Searched for Dirt, Found Beer Instead

1.11.2015 09:00

Data log entry 10

Reporting officer Claire Stanhope

Log details:

It's been 164 hours since my arrival in Gent. My mission has been somewhat a success, but mostly a disappointment.
Three patches of dirt have been located, invaded, then trodded upon. These dirt patches, however, proved to be unsatisfying, as they were surrounded by cobblestones, tall buildings, and cars.

My search continues.

End log entry

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Since that "log entry" I did, in fact, find a park with a lot of dirt. I was very happy.

Despite not having very much real dirt or shelter from the city, I fricken love Ghent. IT'S HOGWARTS!! This is a city you don't need shelter from - most of the time.

I stayed at a phenomenal hostel where I met many very cool travellers. At one point I had a large group of friends and that group lasted almost three whole days, which is very long for hostel standards. Most of our little group - consisting almost entirely of Canadians - had only planned on staying one or two nights, maximum three. Almost everyone extended their stay at least a night, some two, some four!

I had originally only booked 5 nights and ended up staying 8. I knew both the weekday and weekend staff, both of which were surprised when they'd come back after three days off and see that I was still there. I was so comfortable in the hostel and with the staff that other guests thought I worked there as well! It was the longest is stayed in one place for so long, and it was so unnerving to have to leave again after becoming so comfortable and familiar with the hostel and the city. I only got lost 1/15 times, which is very good for me!

Unfortunately, most of my photos are on my camera which I cannot access without a computer. You'll have to wait on the photos until I find somewhere to transfer them. I'll let you all know when I do, though!

My time in Gent consisted of a lot of beer drinking. No mom, I don't have a "problem", but as a tourist in Belgium it's kind of required to try all these interesting beers! I also had that big scavenger hunt from Riley that I had to do and exploring for myself.

The beers were all fantastic and the bars all had excellent character and charm... but I won't bore you with the details. I will, however, tell you about the most unique bar I went to:

De Dulle Griet is a bar in Gent decorated in the classic style of Belgium: wooden furniture and walls, giant wooden beams, random signs and photos all over the walls, and strange objects hanging from the ceiling. This bar had a particularly strange object hanging from the ceiling: a bucket full of it's patrons' shoes. Why? So that the beer drinkers don't get any ideas about taking the giant 1.3L test tube glasses their beer is served in. Confused? Let me explain.
This bar has a gimmick where you can order 1.3L of 7% beer in a giant glass shaped like a test tube. The glasses are very unique, and after a while people got into the habit of stealing the glasses - how they managed this is beyond me, the glasses are huge - and the bar was losing money. The solution? Anyone who orders a "Max" has to give one of their shoes and place it in the bucket hanging from the ceiling. You get your shoe back when you return the glass.

I will admit, I participated in the delicate consumption of this beer twice and both times I ended up needing a bathroom break half way through the beer. Thankfully I have large feet and could borrow shoes from other people sitting with me.

I also went to Bruges for a couple of days, which was a nice city, but I just missed Gent most of the time. It was, however, very cool when I'd notice places that were in the movie In Bruges, which I hightly recommend if you like dark comedies with Irish people. My Irish accent is terrible, but I quoted that movie all day.

And now I'm back in Brussels. I stay one more night here, then I'm off to IRELAND! Gah! So exciting :D

Alright, I gotta go visit Brussels one last time. Au revoir!
~Claire

The Uppelink crew

Spiral staircase selfies!