Photos

Gent (Ghent, Gand) is my kind of town... at least in Belgium. Yes, I think I'm lucky having had the possibility to live in this magnificent town of almost 300.000 inhabitants (large percent is made up of students). Yes, I have seen, experienced and understood Gent more than any other town in Flanders but I have to say, it's perhaps the best town in the whole of the country. Somehow I have a feeling that there is something wrong with many others in the area. Not necessarily huge problems these are, but they're there! Gent is as pretty (spectacular, unique and diverse) as Bruges, full of students like Leuven, stylish like Antwerp, open, every-day, spontanious, welcoming and young inspite of the old heritage you can see on the buildings. Bars, cafés, pubs, restaurants, festivals, nightlife, canals, good sports fascilities, international, calm and pulsating at the same time. I think I could go on with all the good qualities of Gent (and I can hardly think of any downside) that most tourists just miss while they are in the neighbourhood (maybe it's not a bad thing).

It's interesting that you are astonished by the charms of the town constantly if you stay there for some days but in a long term, if you have the possibility to go deeper, you will understand that there is far more beyond beauty. There is some kind of a deeply human touch...

I came back to Gent in August, 2009, to meet up with some international fellow-students that had become my friends back in 2006. Gent has changed a little. Some building projects, a lot of construction was currently ongoing in the heart of the town (I didn't want to touch that tower either in the background, I would have spoiled the reality). When I was there, it was in the morning, walking down the Korenlei, facing the Graslei on the other side, almost no people at all (later that day it was frequented by youngsters and both older generations). These houses were built during the golden age. You can imagine sail ships being parked here ;-). Anyway, the summer air was warm, the clouds were mysterious but I thought I could use a neutral grad. filter to make it more colourful. But, of course, it's up to you to decide :-).

I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for reading and viewing!