Ghent

Paris didn't work out so we went to Ghent. We were scheduled to meet my friends at the train station at, 11:00 in the morning but I slept through my alarm so we rushed to the station just in time to go all by ourselves. The train ride isn't bad and I sort of have this thing figured out. Ghent is a lot like Brugge but more realistic. It gets a fair share of tourists but nothing like Brugge. Ghent has almost a seedy edge to it. The people don't speak flawless English and the beer is affordable (cheap if you are getting paid in the Euro). But, the city has all of the charm and beauty of Brugge.

Travis and I were pretty exhausted after eight days of going almost non stop. We were looking forward to a relaxing trip and found it in Belgium. Lodging was a bit of an issue because we did not book anything and an international film festival was to begin the next day. The tourist office was very helpful. The lady got us into a hotel that was a little more expensive that we wanted to pay but still cheaper than a trip to Paris would have been.

The hotel was a little outside of the city, which in European terms means we had a ten minute tram ride back into the center of the city. We set about trying to find an internet cafe so I could call/email Jami and let her know we were alive. Ghent is a university town but for some reason we could not find a cybercafe. We finally settled on having some Turkish kebab and sampling the local beers.

The first bar was what I had been waiting for in Holland. You read about these "bruin cafes" (brown cafes). The walls are supposedly stained with hundreds of years of tobacco smoke and everyone is sitting around drinking a pint, telling stories. They embody the seminal Dutch virtue, coziness. In hindsight, the places in Den Haag are in fact cozy. I just think this place was quintessentially cozy. The bar had ivy growing over it and any Belgian beer you could imagine, each with its own special glass. The walls were brown and everyone was smoking but somehow the smoke did not overpower you. Almost immediately, a local struck up conversation with me. Her name was Nicol. She and her husband, about sixty years a piece, were at the bar having a beer. They both spoke limited English and of course wanted to know why Le Barack is not yet our Prime Minister. I politely explained the system to them and they politely dismissed me as an idiot. Nicol was eager to practice her English. Some of the older Dutch and Flemish did not grow up learning English through TV and movies so they have learned later in life which I find admirable. I also admired how affectionate they were. I don't know how long they had been married but that matters little. Seeing such an old couple behave show affection in that way was inspiring. A table opened in the corner so we said our goodbyes (much to Nicol's chagrin) and commandeered a table in very imperial American fashion. The table sat four, we used the other two chairs as a footrest until three middle aged guys walked up and started eyeing the open seats. Turns out these guys are country folks from just outside of Ghent. They took a bus into town as they do every weekend for some drinks. They had to leave just before midnight so as not to miss their ride home. This was a cool experience. We had read that custom in Ghent is to take turns buying a round of drinks, even if you just met the people in your party. They took the lead and we reciprocated. Again, talk turned to why Le Barack is not yet Czar but the conversation was civil and they conceded their ignorance of the subject.

After the Belgian locals left we decided to kick the computer search into high gear. Our sense of direction and self awareness was heightened by the Trappist beers. The Irish bartender told us there would be no open cybercafes but that there was a really nice bar with internet in the back just down the road. We followed his (luckily straight shot) directions and found an equally cozy bar, this one underground. The bartender was knowledgeable about the local culture and eager to oblige our curiosity. We finally peeled ourselves away at about 1:00. We were having fun but knew that we were too tired to make it a long night. The next day we walked around Ghent including a tour of a rebuilt medieval castle. Travis flew home the next morning.