Low (or lower contrast)

It seems to me that a lot of people shooting digital either go for default high contrast that the default camera settings produce or add more contrast later in postprocessing. Most of the postprocessing advice out there seems to suggest that we should always "whack" the levels until we get the histogram which is covering the entire available dynamic range. I have been frequently doing the same thing myself. Lately I am starting to think that high contrast is not suitable for everything I shoot and that some photos may be better suited to low contrast approach. I have uploaded two photos which I believe may be used to illustrate the point and here they are. I would very much appreciate other opinions on the subjects.