We made the pilgrimage back to Bruges Station in the morning. It was a short one hour trip and we arrived in Ghent (pronounced Hendt) just before lunch. We were excited for our time that would be spent in Ghent. We headed straight to the hotel, the walk from the station taking just about a half hour.
Ghent is much less medieval than what we saw in Bruges.
I also don’t think that I have ever appreciated a regular concrete sidewalk as much as I did that day. My feet and ankles were very angry at me after subjecting them to the cobblestone streets and sidewalks of Bruges. If it wasn’t for a lack of space in our backpacks, I definitely would’ve popped into one of the shoe stores we passed.
The hotel was unable to check us in early (we did arrive three hours early), so we left our bags in the storage room and headed out to investigate.
When we booked the hotels, we had two criteria; close-ish to the train stations and well located to the sights we wanted to see. Well, when it came to that hotel, it was a home run.
The Ghent Belfry was nearly right outside the front door, along with two old Cathedrals.
St. Bavos was right across the street, so we decided to go inside and check it out to kill some time and take some photos. Neither Hayley nor I are religious, but we both have come to appreciate the history and architecture of churches. Construction of St. Bavos, a gothic cathedral, began in the late thirteenth century and has stood there ever since.
We noticed signs on the outside and all over the interior with “LAMGOD” on them. Our curiosity had us pay for access to a different part of the cathedral, which turned out to be a big surprise. This is where we were introduced to the Ghent Altarpiece, a painting done by Early Netherlandish painters and brothers, Hubert and Jan van Eyck, which was installed in the church in 1432.
Also known as the Adoration of The Mystic Lamb, it is a religious painting with a deep history and is considered one of the art world’s treasures.
I won’t bore you with all the details of this masterpiece, but it is so important that there was an agreement signed during the Second World War by all sides two protect it – Hitler did not care and later had the painting seized and stored in an Austrian salt mine. It was later recovered and returned to St. Bavos.
I found the story of this painting absolutely fascinating.
After leaving St. Bavos, we went inside another neighbouring Cathedral with rich history, from the early thirteenth century.
We returned to the hotel to check in, have a quick refresh and have some food we bought at the grocery store. After a brief break we returned to the streets of Ghent and ventured further away from the hotel.
We walked along the canals, taking more photos, before we visited Dulle Griet.
This was another suggestion made to us by the friendly couple on the train to Bruges. Dulle Griet is a pub boasting over five hundred different beers. It was here that I had a chance to enjoy a MAX VAN HET HUIS blonde.
What makes this beer so different you ask? It is served in a 1.2 litre glass. It is a very coveted glass and if you break it, it’s a cool €90 charge. Also, to deter theft, you are required to surrender one of your shoes as collateral. They are then deposited into a basket and hoisted into the rafters by rope and pulley.
The responsibility was terrifying.
I did not lift the glass out of its wooden support and used two hands at all times to drink from it. I probably did not need to drink it so quickly, but that glass couldn’t be taken away from me fast enough! There was a giddy Polish man sitting across from us, who seemed to be enjoying the experience, but he was unable to finish the beer and stumbled off.
We left the pub without incident and made our way back to the hotel, after stopping for a sushi dinner. What a great time spent in Ghent.
The next morning we left the hotel relatively early to find a suitable place for breakfast, before taking on a day of walking (I still had thoughts of purchasing new shoes. My feet were starting to ask me when we were going to be done with all the miles).
We walked over Sint-Michielsbrug to take some photos before making our way to Castle Gravensteen for a tour.
This castle, as it stands today, dates back to 1180. It served as home to the Counts of Flanders for two hundred years, before being used for other purposes, including a court and prison. It is now a museum and hosts tours all day with one of the most hilarious audio guides I’ve ever heard.
After leaving Gravensteen, we climbed the Belfry of Ghent. It’s another uncomfortable climb up 350 stairs, meant for short, small and little-footed people from the early fourteenth century. I was unable to join Hayley on the narrow walkway along the outside to take in the view.
My stomach couldn’t handle the height and had joined my unhappy feet in my shoes. But, Hayley was able to take some excellent photos.
We started to wind down the day at Jigger’s.
Jiggers is a cocktail bar that was again suggested to us by, you guessed it, the lovely couple on the train. We enjoyed a great conversation with the bartender and an English couple who were also visiting Ghent. After the aperitifs, we sauntered over to a pizzeria that served a gluten free pie. This was one of the first times that we had experienced an issue with the menu, as there was no English version.
Now, we don’t expect that there should always be one. We are, of course, in a country where English is the fourth language. So we used Google to try and decipher it, along with help from our server. It was worth the extra time it took. The pizza was excellent!
We finished the night off at Bar des Amis, a popular spot that was recommended to us by the charming young people we had met in Bruges. This brought us to the end of our time spent in Ghent.
Our trip was closing, our time spent it Ghent was up, and the next day would bring us to Antwerp. The final stop for us, in Belgium.
If you’re looking for more in depth information on what to do with your time spent in Ghent, click here!
If you want suggestions on where to eat and drink in Ghent, click here!