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Post by amboseli on May 8, 2018 21:46:55 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on May 8, 2018 22:24:50 GMT
Outstanding monumental art! Great pictures, Amboseli. I have seen the red rocks online, but your photo is much better and somehow gives a realer sense of them. I am struck by how many of the buildings are seen against the sky. I imagine in a different setting, the mural walls would seem more hemmed in by other buildings. That blue, blue sky over the ocean and coast sets off everything perfectly.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 9, 2018 5:39:30 GMT
I've always enjoyed Oostende, but I have never visited it as much as I would like, probably just because it is a bigger city and more difficult to park. But I like all of the Belgian coastline, so I tend to stop in places like Middelkerke, Nieuwpoort and obviously De Panne, since I am at that end much more often.
Now you have given me a specific reason to find a parking place in Oostende after all. It shouldn't be too difficult since I tend to go out of season.
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Post by bjd on May 9, 2018 9:14:21 GMT
What a great idea to put that artwork on those apartment buildings!
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Post by patricklondon on May 9, 2018 11:26:48 GMT
Impressive. I have a (no doubt inaccurate) mental image that Belgian seaside resorts have been going through the same depressing cycle as most of ours - interesting that both are seizing on investment in arts as a way of reviving interest and the local economy, as in Folkestone and Margate. My blog | My photos | My video clips | My Librivox recordings"too literate to be spam"
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Post by amboseli on May 9, 2018 12:11:48 GMT
Now you have given me a specific reason to find a parking place in Oostende after all. It shouldn't be too difficult since I tend to go out of season. We've had great difficulty in finding a parking place for our car and traffic was crazy. I cannot imagine how the situation must be in the season. At last we parked a bit out of the center, we had our bikes after all. Instead of trying to find a parking place in Oostende, you could also park in De Panne, Koksijde, or somewhere else along the line of the coastal tram (Kusttram) and take the tram to Oostende.
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Post by amboseli on May 9, 2018 12:17:57 GMT
Impressive. I have a (no doubt inaccurate) mental image that Belgian seaside resorts have been going through the same depressing cycle as most of ours It is! Although there have been initiatives in the last years for the revival of the coastal resorts, such as this Crystal Ship exhibition, or Beaufort.
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Post by lagatta on May 9, 2018 13:21:14 GMT
You could simply take the train and the tram, hopping off at different places. Unfortunately I just saw Oostende, on my way to a town along the Kusttram line. The Kusttram is considered the longest tram line in the world. It is worth taking for itself. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Tram_(Belgium)I linked to English Wiki but the Dutch and French articles are far more detailed, with lots of public transport geekery. You can also see the Paul Delvaux museum at St. Idesbald. www.delvauxmuseum.com/The extensive damage caused by both world wars is palpable and still leaves a tinge of sadness to the Flemish coast.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 9, 2018 13:29:28 GMT
That's only if you consider 1960's and 70's architecture to be sad. Yes, I do, too. However, I think it is kind of aging well and is acquiring an agreeable patina. I am reminded of cities like Le Havre and Saint Dié-des-Vosges which were destroyed in the war and completely rebuilt afterwards. When I was little, I thought they were very ugly and charmless. Now it is I who is ugly and charmless, but the architecture of those cities has triumphed over the last 50 years.
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Post by lagatta on May 9, 2018 13:45:53 GMT
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Post by mossie on May 9, 2018 15:35:15 GMT
Some of those were very impressive. What is the relevance of 1906 to the coat of arms?, or am I showing my ignorance of Belgian history.
I do agree about '60s and '70s architecture. I worked on several crappy housing estates of the period, where the architects had won prizes FFS.
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Post by whatagain on May 10, 2018 8:27:46 GMT
Mossie i would wager 1906 is the date the house was built. Been ages I haven't been to Oostende. Family bought an apartment close by. My father had for a time an apartment in the seaside in koksijde. Since he gave a set of keys to his secretary but not to us I somehow got the message he didn't really want us there. I was wrong but I don't like the Flemish coast anyway so missed both an opportunity to spend time with my father and to enjoy the seaside. But these pics entice me going back.
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Post by amboseli on May 10, 2018 10:33:24 GMT
Been ages I haven't been to Oostende. I hadn't been in Oostende for at least 20 years. The last time, some girlfriends and I went especially to have dinner in one of the restaurants at the Visserskaai ... much overpriced! I still find Oostende one of the least attractive seaside towns along the Belgian coast. I much prefer De Haan, or quiet Duinbergen. Koksijde, too, but it's a much longer drive for us.
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