You’ve seen the Leuven, now f*^* off home

LGFOX

LGFOX

Roofer
Was the chant last night as OH Leuven scored a last min winner vs Genk. A much needed win to take them out of the relegation places.
A lovely 3 day trip for 7 of us including myself, CharlieFarley, David Nish and Mr Positivity Pills himself kpbw! The locals loved us as it seems we gave them the luck they’ve been missing all season. It’s a lovely place to visit if anyone is interested, very beautiful. It’s known as the Oxford of Belgium.
The stadium is quite cute and the 8000 inside last night made more noise than we ever do. It helped that you can drink as much beer as you like in your seat. Very civilised!!
After the game we were invited to the Leuven fans secret pub where we didn’t buy a drink all night. Bloody funny night.
 

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LG - if its anything like Bruges then it will be a fantastic place for a visit.
I loved Bruges (apart from the forced yomping back to the main square after the game).
 
The friendly there a couple of summers ago was a great trip. Coincided with a week long festival. The Waterboys performing on a big stage in the Oud Markt square. Did you meet the head groundsman in the “secret pub”. He hails from Sheffield. Altogether now… “I Saw The Whole Of The Moon”!
 
…..Leuven v Leicester in the afternoon then we went and watched a game at Anderlecht v a French team in the evening!
 
"the Oxford of Belgium", you do know how to sell a place.
 
buz_not_buzz said:
Lucky you. Amongst other things I was "busy" sitting outside a cafe in the smaller watching a red faced Matt Elliott chasing after man-on-a-mission Steve Walsh across the square!
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Was that where the lovely young Belgian ladies were playing beach volleyball on sand. Tarried for a couple of beers there under the umbrellas myself!
 
Most of you know I’m partial to a trip away to watch football, usually to Germany. I enjoy it immensely and it’s always so easy to do.

I’ve not been to Leuven but I feel I should.

As for the police Soho, you usually get it when you’re following an English team abroad. They see it as a bit of a badge of honour to treat everyone like shite.
 
borebage53 said:
Was that where the lovely young Belgian ladies were playing beach volleyball on sand. Tarried for a couple of beers there under the umbrellas myself!
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Alas not... or at least if it was by the time I was there they'd taken the ball (and sand) and left before I had had a chance to appreciate their sporting prowess.
 
LGFOX said:
Was the chant last night as OH Leuven scored a last min winner vs Genk. A much needed win to take them out of the relegation places.
A lovely 3 day trip for 7 of us including myself, CharlieFarley, David Nish and Mr Positivity Pills himself kpbw! The locals loved us as it seems we gave them the luck they’ve been missing all season. It’s a lovely place to visit if anyone is interested, very beautiful. It’s known as the Oxford of Belgium.
The stadium is quite cute and the 8000 inside last night made more noise than we ever do. It helped that you can drink as much beer as you like in your seat. Very civilised!!
After the game we were invited to the Leuven fans secret pub where we didn’t buy a drink all night. Bloody funny night.
Click to expand...
.......and I suppose being the home of Stella Artois helped too?
 
buz_not_buzz said:
Alas not... or at least if it was by the time I was there they'd taken the ball (and sand) and left before I had had a chance to appreciate their sporting prowess.
Click to expand...
I happened to perchance stumble across this “sporting delight” on the Sunday lunchtime as I was killing time before my afternoon train back to Brussels airport!
 
Leuven was heavily bombed by the RAF over 2 nights in May 1944 to disrupt German rail traffic getting any reinforcements to Normandy.
The Welsh Guards Division liberated Brussels on September 3rd 1944 and seized Leuven on the following day!
Leuven had also suffered vast damage and atrocities at the hands of the German Army in 1914 during WW1.
 
LGFOX said:
Was the chant last night as OH Leuven scored a last min winner vs Genk. A much needed win to take them out of the relegation places.
A lovely 3 day trip for 7 of us including myself, CharlieFarley, David Nish and Mr Positivity Pills himself kpbw! The locals loved us as it seems we gave them the luck they’ve been missing all season. It’s a lovely place to visit if anyone is interested, very beautiful. It’s known as the Oxford of Belgium.
The stadium is quite cute and the 8000 inside last night made more noise than we ever do. It helped that you can drink as much beer as you like in your seat. Very civilised!!
After the game we were invited to the Leuven fans secret pub where we didn’t buy a drink all night. Bloody funny night.
Click to expand...
Who’s that big headed cunt? No not Charles.
 
DagenhamFox said:
Most of you know I’m partial to a trip away to watch football, usually to Germany. I enjoy it immensely and it’s always so easy to do.

I’ve not been to Leuven but I feel I should.

As for the police Soho, you usually get it when you’re following an English team abroad. They see it as a bit of a badge of honour to treat everyone like shite.
Click to expand...
Do you ever put a small but select party of fellow travellers together, Daggers? Be great to tag along with someone who already knows the ropes!
 
LGFOX said:
Was the chant last night as OH Leuven scored a last min winner vs Genk. A much needed win to take them out of the relegation places.
A lovely 3 day trip for 7 of us including myself, CharlieFarley, David Nish and Mr Positivity Pills himself kpbw! The locals loved us as it seems we gave them the luck they’ve been missing all season. It’s a lovely place to visit if anyone is interested, very beautiful. It’s known as the Oxford of Belgium.
The stadium is quite cute and the 8000 inside last night made more noise than we ever do. It helped that you can drink as much beer as you like in your seat. Very civilised!!
After the game we were invited to the Leuven fans secret pub where we didn’t buy a drink all night. Bloody funny night.
Click to expand...
I have no recollection of this photograph being taken. And that was before free drinks all night at the secret pub
 
LGFOX said:
Was the chant last night as OH Leuven scored a last min winner vs Genk. A much needed win to take them out of the relegation places.
A lovely 3 day trip for 7 of us including myself, CharlieFarley, David Nish and Mr Positivity Pills himself kpbw! The locals loved us as it seems we gave them the luck they’ve been missing all season. It’s a lovely place to visit if anyone is interested, very beautiful. It’s known as the Oxford of Belgium.
The stadium is quite cute and the 8000 inside last night made more noise than we ever do. It helped that you can drink as much beer as you like in your seat. Very civilised!!
After the game we were invited to the Leuven fans secret pub where we didn’t buy a drink all night. Bloody funny night.
Click to expand...
Nice new coat, Kev.
 
Wheezer said:
Do you ever put a small but select party of fellow travellers together, Daggers? Be great to tag along with someone who already knows the ropes!
Click to expand...
On occasions yes but usually with friends. A couple of folk on here have joined me for a game before.

I’m already running out of annual leave for this year but I would love to do a roofers trip across for a weekend. Gladbach at home and a lower league game or two too.
 
Thomas Crook writes: I'd thoroughly endorse m'learned friend's comments in her(! 😉) original post and highly recommend a visit to Leuven.

As a group of City fans we were all suffering severe withdrawal symptoms from missing out on our European trips so we thought a visit to watch our King Power owned comrades Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the Belgian Pro League was as good a substitute we could get for the time being.

It's very easy to get there - two hours on the civilised Eurostar from St. Pancras (it cost us £108 return and it's a bit cheaper than that if booked well in advance) to Brussels and regular local trains from there taking 30 mins to Leuven itself. We'd booked hotels in the nice square opposite the station (£80 a night for my husband and I) and off we went to explore.

As LG has said it's a very picturesque city with a large student population (Oxford-like rather than Cambridge: ahem). The bastard Germans did their worst to try and fuck it up in both World Wars but a lot of the original architecture (circa 15th Century) still stands. We did a bit of culture (a walk up the main student library tower with a panoramic views from the top) and found the statue 'Fonske' celebrating the mathematical formula for happiness (a fair few on here should look it up!) but mainly concentrated on sampling the local falling down waters in the many bars. There's no shortage of decent eating emporia either - we sort of watched the Swansea game on LG's iPad in a resto but the food, drink and banter were a lot more interesting: a good game to swerve by all accounts.

The Oude Markt (the 'Old Market' accurately translated from the Flemish) is claimed to be the longest bar in Europe with its array of drinking establishments. It was pretty quiet when we were there (no beach volleyball on either) but you can easily imagine it buzzing in warmer al fresco months. If you're a Stella drinker (I confess I had a few) you'd be in heaven as their huge brewery is there but there's plenty of other more interesting brews available. CityFox of this parish is a serious Luevenophile and had given me plenty of good advice about the boozers and the trip in general.

To the match experience: you have to register on the OH Leuven website to be able to get match tickets. It was a relatively straightforward process and we got ourselves excellent front row seats in the upper tier for €25. The ground ('compact' rather than 'cute' in my Flemish phrase book - think AFC Bournemouth) is a 20 minute walk (or a free David_Nish Uber ride 😁) from the centre. From what I remember of the evening we had a fucking great time. We'd all got City/Vichai stuff with us and I'd taken the original Vichai big banner (available any time for weddings, bar mitzvahs, funerals and temperance meetings pop pickers - just ask: seriously) too - we became minor celebrities as a result: all the locals we saw were mightily impressed a bunch of ageing raving Leicester nutters had come to watch their team. Winning 2-1 was an extra bonus. We met a guy who was a huge LCFC fan (major City tattoos and a friend of 'Thirsty Hursty' from his visits to games over here) who insisted we go back to his 'secret pub'. His bar bill was as long as your arm but he was adamant he would pay. He also got down on his knee and proposed to his long-term partner using a bit of string from the Vichai flag as a ring substitute (hello Joe!) in front of us! A crazy fun night!

Hopefully OHL will stay up this season - our drunken LCFC fairy dust inspired them to a 3-0 away win yesterday, so they've moved out of the relegation zone. If we don't win the FA Cup this year I can't think of a better way of renewing our acquaintance with a European tour than a return to Leuven early next season. Judith Chalmers gives it five stars: "It's fucking brilliant me duck!!".

COME ON YOU LEUVEN SLICKERS!!!!

catchysights.com

The Man Who Knows the Formula of Happiness: Fonske

The Fonske (‘Fons Sapientiae”, “Source of Wisdom”)- ‘Fonske’ is the symbol of students in Leuven. The Fonske is a statue in the center of the university city of Leuven, on the Rector De Somerplein, front of Grote Markt.
catchysights.com catchysights.com
 
LGFOX said:
Was the chant last night as OH Leuven scored a last min winner vs Genk. A much needed win to take them out of the relegation places.
A lovely 3 day trip for 7 of us including myself, CharlieFarley, David Nish and Mr Positivity Pills himself kpbw! The locals loved us as it seems we gave them the luck they’ve been missing all season. It’s a lovely place to visit if anyone is interested, very beautiful. It’s known as the Oxford of Belgium.
The stadium is quite cute and the 8000 inside last night made more noise than we ever do. It helped that you can drink as much beer as you like in your seat. Very civilised!!
After the game we were invited to the Leuven fans secret pub where we didn’t buy a drink all night. Bloody funny night.
Click to expand...
Hope to see you guys in April. Had a great time in ‘the secret pub’. Thx for a lovely night!! Bjorn
 
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