Gent

After Antwerp I went to Gent (spelled Gent in Flemish or Dutch and Ghent in English, I don't understand the difference) purely because several people told me I had to go and I'm happy I did! It's very similar to Bruges (cute, canals, great food) but in a slightly more modern city and with fewer tourists. One of Melissa's roommates was also going to Gent the same day and drove me and invited me out with his friends that evening. Before going out with them I explored the city a little on my own. It is incredibly beautiful at night. The lights reflecting off the water, the medieval buildings, and I especially loved the public piano! As I was walking around I heard some music and walked towards it. There were a bunch of people standing around a piano and and two people sitting at it. When they were done they got up and someone else sat down. When that person was finished a little kid and a guy on a harmonica started playing. The little kid was very talented by the way. The guy who gave me a ride later told me that the city has a few public pianos placed throughout and anyone can play at anytime. I thought it was absolutely wonderful. A community of people just enjoying music together and a very shared experience. At one point a guy who was a very good piano player started playing a song and a random woman started singing it. She was not very good and it made me wish my brother Rolfe was still with me because he could have blown their pants off but it was still interesting to be a part of. Other people started dancing and several were just tapping their foot but everyone was enjoying the music and collaboration of a couple of strangers.

I took this photo a different day because I didn't have my
camera on me that night.

Also that night I went to a small bar I would have never found (threw an alley in the middle of the picture below) and got to know a few other locals! Melissa's roommate actually works for one of the main breweries in Belgium, Duvel, so I got to learn even more about Belgian beer! I think I'm basically an expert now.

My hostel was located right on the water in a very old building. It has been one of my favorites so far. I'm not sure how many beds I've slept in in the last 6 months but it's a decently high number. I may have to try and figure that out soon. Anyway both pictures below were taken just outside my hostel.

The Gent Castle which is actually located in the center of
the city not on top of a large hill like most.

I enjoyed several things in Gent. I went on a run through a nice park where I had to navigate through a heard of sheep. I walked around the little streets and enjoyed the people watching along the canals, and I ATE! This was my last stop in Belgium so I had to enjoy the food for the last time. I of course had another waffle, this time at a sit down place with a knife and fork, it's the proper way I've been told. At this place I also got to see the batter! I tried to take a picture but I felt silly and the guy who worked there walked up to me too quickly. It was more like dough as it was sitting in small balls but you could see the clumps of sugar that was described to me. The sugar caramelizes the outside a bit as well as melts into the inside making syrup completely unnecessary.

The shiny parts is the caramelized sugar

I was supposed to go on a walking tour after enjoying my waffle but I was in a very interesting part in my book and couldn't possibly stop reading. I failed at one free walking tour but I've definitely made it up a few other times. I did however to two horrid things. I went on a boat tour and ate at a tourist restaurant for dinner. In my defense, Melissa (a local), told me to do the boat tour. I didn't do one in Bruges so I figured what the hell why not. It was fine, not life changing or anything. For dinner I went to a super touristy restaurant with an English menu! It's like the worst thing you can do! I however have learned exactly one work in Flemish and that's Winkel, it means shop, and I only know it because it's everywhere and also very close to my last name. Well I have a hard time navigating Flemish menus and the only things I can decipher are pasta dishes and I really didn't feel like eating pasta so a touristy English menu it was. I had a large piece of chicken and sat next to a very nice English couple who seemed very interested in hearing about my travels.

Before I left Belgium for good I wanted to have Belgian fries one last time. My tourist map suggested this little shack where a husband and wife team still do it the old fashioned way. Not sure what that means but I'll take it! The fries were all pre-boiled up on a shelf and when you ordered them they dropped them in the oil for a minute for the second go and they were superb. I had to get a sauce to go with them so I had the spicy one again which I mostly scraped off because it's just too much for me but it was delicious in small doses. I wanted to ask him to put the sauce on the side but I was worried he would be offended and I would be committing some sort of tourist crime so I decided against that and just scraped a bunch off with the tiny little fork they give you. I walked down to the canal and enjoyed watching the other tourist saps taking boat tours while I ate my last bit of Belgian goodness.

The fry stand. It had a long line and everyone in it was
speaking Dutch or Flemish (I don't know the difference really)
so I guess they were local-ish so I took that as a good sign.

Final thoughts on Belgium.... I would put Belgium as in my top 5 favorite European countries. It's adorable, delicious, easy to get to and around since everything is very close, the people are friendly, and there's a lot to do and see, and the food, it's mainly the food.