BELGIUM: GHENT (GAND, GENT)

We bought the train tickets and we are on the train at 9:20am. We arrived at Ghent at 10:00 and got in the Starbucks for breakfast. We enjoyed a Chai Tea Latte Venti and a Muffin.

It was a bit cold but luckily the day was sunny. With the tram at 11am we were in the old town of Ghent. Once in the city center, Ghent is a city really grateful to visit because all the monuments are very close. I really liked the mix of Gothic churches and castles connected by canals and bridges.

These are the places and monuments we visited in Ghent:

• Korenmarkt
• St. Niklaaskerk
• Masons' Guild Hall
• Belfort
• Mammeloker
• St. Baafskathedraal
• Duivelsteen
• Stad Huis (city hall)
• Gravensteen
• Korenlei and Graslei
• Groentenmarkt
• Appelbrugparkje Bridge
• St. Michielskerk and St. Michielsplein

Korenmarkt

View from the entrance door of St. Niklaaskerk in Ghent. On the right begins the Korenmarkt. In this picture, the former post office, which now houses a shopping center

Sint Niklaaskerk

Sint Niklaaskerk, or Saint Nicholas' church, in Ghent

Apse of St. Niklaaskerk in Ghent

Masons' Guild Hall

On the top of the steeped gable of the Masons' Guild Hall in Ghent, six dancers turn merrily with the wind

Mammeloker

Mammeloker beside the Belfort tower in Ghent

Belfort

Belfort tower in Ghent

Belfort Belfry from another point of view

Sint Baafskathedraal

Apse of Sint Baafskathedraal in Ghent

Sint Baafskathedraal, buit in gothic style, in Ghent

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb was painted by the Van Eyck brothers and you can see it inside the Sint Baafskathedraal

Inside Sint Baafskathedraal in Ghent

Duivelsteen

Duivelsteen, or Castle of Gerald the Devil, beside a canal in Ghent

One of the facades of Geeraard de Duivelsteen in Ghent

Gravensteen

Gravensteen, or Castle of the Counts, in Ghent

Beautiful view of the rear wall of Gravensteen beside the canal in Ghent

Typical cone of fries we ate in Ghent

Kraanlei

Kraanlei in Ghent

Graslei

Graslei beside the Kanaal Gent-Brugge in Ghent

Groentenmarkt

Groentenmarkt square in Ghent

From Groentenmarkt you can walk along the pedestrian and shopping Langemunt street

Sint Michielsplein and Sint Michielskerk

View of Sint Niklaaskerk and the Belfort tower beside Cataloniëstraat from Sint Michielsplein

Sint Michielskerk in Ghent

At 4am we caught the train back to Brussels. After buying the train tickets to Bruges at Gare Centrale for the following day, and the breakfast and dinner in a Carrefour we arrived at the hotel. This time we left at 7pm heading towards the Grand Place to dinner at Chez Leon: potage du jour, avec moules frites and prawn croquettes. After dinner, to the Delirium Tremens to enjoy a deserved beer.

Enjoying a beer in Delirium Tremens bar in Brussels

Grand Place in Brussels lit at night

Besides Ghent, in Belgium we visited the following places too:

Day 1 - Brussels

Day 2 - Ghent

Day 3 - Bruges

Day 4 - Brussels

Finally, other countries and cities I have already visited are:

• Barcelona

• Berlin
• Saint Petersburg
• New York and Washington
• London
• Paris

• Dublin in Ireland

• Istanbul and Cappadocia

• Rome and The Vatican
• Florence in Tuscany
• Venice

• Lisboa in Portugal

• Dubrovnik, beaches and coast of Croatia
• Neum, Pocitelj and Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina

• The Greek Islands and Athens

• Madrid

• Gibraltar
• Andorra

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco