Ghent

I was in Ghent last Thursday and I went to a jazz tavern with my friend. The place was very small and as full as it could be, but the atmosphere was very nice and friendly. There was a three-member local band (All Of Us) and they played a nice set of well-known cover songs. Both me and my friend enjoyed the night immensely and judging by the applause, so did the rest of the audience as well.

For me it was a very memorable experience, because I haven’t felt so at ease and so relaxed in a pub ever before. Everyone seemed to be very friendly and the owner of the place was sitting there listening to the band and talking with people. She even offered a free round of drinks for everyone during the evening! I also talked for a while with the singer of the band and he told he had been jamming with some Finnish music students in Ghent.

Altogether it was an unforgettable evening. :-)

My Hometown! Love it!

I’ve lived there for 6 months, but I don’t know WHERE!

This is my story but now I really need to find out at what extended-stay hotel I stayed at (I need this for immigration purposes).

• the hotel was situated outside the city center, within walking distance to church/cathedral with two big towers, and a school
• the hotel was a monastery, converted to hotel. It has been there in 1907 or so.
• the hotel is small, with maybe 20 (max!) rooms. The rooms were large, with inner stairs, and upstairs bedroom.
• it was within biking distance from a canal passing through an industrial area.

Many thanks to someone who can point out what the hotel was (contact info / links / pictures). I sort of need this information ASAP!

The first appartment I rented was in Ghent on the Kouter. It was nice living there, but I must say I’m glad I moved to Bruges. It’s still fun to visit Ghent and it’s beautiful to take walks in the town. Really worth doing!

I went there for the Boombal festival, a folk festival -great!!!

The city is gorgeous, people very frendly, the food and the beer are excellent! Going doxn the canals at night is great also, lot of fun, and party ambiance!

I lived here once. It is a beautiful city. It is not as well-known as its neighbor, Brugge (Bruges), but it possesses a similar medieval splendor. At the core of the old city are the three towers, the St. Baafs Cathedral, the Belfort, and the St. Niklaaskerk. Nearby is the St. Michelsbrug (St. Michael’s Bridge) which crosses over the Leie River. Atop a lamppost near the center of the bridge’s span is a small, often unnoticed statue of St. Michael slaying the dragon.

A short walk along the Leie River you will come to the Gravensteen (Count’s Castle), which dates from about the 11th Century. This is definitely worth a visit. From atop the castle you will find panoramic views of the city are to be had. Another point of interest in the castle is the museum which has in its collection a wide variety of instruments of torture from the middle ages. The rack, the iron mask, the iron maiden, thumbscrews, a guillotine, and numerous other infamous devices are on display.

Food is great in Gent. For lunch or dinner try waterzooi, or of course the old Flemish favorite, frieten (french fries). The preferred topping for frieten among the locals is mayonnaise. It sounds peculiar to most American palates, but it is definitely worth a try. My favorite sauces are pikkels (pickled onions, cucumbers, cauliflower, and other vegetables in a mustard-type sauce), ziguener saus (a picquant tomato-based sauce, similar to salsa), and stofvlees (chunks of meat in a gravy-like sauce, very good).

Also try fresh waffles. The best are the Luikse waffels which have little pearls of sugar baked into them. You can buy the waffles in the grocery store, they’re still good, but they are so much better freshly made.

Me and my friends took a day trip here and it was by far very disappointing, the only bar that has ‘quack’ beer sucked because the bartender was a jerkoff, however, there’s a small shop in the main district that sells mustard and it’s the best mustard in the world and you can only buy it there. And homeless men will sing Bruce Springsteen and other favorites for you will spilling his Jupiler all over you. Also the DVD stores are sweet because they have really cheap prices.

I love this city… it’s so beautiful, and wonderful people! Food, coffee shops, the shopping, it’s all amazing.

A beautiful, cozy city that is just the right size, has all the necessary amenities, is very friendly, has a lot of young people in it and has great quality of living.

With good food and nice atmosphere. My gent tagged photos on Flickr