Unauthorized Heights

The plot was simple; I just had to execute: meet a local with access to a tall building in Ghent. Easy in theory, mildly absurd in practice.

Whenever I land in a new city, I hunt for the highest vantage point. I’ve called myself a snow moose before, but honestly a snow moose with wings feels more accurate. (Do those creatures exist? They should.) The problem is that the best views are usually locked behind keycards, codes, or someone’s polite-but-firm “you can’t go up there.”

But Europe is apparently more trusting, because somehow I ended up on a tall building in Ghent with a friendly local who knew the way. The whole city stretched out beneath us, the Cathedral just shy of perfect. If only I could’ve gone a few feet past the barrier for the full, forbidden view.

Photo made October 28, 2013, in Ghent, Belgium, using a Canon EOS Rebel T3i.