Ghent

Trip Start May 20, 2008

Trip End Sep 15, 2008

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Where I stayed

Guesthouse PoortAckere

Flag of Belgium Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

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1) statue of male diver on one side of river	1527 guild hall of bricklayers;1435 Flemish house	16th c. homes line St. Verleer Square	17th c. baroque facade with Neptune & trident
2) while statue of female diver is on other side	27 US dollars for a burrito! Don't think so.	At left,Church of St. James dates from 1120	Attractive building with one of many outdoor cafes
Belfort built 13&14th c. to store impt city papers	Belfort keys given to different people;all needed	Bell built in 1660 but cracked in 1914;weighs 6kkg	Bells chime every 15 minutes in Belfort
Best views of Ghent were from top of castle	Bicyclists took major jarring on cobblestone rds	Canal boat tour provided different views of town	Canal hits dead-end here:plans for cut through
Canal tour given in 4 different languages	Canal tour nice but lacking in information	Cast iron cannon built in 1400s;weighs 1600 kgs	Castle actually seemed to function like one should
Castle had interesting displays from last 800 yrs	Castle had one of its original guillotines	Castle had torture chambers and prison	Castle has sunk a couple of meters in 800 yrs
Castle is a lot bigger than it looks	Castle kitchen looks about as useful as mine	Castle looks even more intimidating in the rain	Castle of the Counts aka Gravenkasteel
Castle steps were dizzing but look new	Castle was built in 1180 by Philip of Alsace	Cathedral initiated by wealthy lace traders	Church of St. Michael begun in 1440;completed 1648
Church of St. Nicholas 2x destroyed by fire 1100s	Church of St. Nicholas started in 1220; updates	Church used as horse stable during French Revol	Couple of well-preserved 1754 homes
Court of Justice,1836, is at corner of tow rivers	Definitely the best way to navigate Ghent!	Did my hotel kick the monks out?	Don't think homeowners assn would like this
Don't think this art would fly in the US	Drivers great about stopping at crosswalks	Drum controls 44 bells in carillon of Belfort	Easy to see some of castle modifications
Enormous copper dragon built in 1377	Few cars make Ghent enjoyable old town to walk	First castle built around 868 but later rebuilt	Friday Market-forum for wool trade in middle ages
Ghent founded in 7th c. around 2 abbeys	Ghent home to big annual intl flower show	Ghent is big college town; plenty of beerhalls	Ghent is in Flemish part of Belgium
Ghent is very peaceful town;at least in August	Ghent panorama;cranes mainly for renovating	Ghent version of Mannekin Pis;supposedly older	Graffiti a problem; mainly outside old town
Graslei home to wealthy traders on Leie River	Graslei St. on canal popular for beerhalls	Guild hall of independent shippers 1531	Guild halls from 1600s;tiny bldg was toll house
Hand-crafted boat still looks good centuries later	Helpful to climb spires to get good orientation	Homes and guilds lined 16th c. port	I can only imagine the Marriott rates
I had to include one photo that shows sunshine	I seem to bring the gray weather with me	I was in back of boat so sorry for the heads	Jacob Van Artevelde town governor in 1300s
Just your ordinary $500 pair of shoes!	Large exhibit with different torture devices;ouch!	Last building in old Ghent with wood facade	Locals all dress like it's 30 below
Lots of art museums in town but I skipped them	Lots of dogs but few cats seen;some poop to avoid	Many old buildings preserved but not in use	Many stores were vacant;not sure closed or holiday
Meat Hall 1419;architecture of merchant class	Mosquitos big problem with all this water	Most old buildings made of brick so little color	Much of old town closed to private cars
Neo-Gothic post office only dates from 1910	Nice patio if you're not looking for privacy	Old boats now displays along canal for tourists	Old houses employing craftsmen today to restore
Old town gradually gives way to new,uglier bldgs	On left, baroque house from 1669	One of many busy shopping streets in old town	One of old boats used by traders in Ghent
One of the few fixed bridges along rivers	Opera House dates from 1837, ornate doors	Part of the old monastery where I stayed	Photos are light to provide contrast with gray sky
Playful statues grace front of this building	Plaza between Cathedral and Belfry	Pop up showers not so good for canal tours	Post office has historical panorama in stone
Rabot built in 1486 to strengthen city gates	Rabot successfully defended city from 40000 men	Renaissance facade1559;faces of Counts of Flanders	Royal Flanders Art House w/mythological scene
Some old buildings not mentioned in guidebook	Some urban renewal projects promising	St. Michael Bridge offered great 360 degree view	Stately facade of Court of Justice from river
Statue is "Spring of the Bereaved"	Sun brought everyone outside to enjoy nice day	Surprise! The monsoons come as I try to photograph	Tanners guild hall 1483;bell rung to start markets
The rain means fewer tourists out which is good	There was 1 very long tunnel on canal tour	This pissoir is a little too public for me to use	Told castle built on 10m supports
Town did not have much greenspace;1 park	Town is built between 2 rivers-Leie&Schelde	Town really spruces up for summer tourists	Train station not close to old town;trams good
Unfortunately best view of castle is from above	Unique swing bridge;never saw any of them open	Veldstraat is one of most popular shopping streets	Very attractive town hall dwarfed by belfry
View from top of castle-easy to see invaders	View of town from St. Michaels Church	Was never quite sure what this represented	Weather would go rainy to sunny every 30 minutes
Windows did not photograph well at monastery	Wonder how people afford to live here;high prices