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| Ghent - St Veerle Plein |
We arrive late in the evening from Phoenix and our hotel is close to the airport so we have time to recuperate before our first full day. Even so we planned relatively few things for the day so we have enough time to accomodate with the time zone difference. Getting the rental car was easy and then it is off to the Central African Museum which is relatively close to the airport. Promptly after leaving the airport we get lost as the signs are confusing and we take the wrong exit. We continue through the villages and after a few more missed turns we arrive at the Museum. Or at least we think it is the museum and we are not the only ones however after going to the only entrance we are turned away - it is another impressive building in the same park but not the museum. Luckily we find a map and follow it to another parking lot which is the correct one and then walk around the large building to get to the main entrance.
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| Not the Central African Museum | Trying to find the museum |
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| This is the museum | A scary sign in English at entrance |
The museum is relatively empty of other visitors however the exhibits are interesting with a special focus on Congo given the history of Belgian occupation of Congo. One of the more interesting exhibits is the recreation of the tomb of an important person with all the objects that were buried together with that person.
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| Interesting chair and exhibit | Not many people are inside |
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| Another interesting chair | Reconstructed grave of an important person |
Another part of the museum is dedicated to natural sciences with dioramas of african animals, insects and birds. It is interesting however many exhibits are probably tens of years old and started to decay which makes for a weird visit.
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| Huge crocodile skull | One of the few surviving dioramas |
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| Lots of zebras | African butterflies |
There are also exhibits dedicated specifically to the occupation of Congo and the movement of eliberation which is quite interesting as we do not know as much as we would like about the history of this part of Africa.
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| Mementos from Belgian Congo | Spacious gallery |
The museum has also an interior garden but more impressive is the garden outside with hiking trails and well maintained shrubs and plants. Unfortunately we can visit it only shortly as it is getting late and we have to move on to visit the Atomium.
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| Interior garden of the museum | Museum from outside |
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| Landscaped exterior | Is that a tank or a bush? |
Going towards the Atomium it seems that we have deciphered the signs however after exiting the interstate they disappear but we can see the Atomium and drive towards it while trying to keep visual contact. There seems to be a party later in the day so we can park really close and take a look at the huge metal structure. It is recently renovated so you can actually go inside and visit it and even has an restaurant but due to time limitations we take it in from the outside and then continue to Ghent our final goal for the day.
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| Atomium from a distance | Below the structure |
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| It is huge compared to the cars | Glad there is no lightning |
The drive to Ghent is uneventful except for superspeeding Belgian drivers however downtown the parking signs that guided us disappear so we drive aimlessly until we find a parking garage which unfortunately is a bit further from downtown than we expected. However on the plus side it is right next to a supermarket so we can buy provisions for the next day. Also nearby is a modern building, the city library, which our parking was serving. However as soon as we start moving towards the downtown area it becomes more classical Low Countries with typical narrow houses.
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| Modern building in Ghent | Supermarket - good for buying provisions |
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| Typical Low Countries houses | Downtown street |
Not all houses are however classical looking. While they are narrow many have some distinguishing characteristic making them look more modern or more artsy. Some of the more interesting have art/advertisements painted on them.
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| Interesting ornate house | Modern mural on old house |
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| Old narrow house | New narrow house |
The road to the cathedral and central area is a major shopping street full of people enjoying the weekend day. After about 1 km of walking we finally see the St Baafskathedraal, one of the most important cathedrals in Belgium and after taking some pictures of the impressive building move on to visit downtown proper.
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| Lots of people in the downtown area | Nice detail |
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| Near the cathedral | St Baafskathedraal |
Right after the cathedral we notice another church like building, the Belfort (Belfry) which is one of the three towers that stood watch above Ghent across the centuries. It is the tallest belfry still in existence in the world and it served as watchtower, treasury and of course bell tower. It is part of the Unesco World Heritage site belfries of Belgium and France. Actually the whole area is full of interesting building including the St Niklaaskerk, one of the oldest churches in Ghent.
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| Belfort | Downtown area building |
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| Downtown view | St Niklaaskerk |
One of the more impressive buildings that we notice is the Stadhuis/City Hall. It is ornated in different styles and richly decorated and we spend some time just walking around it trying to examine all the different details.
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| Stadhuis - beautiful detail | Stadhuis - nice carvings |
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| Another side of the Stadhuis | Carved columns on the Stadhuis |
All this wandering has left us hungry and after examining the menus at a few restaurants we decide to go to the only one who actually has an English translation so we have an idea what we are going to eat. We pick the most traditional foods that we can find including the waterzooi, a soup like mix of vegetables and meat, rabbit and fish and they all are good. The only drawback was that they didn't want to serve tap water or any other free water so we had to buy for an expensive bottle of bottled water.
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| Bistro Het Lam Gods near Belfort | Only menu in English |
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| Waterzooi - typical food | Rabbit dish |
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| Beef tips | Casserole |
Refreshed we continue our visit with a tour of the interior of St Niklaaskerk. It is ornated beautifully like all Catholic churches but to our surprise it also holds an exhibit of modern clothes, almost like a mode show. Quite interesting and something we haven't seen before.
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| Interior of St Niklaaskerk | Mode show inside St Niklaaskerk |
It isn't like the city is only full of old houses. Right next to the city hall there is a modern looking wooden sculpture which seems to be pure art as we cannot discover any other function for it.
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| Central square | Near the city hall |
As we walk along the streets we also do some window shopping some window displays are quite interesting and sometimes the exhibited food just leads to guessing games regarding what it might be.
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| Interesting window display | Window food |
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| Isn't that a bit dangerous? | Another fun window display |
One of the interesting things about Ghent is the many canals that crisscross the downtown area. The houses near them are well preserved and quite nice to look at. There are also many narrow alleys that we explore, they usually finish in some hidden bar or restaurant.
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| Old houses everywhere | Downtown area is crisscrossed with canals |
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| Canal side houses | Really narrow side street |
One of the largest houses near the canal is the Great Butchers hall which dates back to the 15th century, when meat sales were centralized to monitor the freshness and quality of the meat. We are impressed also by the number of flowers adorning the houses it looks beautiful.
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| Butchers Hall | Inside the Butchers Hall - those meat hunks are not real |
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| There are flowers on the window sills everywhere | Impressive building |
After strolling to the city we arrive at the foot of the castle in the marketplace before the gate, ST Veerle Plein. It is a typical Flemish square with gabled houses and well maintained ..almost like from a storybook. There are cafes all around with people sitting and enjoying the afternoon and a cold beer.
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| St Veerle Plein View | Houses on St Veerle Plen |
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| Another View of the Plaza | Beautiful decorated house on the Plaza |
Then we turn our attention to the castle, Het Gravensteen, built by the counts of Flanders to impress upon the unruly people of Ghent their power and is therefore dark and foreboding. It also is impressive as we walk around it trying to see it from different angles.
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| This is how the castle looked like | This is how Het Gravensteen looks now |
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| Is this a moat? | Only a partial one |
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| Very impressive view of Het Gravensteen | Zoomed in view of the castle |
As we turn back to go towards our car we are trying a different route which has different views and shopping and also we see our first interesting bird, a sparrow like bird with red areas, that seems unimpressed by us as we approach.
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| Shopping street in Ghent | St Niklaaskerk from a distance |
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| Curious bird | Bird walking on the ground |
The last area that we visit is the Graslei area, the former port area of Ghent. It was here that the richest merchants were living and as such the houses are impressive and very ornated. There are also ducks and interesting stores. After that it is back to the car but before leaving we buy some provisions from the nearby supermarket.
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| Graslei view | Detail of Graslei House |
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| Close up of a richly ornated house | Another former house of a rich merchant |
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| Abandoned(?) house on Graslei | Detail on house |
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| Ducks were enjoying the water near Graslei | Shopping area in downtown |
Antwerp where we stay for the night is close however the hotel has no close by parking and we have to carry the luggage through the city for a distance. After that we eat dinner from our provisions and we go to bed to recuperate for the next day.
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