, although it is worth a short visit. The ECJ visit mirrors my experience with Luxembourg. The ECJ is the least controversial of all the EU institutions, since it does not direct policies across the EU, it just decides over cases and acts as the supreme judicial body. However, the lecturer kept the interest alive in what he said and I got to know better how the ECJ works. After leaving the building and walking around downtown for 2 hours. We left for Brussels.

Brussels is, in EU political jargon, the Heart of Europe, since the three decision-making bodies of the EU are located here. My first impressions was weird, since to me Brussels looked like New York without skyscrapers; lots of cars and neon lights and busy streets. The next morning we went to the European Council, and had a civil servant talk to us about what was being discussed about environmental policy. The Council is where the ministers of the different national governments meet to discuss bill proposals and co-decide later on with the Parliament on it. The lecture part of our meeting was interesting, but the Q&A showed what many politicians excel at: using a lot of words to say very little. Next, we headed to the European Commission. This is the body where the nationally appointed commissioners sit down and initiate legislation to be revised by the Council and Parliament. Two meetings were scheduled for us, discussing the Euro area expansion and the Lisbon Strategy (this is the effort made by the EU to become the largest knowledge-based economy by 2010). I would like to keep telling you about those, but I won't for two reasons:

1.The content of the lectures may be too boring for a non-Economics major and
2. I have to write a paper about it tomorrow night, so I'd rather not write about that too much.

Besides, after I write the paper maybe I can leave out some theoretical details of the lecture that may be interesting.

After a long day of meetings, I headed out with a small group of friends to explore the Belgian nightlife. We were lucky enough to have Delirium Tremens bar a short walking distance from our hotel. Delirium Tremens is known for having the a wide variety of beers, being more than 200. Ordering your drink from the bartender upstairs would illuminate you of that fact because on his 40 ft workplace is filled with beer taps on after the other. I didn't count how many were there, but I hope the visual image allows some awe. Another attractions of the bar is the Stiefel, made famous by the movie Beerfest. The Stiefel is a boot-shaped glass from which you drink the beer you order. There is a 20 euro deposit for the glass, but it is a enjoyable experience, especially if you start taking roles from the movie.

My time in Brussels was also special for two things besides sightseeing... which you can easily get now from the Internet: waffles and music. I am not one of those people who drool uncontrollably at the sight of chocolate, neither a dessert freak. However, I would do anything for those waffles. Belgian chocolate has been the most delicious experience so far. Your hands will get dirty, your face will drop chocolate all over, but it is worth it. You can't say you have been to Brussels if you haven't tried the awesomeness of the a Belgian waffle. Brussels also has the Musical instruments museum, which houses one of the largest musical instrument collection in Europe. The neat thing about this museum is that you're given a set of headphones with your ticket. Once you approach any particular instrument, the headphones catch a designated signal start playing music with the instrument right in front of you. The highlight of my visit was the glass harmonica, a 17th century instrument that looked like a huge glass shell seated on a desk. Based on the same principle of sound used when you rub your finger against the edge of a wine glass, the glass harmonic produced really quirky sounds. However, the music selected by the museum curators made the instrument a remarkable discovery for me.

Next Paris.... but that is a subject for another entry, since Paris is..... well it's Paris. I had promised pictures for this entry but my camera's memory card decided to stop working. The pictures for the whole trip are lost... or at least that is the case for now. And my camera cable came in today with the mail. So... yeah... technology is hating me now. Other entries do have pictures now though. So check'em out!