GHENT BELGIUM

 

 

Even if I didn't have pictures to remind me, one thing I would always remember about Ghent is how absolutely stunning this city is by night.  

 

St Nicholas Church

 

It is a great city in broad daylight as well of course and we enjoyed the old town and visited as many of the historical places as we could.

 

Ghent, St Michael's Bridge 

It's a very walkable City — our lodging was about two blocks from this main Canal Street.     There are several colleges and Universities here and that always makes for a vibrant City.   

 

Ghent by Night

I took so many pictures; the city was magical by night.   And so we were not surprised to learn after the fact that the Ghent Light Plan has received international acclaim.   It was designed to provide environmentally-conscious lighting while at the same time displaying the city at its best.

 

St Bavo's Cathedral

 

We visited St Bavo's which is home to a 15th -Century painting called The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (no inside pictures.)  The Cathedral altarpiece is by Jan Van Eyck and is considered  his masterpiece.   There are numerous other paintings and sculptures as well and four organs.     As part of the tour, we listened to a talk about the altarpiece.  It is hard to imagine parishioners attending regular Sunday services here — because during the tour, it seemed more like a fine Art Museum than a Church.                                   

 

 

 

 

It was a busy city, but we had the feeling that most of the people enjoying the pleasant days were local — (except for all of us on the Cathedral tour. )

 

Gravensteen Castle

This 11th Century building in the Center of town has been a Castle, a prison, and a torture chamber.  Kids were using the grounds for picnics and playgrounds and sunbathing during the days we were there!  

 

 

Except for the  night before our flight back to the States, our stay in Ghent was the last place where  "The Travel Planner" had booked lodging before we left for our River Cruise.  Between our last night here and that final night,  we had four days  left to  play!    Why not, we thought,  see the last of the three countries of Benelux?  So,  from our room in Bruges,  Bill booked a hotel room in Luxembourg City for  a couple of nights and then  a couple more in downtown Amsterdam, since we had seen really nothing of that City except for the ship dock.   

We had loved Belgium  and almost hated to leave — but looked forward to the next and last two chapters of our journey! 

 

 

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to the hosts.

 

MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;   OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  TUESDAY TREASURES;  SAY CHEESE;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and  FRIDAY  BLISS;