Finally made it

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On the Ground in Gent

Well, I finally made it to Belgium. I honestly thought I'd never actually get here. I left Little Rock, Arkansas at about 11:00 AM on Thursday January 4, flew to Atlanta where I had about a three hour layover, met up with Caroline at the airport, then left U.S. soil at about 6:00 PM. The flight was rather uneventful. I had whiskey on the rocks to celebrate my departure (Crown Royal because they didn't have any decent bourbon), and settled in for the 8 hour flight. I had an aisle seat so I only got about two hours of sleep on the plane because my head kept flopping around. Then about an hour before we landed I discovered that the headrest folded out on the sides to give you something to lean against while sleeping. It would have been nice to have that information when the plane took off. Landed in Brussels at about 8:00 AM local time (1:00 AM Central Standard Time) on Friday January 5, and hopped a train straight to Gent. The transit from Brussels to Gent was really easy because there is a train station at the airport. Once we arrived in Gent we hopped a tram to try and find the Youth Hostel where we'd be staying for the next two weeks (courtesy of the Biorenewables Intensive Program). Caroline and I definately looked like tourists because we both were lugging around six months worth of crap (she's staying in France for the semester). We finally made it to the hostel and got our stuff put away. We successfully defeated jetlag with a lots of coffee and a "forced march" style tour of Gent all day. Then after a decent meal and a beer that night I was ready to get a good night's sleep after being up for 34 hours (not counting the two hours of sleep I got on the plane).

First Impressions

What can I say about Gent? Gent is a beautiful city, and is completely different from anyplace I've ever been. I guess the thing that struck me immediately was the age of the place. So many things here are so old. Buildings, churches, streets, it isn't uncommon to find a building that is older than my country. I could try to describe what it's like here, but I'll just let the photo's speak for themselves. Just a few things that I've found interesting include (I'm writing this about three weeks late, so I've had some time to gather a decent list):

*Doors on the entrances of buildings open inward. Why is this strange? It's strange because in the U.S. fire regulations require that all of the main entrances and exits to buildings must open outward. That way, in the event of a mass panic you don't end up with the doors pinned shut by all the people trying to escape whatever disaster may have happened inside. It actually took me a few days to notice this. Every time I walked into a building I wanted to pull the door open, only to realize that I needed to push.
*It doesn't get light until after 8:00 AM. If you look at the globe, Belgium is actually even with southern Canada, which explains why the days are so much shorter than in Arkansas. Hopefully that also means that the days will be a lot longer during the summer.
*Lots of dogs, and lots of dog poo - you really have to watch your step around here. It's probably because of the lack of grassy areas, but there seems to be an unusual amount of dog poo on the streets and sidewalks.
*Lots of bicycles - it seems to be the primary mode of transprortation around here for both the young and the old. I guess I'll have to get one.
*Lots of English language music - the radio stations here play a lot of stuff I'm familiar with, and much of it is somewhat "Old School" for me. U2, 50 Cent, Boy George, MC Hammer, "Push It", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Pump Up the Jam" (remember that one? apparently it's by a Belgian group, which would explain why they still play it here from time to time), just to name a few.
*Most people here speak English. It makes things a lot easier for me, but at the same time I'm not forced to learn Dutch. That's why I'm signing up for a Dutch language course at the University.

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Photos

Street
This is a street near the hostel where I was staying.

Canal
Just one of the many canals running through Gent.

Castle Gravensteen
This castle was about 200 yards from the hostel. I've never seen one of these before.

Cathedral
I don't remember what the name of the cathedral is. Sorry, but I'm updating this about a month after I went in.

Koren Market
I really like this photo.

The Bridge
Here's a nice picture with the 3 towers in Gent in the background. I'm standing on a bridge over one of the canals.

Pee Area
Gent is a very dog friendly city.

???
I'm really not sure what this is advertising.

Waffles
Yes, they really are that good. I never really understood what the big deal was with Belgian waffles...now I know. Unfortunately, I don't think they would taste quite the same if I shipped some back to the U.S., so you'll just have to come visit and see for yourself.

Shopping Street
I think this is the Veldestraat, a street with a lot of shops on it.

Sunday Market
Can you find me in this photo?