Flanders - Ghent and Bruges, BELGIUM
7th - 10th September 2017 The canal in Ghent Ghent was the first place I visited where they primarily speak a language I don't understand. Although lots of people spoke English, I was still out of my comfort zone. After I got over the initial feeling of ignorance, I got used to not knowing what was going on. The few words and phrases I learnt in Dutch were largely unnecessary for communication. Double decker bike storage at the train station Street art: sakura (cherry blossom) Street art: giant snake Church with bike parking Locals sacrifice pigeons to appease the gods I arrived at my host Didier's house, and was almost bowled over by his very friendly dog as I walked in the door. We chatted all afternoon, and I was totally amused by his smiling pessimism - he'll tell you how the world's going to end with the biggest grin, it was very entertaining. He gave me a list of places to go and beers to try. Our first stop was vegetarian bu