Pictures from 2006 Ghent IP, Part One

Finally, I have found some time to post some pictures from my trip to Ghent, Belgium. I went there in early January 2006 for a two week long Intensive Program(me) in Biorenewables. About 40 some graduate students from a dozen different countries attended. For two weeks, we listened to professors from many universities in Europe, and even a few from America, speak on various topics in the field of biorenewables. It was a great experience, I learned many things, and I met many wonderful people.

Now that I'm in Graz and have some free time, I plan to post a few pictures every couple of days to everyone a taste of what the city looked like. In addition, I want to show pictures of the students who attended and what we did during our free hours. I hope you enjoy it.

First we have a picture of Sint Niklaaskerk (Saint Nicolas' Church), which lies at the end of Koren Markt:
As an American who sees only semi-old and ultra-new buildings in the U.S., what often blew me away in Ghent was the juxtaposition of the really really old building and city design with the new (and corporate) influences surrounding it. Check this next photo of the same church, but with the McDonald's on the other side of the street, and Het Belfort (The Belfry) in the background:To set the scene a bit more, here is another photo taken from the same location as the last two, but looking down the street that Sint Niklaaskerk stands in front of. This open area where all the tents are set up is called Koren Markt:Finally, I'll show two pictures from the inside of Sint Niklaaskerk. I don't know much about its history or design, so I won't even bother to comment on whether the architecture is Neo-Luddite or Post-Stupidism. It was the first of several large, old cathedrals I saw while in Belgium, and for some reason I find them fascinating, and also a bit depressing. First, an attempt to capture the entire altar in one picture:Next, a shot of a big pulpit that stood on the right side of the main worship area, about halfway down the row of pews. It seemed strange to me to put the preacher way high above the people, and also behind some of them, where he couldn't be seen. But at the same time, if you want to give a good fire and brimstone sermon to scare the crap out of people, this would be the place to do it. I saw this same layout in other cathedrals as well, so I'm sure there is a specific reason for it:
Thanks for reading. Coming next will be photos from the first Friday night of the IP program, when the French students (and one Spanish girl) organized a party!