We arrived in Ghent, Belgium yesterday, a charming city with picturesque Medieval architecture. Apparently, it's a lot like Bruges, but far less touristy and/or kitschy. It's actually amazing that there aren't more people with cameras wandering around and that, before three days ago, I had never even heard of Ghent. The place is such a sight. It reminds me of a pan-European town in a Disney movie.
When we first arrived, mid-day Monday, we saw mostly grey-haired folks and women with strollers and I thought, "Well isn't this as quaint as can be." Then, I thought, "It's mid-day on a Monday. Who
else is going to be around?" and -sure enough- as late afternoon turned to early evening the young folks came out to play.
They plopped down at cafes and in circles, like the one above, around the square. Ghent is a college town, really, with roughly 60,000 enrolled students per school year. They seem like a lovely, alternative bunch, many dreadlocked and carrying guitars. There are so many dreadlocks here. Since I have yet to become comfortable taking pictures of people straight on, I offer this picture of a mannequin with blonde dreads as proof:
The youth scene sure give this fairy-tale-looking place a healthy dose of quirk....
Squirrels playing poker! And some kink...
You'd think the antlers would get in the way. And on THAT note, I'm off to drink some beer...
We arrived in Ghent, Belgium yesterday, a charming city with picturesque Medieval architecture. Apparently, it's a lot like Bruges, but far less touristy and/or kitschy. It's actually amazing that there aren't more people with cameras wandering around and that, before three days ago, I had never even heard of Ghent. The place is such a sight. It reminds me of a pan-European town in a Disney movie.
When we first arrived, mid-day Monday, we saw mostly grey-haired folks and women with strollers and I thought, "Well isn't this as quaint as can be." Then, I thought, "It's mid-day on a Monday. Who else is going to be around?" and -sure enough- as late afternoon turned to early evening the young folks came out to play.
They plopped down at cafes and in circles, like the one above, around the square. Ghent is a college town, really, with roughly 60,000 enrolled students per school year. They seem like a lovely, alternative bunch, many dreadlocked and carrying guitars. There are so many dreadlocks here. Since I have yet to become comfortable taking pictures of people straight on, I offer this picture of a mannequin with blonde dreads as proof:
The youth scene sure give this fairy-tale-looking place a healthy dose of quirk....
Squirrels playing poker! And some kink...
You'd think the antlers would get in the way. And on THAT note, I'm off to drink some beer...
