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Thursday 3 October 2013

3# IDa4 MURAL IN EUROPE: Gent, Belgium. Eco Hostel.




 So About Eco Hostel.

Eco hostel is like no other hostel that we have been to,  it is a converted industrial barge, with a reed bed water purification on top of the roof, you sleep on 100% natural mattresses in a low energy building that's CO2 neutral... The breakfast is vegetarian, organic and fair trade; and they have some excellent organic beers, wine, lemonade and juices. Its loving maintained and owned by the wonderful couple that is Maarten and Liselot, but more about them later.

The hostel oozes quality, from the big showers to the bespoke rooms, individually designed and uniquely decorated by the owners, it's a labor of love for them and with only 18 beds it has a lovely homely feeling.
 





The hostel oozes quality, from the big showers to the bespoke rooms, individually designed and uniquely decorated by the owners, it's a labor of love for them and with only 18 beds it has a lovely homely feeling.



We aim to make each mural individual to the hostel and right for it's location so it was important to us that this mural fitted in. We are also incorporating images from the previous cities we have visited. We were giving free run of the hostel and told we could do what we liked, where we liked. We chose shades of browns for this mural so as to blend in with the natural feel of the barge. The wood was a treat to paint on with the grain and stains coming through the paint and maintaining it's natural feel. Overall there are around 50 individual stencils painted in a block of the corridor, a huge mix of subjects and I'm really happy with the look of the finished piece as well as the reaction of those that have seen it. 

The inspiration for this mural came from something Maarten said about the upkeep and design of the barge, that the attention to detail is key. 













So About our Hosts

We felt an immediate bond with Maarten and Liselot, when you have a list of hostels and names that we are going to visit they are just that, a faceless list  and you never know what to expect.  But by the end of the visit we had shared some lovely meals with them, a delicious homemade vegetarian pie with salad and then the mother of all cheese boards, check out the photo! all washed down with some v.strong organic Belgium beer.

We share quite the same views on the world and had some amazing late night conversations, one that sticks in my mind, is why is there no mixed sexes strip joints? but seriously we enjoyed our time with them, they went far out of their way to help us, introducing us to a whole side of Gent that the tourists won't see, this culminated in us seeing ROA's playground and selling our wares at the last DOK market.(see lastblog entry)   We hope to see you again and thanks for the opportunity.

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