Gent the Third

I went through the "intense" portion of my teaching responsibilities in September and October. This involved teaching two classes during the eight week period (so, a period akin to a U.S. quarter system rather than semester system): 1) structural equation modeling (a statistics course to students in our masters program), and 2) research methods (a methods/statistics course for students in our "research masters" program - so a program that has more emphasis on research training than our other masters program).

Immediately after I gave my final exam for one of the courses, I hopped on a train to make my way to Gent, Belgium, which is about 120 miles southeast of Amsterdam, to give a keynote address at an evolutionary behavior conference. I arrived around 10pm after finishing up at work around 7pm, and I gave my presentation the following morning. The conference was great, and my hosts were as hospitable as one could hope for, but the highlight of the trip was (as it's been twice before) the beauty and charm of Gent.

This photo didn't quite do the autumn beauty of this scene justice.

A cute play on "tout suite" (right away) in French

Exterior of the Castle/Fortress in Gent

Most tourists - I think - who visit Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium) think of and go to Brugges instead of Gent. I find Brugges to be fairly boring - an overly manicured village that exists purely for tourism. Gent's center, on the other hand, houses a university and thriving non-tourism business (though, naturally, tourism is a major portion of the economy). So an functioning city is built around churches and castles that date back to the 14th century.

I climbed the Belfry for the third time in my third trip to Gent. The first two trips were in December (winter) and August (summer), so this was the first time I'd seen an autumn landscape from the panoramic view. 

I may have visited during what might have been the last weekend before autumn transitioned to winter. It was warm enough to use only a light jacket, there were no clouds on Saturday evening, and the sunlight glowed against the buildings at dusk. 

Of course, the real star of Gent is the nighttime lights above and reflecting against the water. 

And, naturally, the Belgian food and beer were a close second to the nighttime light show. Belgian beers are a bit sweeter and stronger - and less adventurous - than I prefer, but I can't recall ever having a bad one. And the food - the food is light years ahead of what one gets in Amsterdam restaurants (and the Dutch readily acknowledge this). 

So, I'm not done with Gent after three visits. I'll look forward to a fourth soon. Perhaps in spring this time.