Road to Ghent via Brussels
We said goodbye to Berlin and hello to Ghent via an almost four-hour stopover in Brussels.
My Fitbit resets at 12:00 Seattle time, which is 9:00 a.m. in Berlin, so some of my steps from this morning local time show up in yesterday’s reading, which was a whopping 16.14 miles. While today shows a modest 9.38. Some of those miles from yesterday were from today.
I got an email saying our flight was delayed, which was a Godsend. I wasn’t looking forward to waking up at the crack of down. So, we left at a more decent time. Whenever I book early morning flights, I wonder what I was thinking. They seemed like a good idea at the time. On the way here, our flight was also delayed by two hours, so it gave time to do all that I didn’t to get some plus some.
The experience at the airport going out was bonkers. We were not able to use the check in machines for some bizarre reason. We had to stand in this long line that ran painfully slow. Then the line for the security check point was also long. This lady held up the line forever. She had so many bins and kept opening bags and taking more stuff out. Meanwhile, I’m standing about five people back with everything that needed to be out already in hand. She was just so oblivious to it all. We ended up changing lines. We had to hustle to our gate and made it just as they were opening the gate to catch the ride to our plane on the tarmac. It was stressful. I’m one of the get to the airport and chill person, as is Clara. Still not sure why we couldn’t get the boarding passes to print.
While it was great being late to sleep in early, it wasn’t so good our plan to do a stopover in Brussels on our way to Ghent, we lost some of the time for exploring Brussels, which ended up being almost four hours. We put our stuff in a locker at the central station, and away we went.
Still, we were able to see a lot of stuff in the Old Town and some of the surrounding area. It has a cool vibe, and I can see myself going back to see more. Brussels was founded around 580 and was a stopping point between Bruges and Cologne in the 12th Century.
We started in the Market Place aka The Grand Place, which is the center of the Old Town. It includes the Town Hall, the House of the King, the House of the Duke of Burgandys and other houses. I love visiting the old town in most cities. It’s a great place to people watch and imagine the people who have walked there for hundreds of years.
The Town Hall was built in the 1400’s and is topped by a statue of St. Michael slaying the devil. I’ve seen this everyone along with St. George slaying the dragon. I feel like somewhere in there is a message for me!
The House of the King (or King’s House) has an 800-year-hisotry. It’s been a bread market, the regional office for the empire of Charles V, and is now the city museum.
One of the buildings near Town Hall is where Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels wrote their Communist Manifesto. I didn’t know that then, but now that I do, I would have paid better attention to which one. I’m sure it’s probably in one of my pictures.
We were able to spend some time in Saints Michael and Gudule Cathedral. After that, we walked to the Column of Congress and over to the Belgium Parliament buildings. The Cathedral was built between 1200 and 1500.
Went into Notre Dame of Sablon, which is a lovely church. Building began in 1400 and took more than a century to complete. The church was damaged during the religious wars and the French Revolution and restored in the 19th century. The church has an interesting founding story you should look up. Still confused if the statue was “found” or “stolen.”
While getting to the Royal Park, we saw the Belgiam Parliament. The park was modeled after Versailles for Empress Marie Theresa (Marie Antoinette’s mom). It was quite lovely to look at, and as I have said, we are having very nice weather!
Saw the Royal Palace. It is used as an office for the current king. The BELvue Museum is right next door.
We went to the Church of St. Jacob. The church was built between 1776 and1780. It was used as an abbey and parish church. During the French Revolution, the abbey was made into a Temple of Reason. The church was returned to Catholic control in 1802. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Prince Albert’s uncle I believe) became Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, on the front steps of the church.
We saw a few more things, but I think these are the highlights. We did quite a bit for only four hours. I would like to go back and see European Parliament, Matonge District, and Memorial 1815.
We wanted to get to Ghent and find our home for the next nights before it got dark. I haven’t really started taking pictures because I had my luggage, but I am about to go wild with the camera. It’s so amazing! While I was in Brussels, I was trying to remember why we choose Ghent. Now I remember. Plus, it’s a good middle ground between Brussels and Bruges location wise. More about where we are staying after hour trip, but I love it!!
Ghent Day 1
We had a 13.44-mile day!
The day started with a nice breakfast at our hotel. I’ll say more about it after we leave (not sure if I will get around posting this before we leave but just in case), but it’s awesome. The breakfast area has a communal table plus tables for those who want to only sit with their party. There is also a seating area that you can get coffee, tea, wine, and cake at will and a patio for nice days. It was 70 today, and it was nice. So nice that Clara and ate outside for dinner. Breakfast has bread made that morning, homemade jams, homemade yogurt, fruit, cheese, meat, and nuts. It was a great start of the day. It is a little steep in price, but it ended up being breakfast and lunch.
The first stop was St. James Church. It was closed, and we planned to revisit it another day (see below).
We stopped by to get tickets for a daytrip to Brugge the following day.
We made our way to St. Bavo’s Abbey and the nearby St. Macharius Church. The abbey was closed, so we planned to visit it Friday. See details below for the visit.
We saw St. Anne’s Church. A chapel dedicated to St. Anne was built on the site of a parish church in 1644. The current church was consecrated in 1869.
We visited Small Beguinage Our Lady Tery Hoyen. The Beguines were single women who lived together as a Catholic Community. They did not take vows, but they had to lives by the rules as long as they lived there. Rules like obedience to their supervisors, chastity, and austerity. The ladies were persecuted as witches or heretics because of their independent statuses during certain times. By the end of the 18th century, the practice dwindled. The last Ghent beguine died in 2008, shy of 100. It was foundedin 1234 by the Countess of Flanders.
Next was Our Lady of St. Peter’s Church and St. Peter’s Abbey and Garden. The first church dated back to the 12/13th century and converted in the 17th century. There was another church that did not survive the French Revolution nearby, so this one was renamed. The abbey was founded by St. Amand in the 7th century. They grow wine grapes, apples, figs, and quinces. Clara spoke with a man named Jeroen who was picking quinces he and his wife would turn to preserves. As we were leaving, we talked to him so more.
Then we explored the Old Town and around. There are tons of large churches all within one area.
The Castle of Gerald the Devil was the home of a knight who had dark hair and dark skin. He and his wife are buried in St. Bavo’s Cathedral.
Then made our way to St. Bavo’s Cathedral, Town Hall, NTGent, Belfry, St. Nicholas, St. Michael’s Bridge and St. Michael’s. See more about each in the Friday entry.
We saw the Castle of the Counts and plan to go in on another day. Funny, we ran into Jeroen on our way there as he was picking up his child. Then they biked by us a third time. It’s rare in Flanders in that is a medieval fortress with its defense system still intact. It dates backs to the Roman occupation.
We went to Old St. Elizabeth Beguinage. The Beguinage included a church, the home of the mother superior, and infirmary, a chapel, room for more than 100 ladies, a bleach field, and an orchard.
We passed through Vrijagmarkt Square, which has been a square since 1199. The market was closed. The square used to be used for executions the last of which took place in 1822. It’s also used for formal receptions, parties, and celebrations. Ons Huis is on the street and was the party headquarters for an organization that established the first socialist health insurance fund. See more about the market in a later post.
Ghent Day 2 + Day trip to Brugge
I was excited to return to Bruges! When Clara and I decided on which city to stay in (Brussels, Ghent, and Bruges) we choose Ghent because we could do quick day trips to both via train.
We missed the train, and we had an hour before the next one, so we were able to visit the nearby Portus Ganda. We had used the Dampoort Station, while closer to our hotel, has less trains. The city of Ghent developed around the confluence (Ganda) of the Lys and the Scheldt. The Portus Ganda marina is there now. Some of the river is now covered by concrete. It would be interesting to see how the area looked originally. I’m always fascinating to see how Seattle looked before landfill.
We started by taking a walk outlined in Rick Steves’ guidebook, which includes:
Market Square is the heart of the city. It its heyday, the canal used to come right up to the square. Today it teems with life, especially on a nice day like today. Though it rained for about 30 minutes when we first got here.
We walked up the Bell Tower, which is 366 steps. When I came the first time, part of the view was obstructed because of construction. This trip, I had no excuse. It had good views of the city. I was breathing hard walking up there.
Burg Square is a historic square and the square the basilica is in. It’s the site of a ninth-century castle of the first count of Flanders.
We visited the Basilica of the Holy Blood, and I can remember coming here last time I was here. The church was built by a crusader to house the drops of Christ’s bloods he’d brought from Jerusalem. The blood was washed from Christ’s body and preserved in a vial. The blood was donated to the city of Ghent. For two centuries, every Friday the dried blood would become liquid, according to pilgrims.
City Hall was built around 1400. It was used as a model for other city halls, including the one in Brussels.
Renaissance Hall has served as a governing palace, courthouse, and is now the city archives. The façade dates back from the 1720s.
Blinde-Ezelstraat (Blind Donkey Street) may be a street where owners placed blinders on so donkeys could be led to the market.
Bruges is about 12 miles from the North Seas so there used to be a big Fish Market. Today it’s mostly vendors selling other stuff.
Huidevettersplein is a square that used to be headquarters of the town’s skinners and tanners
I was excited to return to the Church of our Lady, but it has changed since I was here in 2010. A few years after I visited, they began some renovations, so I didn’t recognize a church I so loved. So that means St. Colman’s Cathedral in Cobn, Ireland, is now my uncontested favorite church in the world.
St. John’s Hospital is the site of the former wards and church but is now a museum.
We went to the Begijnhof, a complex of buildings built to house Beguines. They would spend their day in prayer, spinning wool, making lace, teaching, and taking care of the sick. The numbers were high during the Golden Age when women were widowed or unwed due to war and overseas trade. The women had a place to live and work and be independent and not be a burden on family.
Minnewater (Water of Love) is a park filled with canals, willows, and swans. I remember it from the first trip. So peaceful and full of joggers and people riding their bikes.
The rest of the time was spent wandering around the city, though the walk did include some canal and bridge picture options. It’s very hard to take a bad picture there. It’s so beautiful.
Ghent Day Three
We returned to St. James Church. Since as early as 1093, a church has been on this site. The original was probably a wooden chapel, which was replaced by a stone building in the 12th century. It may have been a stopping point for pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St James in Santiago de Compostela. The church was Romanesque style, but it has had restoration, which was early Gothic and Baroque. It was open, so we were able to look inside.
The church is very close to the Vrijdagmarkt, which was very busy on a Friday. You name it, it was being sold—meat, seafood, cheese, bread, clothes, etc. The clothes prices looked reasonable, but I did not check the quality. The market was filled with locals looking for bargains. It was a great place for “street photography.” Near the market is a Big Cannon that dates to 1431 and weighs 12,500 kg. It used to be ox red color and referred to as the “Big Red Devil.” There is also a statue of Jacob Van Artevelde, who as an entrepreneur and politician. He was the leader of a group of insurgents and undid a boycott of English wool imports. He also helped Edward III become King of France. Edward III was crowned in the market. Jacob was murdered in the courtyard of his house by the head of the weavers.
Clara and I parted ways, and I went by the Castle of the Counts on my way to Prinsenhof ruins. Passed by, Lena, Luna & Nestor and the House of Alijn on the way. The former are statues, Nestor is dressed in new outfits. The latter is the only almshouse in Ghent that is preserved. It was a charitable institution where the old and sick were cared for. It is now a museum for children.
Prinsenhof was of interest because Emperor Charles V was born here. His aunt, Catherine of Aragon, was Henry VIII’s first wife and the mother of Mary I. He was engaged to Mary I at some point, but he ended up marrying his cousin (I believe her name was Isabella of Portugal). He received governors there several times, and one time 17 were beheaded and one was burned to death. Now the “Dark Gate” is all that remains. The Rabot is near there.
There are a few areas to relax and enjoy the water. One is Graslie & Korenlei, which is described as the “beating heart” of the city center. Since the 11th century, trading activity happened along the quays and the area became the city’s port. All grain passed through there.
Joined back with Clara, and we returned to the St. Bavo’s Abbey ruins. It was originally founded by St. Amand and rechristened in the 9th century. Its heyday was in the 11th century. It competed with St. Peter’s Abbey and has the oldest wall in Ghent that is still standing. A pilgrim named Macharius died of the plague here. There is a St. Macharius Church nearby. Charles V had the abbey church destroyed as retaliation for an uprising. The outline of the original church has been recreated with green shrubs.
While there, we met a few people from Vancouver, Canada. They were in Ghent for the day and had been attending a conference in a nearby city. We talked politics and history.
We ran into the people from Vancouver at St. Bavo’s Cathedral. It was quite nice there. All the churches have very high ceilings and are nicely decorated. The cathedral is the oldest parish church in Ghent. It was built on the site of a church that dates to the 10th century.
Clara and I parted ways. She went to do laundry, and I walked around before going to St Michael’s Bridge. It has great views of the three towers (I think about The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers). I was able to spend some time enjoying the nice weather and journalling. The weather is so nice, and so the sitting area was full of people to watch. The boat tours also launch there. It was tempting as it was 9 euro for 40 minutes…not bad.
After I finished journaling, I went St. Michaels Church. Construction started in 1440, but it was not finished until 1825, which is quite long. There were funding issues. It has a statue of St. Michael slaying the serpent, and it has very nice stain-glanced windows. I ran into the people from Vancouver here again. I saw them, and I backtracked to get behind them, and I told them, “Now I am following you.” They had just gone to the Belfry, and they showed me great pictures. Plus, I learned it had an elevator. I was sold. After walking up the 366 stairs in Ghent, I was not wanting to do it again.
The Belfry had amazing views of the city. I may or may not have gone overboard with taking pictures. The belfries in France and Flanders symbolize freedom, power, and urban prosperity. There is a dragon on the top.
St Nicholas Church is from the early 12th century. There seemed to be some sort of display, so I did not bother going inside. He is the patron saint of merchants and sailors. The church highlights the powers and wealth of the merchants.
The City Pavilion was finished in 2012 as part of an urban development project. The Town Hall has a wedding chapel. The NTGent is the home of Ghent’s municipal theater.
One path home took us pass Achtersikkel. The round tower dates to the 14th/15th centuries. It is the current home of the music academy.
The Reep is also a great place to relax and enjoy the water and nice weather.
Accommodations
I absolute adore this hotel. The couple who own it are very lovely and helpful. The bed is comfortable, and the shower works well. The breakfast is nice, and it is healthy. The location is awesome. We are far enough from the main drag to feel like we are staying in actual neighborhood of the city, but we are close enough to walk to the Old Town and the surrounding areas.
My only cautions are these. One, the wi-fi was a little spotty and slower than Berlin. It’s on and functional. Just an observation from my time there. Two. Be sure to print out instructions on how to get there if you plan to walk from the tram. We got a little turned around because we didn’t map it out in advance. We ended up seeing a map on the street and then navigating there. So, if you are on transit like us to get there, map it out.
LaTonja Brown 