We collected our bags from the hotel and caught the bus to the train station. I don't know if I've mentioned it before but the Flemish are SO HELPFUL. There are people at every train station in blue polos there to help you figure out where you're going. They come up to you and ask you if you need help. Since I've gotten a lot better at asking for help while traveling, they were an utter delight. Makes things so easy when you're not sure which train you should take even once you have a ticket in-hand.
We caught a train to Ghent and once there, put our bags in a locker to explore the city a little. Ghent is a little more of a living city than Bruges; the tram into the center was crowded and there was more real life hustle and bustle. Naturally, Rick's City Walk was our itinerary...
St. Nicholas Church (mostly 13th century) from St. Michael's Bridge
Inside St. Nicholas. Some people (like my husband) say if you've seen one European church you've seen them all, but they're all so different! I loved this one with its stout columns that made the ceiling seem especially high. And let's not forget, people spent their entire lives working on a project they'd never see finished. Without any modern machinery. Crazy.
Next up was the Belfort (another one, yay!!). It's mostly 14th century with the top section added for the 1913 World's Fair. Emma Kay and I enjoyed another climb!
There were several stops on the different floors on the way up the tower that gave interesting history of the city:
If I remember correctly, this dragon--created in the 1300s, I think--used to be on top of the Belfort and became the symbol of Ghent. I called him Henry (who knows) and he was so cool!! There is a replica up there now.
I was also crazy about the beautiful tile floors in that first floor room:
The second floor room was about the carillon(!). I wish I could remember more details, but alas, they're gone.
Views from the top:
St. Nicholas
St. Bavo's Cathedral, our next stop!
St. Bavo's is a tick younger than St. Nicholas, built in the 14th-16th centuries. St. Bavo was a rich aristocrat who gave up all his wealth for an impoverished life in the church. The building itself is pretty cool, but the most famous thing about it is the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck! No pictures allowed, but it was pretty amazing to see in person. It's 15'x11' and the first-ever masterpiece in oil paint. Plus it was stolen by the Nazis and recovered from a salt mine by the Monuments Men. My favorite section by far was the choir in the upper left:
Those expressions!
After some ice cream and a failed attempt to climb the ramparts at the Castle of the Counts (last entry 45 minutes before closing, womp womp), we headed off to Brussels and checked into our hotel.
Brussels is even more of a busy city than Ghent, and honestly wasn't our favorite stop of the trip. But we did feel like it got us ready for our return to Paris.
The main attraction of historic Brussels is the Grand Place, literally the Big Square. It's a photogenic place like the square in Bruges, but there was a sort of temporary amphitheater set up in the middle, and I didn't get any good shots. We walked around and had Thai food for something different for dinner, and tried chocolates at some different shops (as you do in Brussels).
The next morning we went to the Musical Instrument Museum, which was overwhelming and great. I have a zillion pictures... it's too overwhelming to go through them right now and I have got to get this post up. Suffice it to say that they had a wide-ranging collection of Western instruments and an incredible collection of instruments from the rest of the world, too. And the audioguide consisted of samples of many, many of them. Easy way to lose three or four hours, for sure! #nerdalert
We poked around the rest of "Upper Town," checking out the Old Masters' Collection at the Royal Museums of Art:
Then it was time for one last waffle before leaving Belgium behind. We tried the Waffle Factory, which had a kind of waffle stuffed with chocolate or nutella or speculoos... I went for the speculoos for something different (Trader Joe's cookie butter is basically speculoos) since I usually get nutella anything and everything, and it was tasty!
I would definitely like to revisit Belgium someday, especially Flanders, and especially with a car and some more time to explore the country side and the coast before crossing into the Netherlands, too. There are always more places to visit! And special thanks to Emma Kay for joining me on this adventure and being such a gamer :)
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