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Blasting off to Ghent! In order to avoid the wretched carnival celebrations I fled the country this weekend. As I said before, I have a specially designed escape pod for doing just such a thing.
After blasting a large hole in the surface of Belgium just outside Ghent and my ears had stopped ringing from the massive concussive force the sheer immensity of where I had landed struck me. All of Ghent is a monument dedicated to being drunk. This city has the largest concentration of bars anywhere in Europe. Its people are mostly students who do nothing but read things, go to college and then drink beer. It has 5 huge churches in a row, which is extremely great for my history oriented brain. Everything is a 5 minute walk away. This city rules.
After checking in the youth hostel I received the funniest tourist brochure I've ever read and I realized that this brochure was even half right, this was one of the craziest towns I would ever visit. Here's a selection from the madness that was the Ghent tourist brochure:
Omelette for sadists Bluesette serves cheap and simple food. This student bar is located at the top of the steepest hill in town and bikers really go through hell climbing. Its terrific fun to watch their tortured faces from the window! Bikers nightmare This downhill street is well-known among students. Half the cobblestones are loose and it gets pretty damn slippery during the winter! Suicide. Give piss a chance The smelliest place in town is this little alley. The lakes of urine are HUGE. Strange, because there are 45 urinals all over town. Where does the pee come from then? Might be from the girls, because after years of asking they still didn't get the public urinals the boys got. From Chile with a hangover El Negocito sits right in the heart of the red light district. Old sailors, the Chilean community, students and Ghent best musicians create a lively atmosphere. The waitors from Chile are a bit clumsy but the food is honest and tasty. Frisbees at night Nobody does it, but why not? The square is emtpy at night and the terrain adventurous with a fountain and loads of steps. Whiiizzzzz! Sleazy tourist bar 101 bukes dangle from the roof of cafe 't velooke. This really is a wonderfully scruffy place with a no-nonsense bearded barkeeper. Watch out for the prices! This might be the only tourist trap in Ghent! Haircut Don y Dona has a wicked shop window designer who does nasty things to animal embryos or barbie dolls. Go check out what these evil people are up to now! Oh, they cut hair too.
The city lived up to its reputation. I've spend some of the longest nights in my life on its streets and in its bars. The beer never seemed to ran out, the music was (usually) pretty darn good and the female barkeepers spoke with that adorable Belgian accent. I love women who speak true Flemish.... In short, yet another great and alcohol filled weekend. Next year, when the stupidity of carnaval hits Holland I plan to do something simular. That is, after I get my escape pod back to Holland. I really should have thought that through before I blasted off.....
Ghent rules!
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