Bicycle-Björn

Wild van fietsen,
originally uploaded by 't Beertje.

I bought a bike last Saturday! It's old, it's green and it's lovely.

I picked it up from a guy who lives in a small village just east of Sint Niklaas, the repair and restoration of bikes is a bit of a hobby of his. So my bike's in a perfect state: bad enough to be fairly cheap and less likely to get stolen, but good enough to get from A to B with some pride and grace.

I've already covered quite a few kilometres on my bike, and my thighs hurt alot. Still, it's totally worth it. From my place to the city centre it's about 10 minutes' drive (Ghent is a maze of one-way streets if you're on a car, so the quickest route takes you away from the centre before you get there), plus five to infinity minutes to find a parking space. By bike I can take more scenic routes and it only takes about 15 minutes. Gent is quite flat like most of Flanders, which adds to the pleasure.

The cobblestones are a bitch though.

Snow in Ghent

Snow in Ghent,
originally uploaded by 't Beertje.

This is what I woke up to last Thursday. Just lovely.

I believe this is the river Leie (someone please correct me if it isn't ;)). The Leie is known as the Lys where it starts, far away in France, but passes through Dutch speaking lands before going to the sea.

Registering

De Lijn,
originally uploaded by 't Beertje.

Orders: Go to the stadhuis (city hall) and register.
One afternoon just before 4 I drove to the city center and entered the lovely picturesque stadhuis close to where I used to live. Turns out that's not at all the right place for me to be, I should go to the administrative division, close to the main bus station, Zuid. Furthermore, it is open from 08-13, so I'm way too late. It is open on Saturdays, though (handy!) so I can go then.

Updated orders: Go to the stadhuis, administrative division on Saturday and register.
So on Saturday I enter the administrative division shortly after they open and take a number. There are more than 40 people ahead of me. 2 hours later it is my turn and I find out that not only is it not possible to register on Saturdays, but I'm in the wrong place. Because I live south of the railwaystation I should go to the dienstcentrum for my area. The dienstcentrum is at Rerum Novarumplein, just a few blocks from my house. It is not open on Saturdays.

Updated orders: Go to the dienstcentrum by Rerum Novarumplein on Monday and register.
I did and it worked!

Now I have to wait for a policeman to visit to check if I actually live where I say I live, and I'm formally a resident of Gent. Huzzah!

Winter in Berlin

Together in Berlin,
originally uploaded by 't Beertje.

The photos are here

Gleðileg jól!

Gleðileg jól!,
originally uploaded by 't Beertje.

Happy yuletide you people!

For various reasons (slight sickness, sudden unforseen abroadness, but mostly lazyness) I didn't send out any christmas cards this year. I'm sorry.

But this is Christmas! No time to be sorry! So instead I'm sending my most heartfelt wishes of happiness to all my friends wherever you may be, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all in the new, exciting year that's ahead. Thank you for all the wonderful moments we shared this year.

It may seem a bit insincere writing this to everyone I know (and even some people I don't know, I guess), but there really are so many of you out there who have made this year (and all the others, in fact) special, and for this I'm grateful.

Hugs to you all.