Ghent

Ghent

Had a sleep in this morning till 8am... Think that's the first time I've slept that late since I left home. My hotel is nice and quiet and there was nothing specific to get up for.

Today was yet another adventure on the learning curve of travel life.

It started with breakfast...

I should never brag and last night I was a bit cocky about how I had breakfast covered. Well I got my weetbix out this morning and poured the milk on and..... aaaarrrrrgggghhhhh

Not sure if the milk was off, or if it was Buttermilk!!!!

One of the things I have neglected to mention in the past week is the change of language. Obviously Lille was in France, so French was the go.
Then came Bruges and their first language is Flemish, however their English is very good, and it is better to speak English than to try the French.
But now in Brussels it is a mixture of French and Flemish (which is very close to Dutch).

The reason I am telling you all this is because I didn't have a clue what sort of milk I was buying... It looked like milk - had a blue top like milk does at home, but it certainly didn't taste like milk...!!! And the label was in Flemish..

Anyway, I had to throw it all out and go down to the Deli downstairs and start again. This time I asked the lady and she had little English, and my Flemish / Dutch was non-existent but we both got the word "milk" so she took me to the shelf where the packet milk was and I was able to choose one that I thought was OK. This time it was good.

So, brekky is over and I'm thinking "what will I do today?" I had heard at the Tourist Bureau that on the weekend national train tickets are half price - you actually get the return journey for the price of one way.
It was a lovely day in Brussels weather wise, so I thought I would make the journey to Ghent - 30 mins by train. I actually passed the station on the way through from Bruges yesterday.

From my guide book it says about Ghent..
".... Ghent doesn't ooze with cobbles and charms as Bruges does, this is a living thriving city - home to Belgium's biggest University.
Simply put, Ghent feels more real than idyllic..."

Now one of the disadvantages of half price fares, is that the whole of Brussels also takes advantage of this offer.

I went and bought my ticket and decided to go first class; after my experience the other day on the train I thought that was a good idea.  But just because you buy a ticket does not mean you are guaranteed to even get on the train, much less get a seat...

The train was about 10 mins late arriving into Gare Midi and by the time it got here, it was bursting at the seams already.... So, I'm thinking how clever I was to buy a first class ticket, because surely there would be seats in there....

No way, Jose...

It was also very crowded and the only concession was it wasn't quite as sardine like as the second class citizens. I had to stand all the way to Ghent... Luckily it was only  half and hour...
I was thinking it was like going to the footy at the G and standing all the way from Surrey Hills...

And no such thing as giving up seats for an older lady!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  hahaha :)

I was so glad I was not travelling with a case today - there were prams and back packs and suitcases and bodies everywhere.... it was a real obstacle course.

This Travelling 101 certainly has a steep learning curve.


But that's not all..   there's more ( a set of steak knives!!)

Once I got to Ghent I had read in my trusty guide book that the Old Town is about 2 kms from the station and you should take the tram. So I get outside the station and there are multiple trams, and not a sign in English anywhere....

So, I just followed my gut instinct and headed for the nearest tram which once again was chocker-block. I didn't know how to pay for the journey because all the instructions  were once again in Flemish, so I just held my 2 euro coin in my hand and hoped that first of all I was going in the right direction, then second of all no-one was going to ask me for a ticket....

Aaaahhh the stresses of travelling.

Anyway I stuck with the tram was just starting to get worried when I saw some old Churches and realised I had actually made it to the right spot.

One of the main reasons I wanted to come to Ghent was to see the altar piece "The adoration of the Mystic Lamb" which was highlighted in the film "Monuments Men".

I have to use Google images because we were not allowed to take photos of it

It was absolutely superb and the audio tour that came as part of the entrance fee was fantastic. There was so much history and detail included in that tour which actually lasted about 50 mins!!!

By this time I was starting to wilt... standing up on the train, standing up on the tram, standing up in front of the altar piece for an hour.... I decided to have a sit down in the Church where it was housed - the Church of St Bavo

I  did my usual candle lighting trick and stayed a little longer than usual in prayer... mainly because my feet and legs were killing me!!

Then I went for a walk through the town... having no idea where I was, but I thought I would end up somewhere!

Here's a few pics from the square near St Bavo's

The Belfry

Dutch Theatre

View of the Square

There were quite a few squares in Ghent, but this place caught my eye and no doubt would tempt some of my friends... a champagne and wine stall just in the middle of the square!

Champagne and wine stall

Speaking of such matters after all that walking and standing, I needed a bit of a break myself....

Belgian Beer - personally I think Aussie Beer is better!!!

Ghent is also based on canals and if I had more time I was going to go for the canal cruise again...

Canal views

There was also a Castle - the Castle of the Counts built in 1180. The admission price was to view the "Torturers Toolbox" which included all manner of ways of extracting confessions.  Didn't really fancy that, so I bypassed it. Mind you, it was noted they had a re-constructed guillotine so that nearly tempted me for our French Revolution class!

Castle  of the Counts in Ghent

Knight at the Castle of the Counts

So at that stage it was time to brave the train system again. It was much less eventful on the way home. Hardly anyone in the carriage and a very pleasant ride through the Belgium countryside

Ghent Station

Ghent Station (notice spelling difference!)

So that was my big day out. I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to do it all again tomorrow. I might just stay locally and see some of the sites of Brussels.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode....!!!!