Month: September 2007

Categories
beer Travel

Ghent Part I

The next day was a travel day. Packed up and headed for the train station.

Right next to the train station is this huge flea market held every Saturday. We put our luggage in a locker in the train station and wandered through the flea market. It was a interesting experience. Apparently it is a common place to shop for furniture, clothing, housewares, art etc. One could easily furnish an entire apartment from scratch in one (very busy) afternoon at this market.

I know if I ever end up living in Ghent, I am gonna rent a truck and park it around the corner and go shopping here to get my apartment started.

On the train, we were *bad*. There were a couple of American women who headed to Ghent for the day. They asked tons of questions and really had no idea what to do in Ghent. They had no guide book. I got the distinct impression they were looking to latch onto someone as a tour guide. We ditched them. I felt bad. For about 5 minutes.

We stopped in Korn Markt square on our way to our B&B for some lunch.

And beer

  • Petrus Gouden Tripel
  • Pilaarbijter Tripel Blond
  • Tripel Karmaliet
  • Duvel

After lunch and a stroll around the square to find an ATM, we made it to our (rather disappointing) B&B above a bakery just off one of the main squares in the old town.
We started our beer tourism of Ghent at Aba-Jour, a nice place on one of the canals. Great food, prepared with beer.

To drink we had (ordered Westvleteren, but they were OOS):

  • Agustijn Grand Cru – very nice
  • Villers Tripel – fruity, and somewhat spicey. great companion to the food
  • Gentse Tripe- floral with a nice finish. Very good beer
  • Pater Lieven Blonde – slightly malty for a blond. Smelled like socks.

We then returned to our mosquito and fly infested B&B for a crappy nights sleep.

Categories
Uncategorized

Where was I?

Oh yes, when I last posted I was in Brugge.

I, err, have some catching up to do.
Gotta finish the “We’re here for the beer” tour.

And then talk about the Brno MotoGP and Vienna

RSN. Really

Categories
Uncategorized

And then there were none….

We have made some good friends here. They are a diverse and fascinating group of people. [Now, I have many diverse and fascinating friends back in Seattle, but these people are different in a way. Their experiences differ from mine a great deal. They have traveled more than I have, for one thing. That is unusual for me. Anyway]

Being here for a second year has exposed us to a phenomenon I have taken to referring to as “saying goodbye at the wholesale level”.

There is a fairly substantial turnover every year here at AUC. There are visiting professors, graduate students, post-docs, various visiting fellows etc.

Some of them were easy to say goodbye to. That sounds harsh, but people come and go in one’s life. Some, while pleasant to have around, don’t leave a big hole when they leave.

June is filled with going away parties. We said goodbye to people that we are not likely to ever see again.

Now, one could argue that one never knows if one will see someone ever again. You, or they, could be hit by a bus and poof! they are gone forever.

But this is different. It is unlikely that we will see these people again even if life proceeds as “normal” and no one gets hit by a bus. They has dispersed to the 4 corners of the earth.

There are some that we will attempt to stay in contact with. Some that I really do hope to meet again someday, somewhere.

The last of those people left late last night. Our friend Craig, who went with us to Petra, flew home to NYC.

He came in with us last year. He was in our “cohort” or newbies. He is a video journalist and has traveled extensively. As a result he has some truly great experiences and stories. The man could easily drink on these stories for many years…

We have dined and drank beer and told stories and laughed together frequently.

Especially this last month or so. He stayed with us for a few weeks after he gave up his apartment.

I have the apartment to myself for the first time in several weeks, which is always kinda nice. But I know we will miss him.

I really hope we can get together now and again.

Good luck, Craig.