GLORIOUS GENT!!!!
On this particular Saturday morning we took care of things around our flat in preparation for an adventure later that afternoon. We were invited by our friend Serge to enjoy a personal tour of his beloved city Gent, about 50 kilometers from Bruxelles and 45 minutes by train. Serge has the calling of Public Affairs Director in Belgium, and so we work with him on various activities. By day he works in the American Embassy as Public Affairs aide to the United States Ambassador to Belgium. Serge has wanted us to see "his city" for months...and now we know why! The old medevial city (called the cradle of Gent) was fabulous!!
For our adventure on this Saturday, we decided to take the train and not drive! It was FREEZING cold, and Serge picked us up at the train station. At first Gent looked liked a normal city, but then Serge drove us to the old medevial section, which is called "The Cradle of Gent". We "walked our legs off" all day in the cold, but around each corner were more and more beautiful old buildings with a history to match!!!!
This photo was taken outside the train station in Gent, and shows only a very small portion of the thousands of bicycles parked in several squares around the train station!!!! Serge said they are in the process of building an underground bicycle garage, to get the bikes off the squares !!!!!! We LOVED GENT, and feel that it is the hidden treasure of Belgium!
The architecture in this old city is magnificent, and makes one wonder how they could have built such intriguing roof lines in those days!!! Serge and David are shown on the right.
Gent has quite a canal system that runs throughout the "Cradle". The city is in the process of restoring more of the canals that had been filled in, because of the increasing number of tourists and the popular glass top boats that ferry tourists along the way.
Loved this Grill along the canal, and thought the purple and yellow a great color accent on this old building.
Our tour guide Serge pointed out this beautiful old boat, which had hosted the American Ambassador
and his entourage, including Serge, the previous night for dinner. Serge said that he had been trying for months to get the Ambassador to visit Gent, and he finally did so the day before we were there.......and he loved it!
Just look at the incredible facade of this old building!!!
After hours of walking down one fabulous old cobblestone street after another, with each more incredible than the last, we decided to take a break and warm up with a hot cup of soup at this small Indian cafe. I believe that it was spicey peanut soup that we had, and it was hot, and soothing and delicious!!!! Yum!!!!
The beautiful gold ship on the top of this building indicates that this is where the ocean merchants would go to pay their union dues.
Right next door to the "ship building", was the ever present Marriott Hotel. We went in to get warm and to investigate, and were shocked that they had kept the old facade of the building, but evidently gutted the interior and built this very modern lobby!!!!!!!!!
A very proud mom capturing the moment on their special day! I felt sorry for the bride because it was so cold!
This old castle in the middle of the city was built for the "Count of Flanders". Serge thought it was more for show rather than to defend the city, since it was right in the middle of the city.
We saw a mom riding this bicycle with her toddler in the jumpseat and her packages in the basket. I thought it was cute that she had decorated her transportation with flowers! You would never see this in the States!!
We came across a shop that rebuilds old chandeliers and converts them to electricity! It was all I could do to muster the courage to walk away without purchasing this magnificent creation!!!
Be still my beating heart!!!!!!
One of the main reasons that we were visiting Gent on this particular weekend, was to see the special four day light show in the evening. It was incredibly beautiful and magical, as in more than twenty locations throughout the old city, they projected light shows on the old buildings making them whimsical, haunted, scarey and just plain beautiful! For several hours we walked literally shoulder to shoulder with thousands of people as we witnessed this spectacular event! On this particular street they erected this archway over the street with thousands of LED lights that spanned the entire block! One would have thought they were in Vegas!!!
Thank you Serge for a fabulous day!!!
Just warming up from the cold in this beautiful old hotel in Bruge. (That was another trip...but the coat is the same!) You may have noticed that this particular white parka has appeared many times in our blog! The best purchase I made by far, before leaving the States!!!! In Bruxelles I have to set fashion variety aside, and dress for comfort and warmth in the cold weather!
LET'S ALL THINK SPRING!!!!
Au revoir........ until our next report from Old Europe.
