2022
There was a powdery white substance, there was adult content and there was music. Sex, drugs & rock ’n roll you might think? Well, I have to reassure/disappoint you (just pick the one that fits your personality best and do let me know in the comments which it is 😊). The powder was sugar on one of the Greek national delicacies that George, one of the participants, had brought. The music was heard from the belfry towers in Ypres and Ghent; in case of the latter one of the songs to be heard was Lou Reed’s Perfect Day, one of the 4 songs recently chosen by the inhabitants of Ghent in a popular vote – what better illustration could there be that these people have great taste? And as for the adult content: when visiting Belgium, some consumption of Belgian beers is bound to happen, unavoidably resulting at some point in some puns that can only be labeled adult.
The meetup, which had been planned for months and eventually brought together 15 local guides from 8 different countries started for me on Friday around noon. Some participants had already met on the evening before, but I was still traveling myself then, so I can only tell from the first pictures uploaded to the shared album that they seemed to be having a great time). The official start was only scheduled at 6 PM, with most of the local guides still on the road to Ghent, but as 4 of them were already in the city, I had decided to arrange a pre-meetup program: grab some lunch together (as can be seen in the diary-style post I was writing in the course of the meetup) and visit the St Peter’s Abbey.
Around 6 PM we made our way to the official starting point and it was an absolutely stunning experience to see local guides arriving at the square from all directions! As you might expect: hugs & kisses in massive quantities. The restaurant where we had booked a table was just a minute away, and at first they seemed a bit skeptical about this odd bunch, especially as 1) I was unable to state the exact number of people that would still arrive (I was still exchanging messages with local possible participants) and 2) we decided to all move a seat to the left every 15 minutes (great proposal, Irena). But in the end the restaurant staff even decided to join the abundant photo taking, and even requested to put a group picture on their Facebook page. During the meal there was an elaborate exchange of small gifts, which was the perfect excuse for me to bring out the stickers I had ordered for the meetup.
To close off the day, we visited the pub next door, one of several pubs in Ghent offering literally hundreds of Belgian beers. The temptation to simply order ‘one of each’ was there, but we ended up consuming a much more moderate amount. After all: local guides are sensible people [most of the time].
Saturday, when @TorM (host of the 1st European Meetup in Krakow) was also joining us after an impossibly long drive by car, was the main meetup day in the city of Ghent, with the must visits on the agenda: The Ghent Altarpiece, one of the most famous paintings in the world (painted in the 15th century by the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck), and the Castle of the Counts (Gravensteen in Dutch). Since last year, the latter has a very nice tour with audioguide (with the voice of a popular local stand-up comedian) that I can only recommend for the full 100%. It contains a lot of historical information, but all recounted in a very funny way – the top 5 of cruel executions will stick to my memory forever. Definitely one of the highlights was the boat trip we took in the afternoon (where the picture on top of this post was taken).
When I afterwards told that there was a pub called Dulle Griet where you can order a beer called Kwak in a very special giant glass, and especially that whoever orders this has to give a shoe which is then put in a basket that is raised to the ceiling, the next destination was quickly decided upon. And guess what was ordered once we got there.
Before we went on a city walk to explore the rest of Ypres, there was a sudden outburst of local guide activity around an ice cream shop, with several local guides using their best LG skills in an attempt to get their newly shot picture of the venue on the top position on maps. Boys will be boys. During the city walk there were plenty of photo opportunities of course, and some used that to make some pictures of local guides jumping - that seems to be quite popular, I wonder who could possibly have started that trend?
In the evening it was WW I time again, as we first attended the Last Post, a ceremony to remember the war casualties, held every single day (without interruption since 1929!) at 8 PM at Menin Gate. Given the fact that it is held every day, I had expected just a few people to be there, but there was actually an impressive crowd. And the ceremony was equally impressive. Afterwards, on the way back to Ghent, we visited Tyne Cot Cemetery, another leftover from the Great War (a.k.a. the one that was supposed to end all wars…)
Monday was the final day, and it happened to be my birthday. As some people had to leave in the course of the day, we decided to have breakfast together, which also turned out to include a birthday cake that the LGs had organized for me (as you can also see in the diary-style post). Afterwards we unfortunately had to split up, with some guides off to explore Bruges, some to the airport in Brussels and some sticking around in Ghent. As you can see in the picture, I absolutely enjoyed the day and it was really hard to say goodbye in the end.
Thank you ever so much Jane (@JaneBurunina) , Inna (@helga19) , Niilo, Torben, Davide (@davidhyno) , George, Irena (@IrenaS) , Fazz (@FazZ) , Peter, Adrian (@AdrianLunsong) , Michael (@ikaramon) , Arne (@arnedery), Kristof and Jean-Ignace (@Jean-IgnaceBE) for making this an extraordinarily fabulous experience I will remember the rest of my life! I really hope we can meet again (and loads of other LGs), for example at a 3rd European Meetup in 2020, which is rumoured to be already in preparation, so: to be continued!
If you want to see more pictures of #euromeetup19: check out this photo album, which contains a selection of the best/most memorable pictures made by the various participants.
Some of the participating local guides have also written a post of their own; I will add links to those as they get published:
https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/A-local-story-from-a-local-guide-about-2nd-... (davidhyno)
https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/RECAP-2nd-European-Meetup-2019-in-Gent-Belg... (AdrianLunsong)
Thank you dear @JanVanHaver for this perfect European Meet Up 2,for our unforgettable impressions,for our great river trip in Ghent,for our fun in restaurant and cafe, for visiting charming city Ghent and city Ypres..We enjoyed being in this city,walking along the beautiful streets,visiting cathedrals and museums,drinking beer,eating delisious Belgium chocolate.We have a lot of nice ,funny moments,it gives us positive,energy and fun.
Thank you so much!
Thank you @JanVanHaver, you made this an event never to forget for all of us! I think we will meet again in some country in Europe or beyond? Special memories to the white stuff in front of the cops... 😏 A special reminder for the fun we had in front of "Damas" 🤪 we will meet again, I hope!
