Ghent - start of the festival

Belgium, based in Landegem, a small town on the fringe of Ghent.  We were in Belgium from the evening of Friday 18th July to early on Friday 25th.

In the afternoon of Friday 18th we flew from Edinburgh (Scotland) to London-Heathrow, then changed planes and flew on to Brussells (Belgium).  Our flight from Edinburgh left about a half hour late and as we approached London the cabin manager informed those of us with onward connections that we would probably miss them.  We ran to the lounge fearing the worst, but as it turned out, we made our flight with time to spare as it was postponed by 40 minutes.  There were further delays at Brussells because of very long queues at the Immigration counter, but eventually we made it through and were met by friend Mark Chatel who drove us along very impressive motorways towards Ghent in western Belgium, and then on to his home in Langedem village where we stayed for a week. 

On Sat 19th, with Mark and Ines, we went to explore Ghent - no easy task as we had arrived at the start of the biennial Ghent Festival.  Some of the important buildings we hoped to see were obscured by stage equipment, lighting, food and drink outlets, and crowds of people shuffling between venues.  In exchange, we got some entertainment and the opportunity to sample some of the festive foods and drinks.  In Ghent we were pleased to catch up with Swiss friends Monica and Marius, and their children Lucille, Leonie, Damian and Jonas, who made a stopover on their trip to Denmark.

The "house of faces" decorated with the faces of former rulers.
It's funny that so many look so very similar - was it
"family resemblance" or an example of "artistic licence"?

During the Medieval Period Ghent had long periods of prosperity arising from a flourishing wool trade and cloth production.  During the late 13th Century it was the second largest city in Europe - only Paris was larger.  Its wealth and strategic position made it an attractive proposition for conquerors, so it was regularly attacked and was under control of various powers.  Charles V of Spain was born in Ghent.  

Boats on the Leie River which flows through Ghent

Another section of the River Leie

A section of the historic and beautiful Graslei in the city centre

Stages and crowd management facilities obscure the view at street level.  To see a picture on Wiki of this part of the town without the temporary fixtures click on the following link:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Ghent_April_2012-3.jpg/900px-Ghent_April_2012-3.jpg

The medieval hall of the Meat Guild now promotes local food and wine

Local hams (like the Spanish "jamon") hang from
 the massive beams to cure over several months

Interesting buildings line the River Leie

Diners along the River Leie.  

Along the River Leie

The tower and spire of the civic belfry (The "Belfort")

The Belfort of Ghent

Evening on the River Leie

Boats on the River Leie

Tourists set off on their river cruise

At several times during the late afternoon black clouds rolled overhead.  As we ate dinner the rain came down.  The crowds thinned out a little as people moved to areas offering some shelter but they emerged when the rain stopped.  Tour boat operations continued until late into the night and passengers were given umbrellas.  The passengers may not have had good views, but the boats full of umbrellas were an amusing sight to those on the river banks.

We were in Ghent until quite late in the evening and were to return to Ghent twice more before leaving Belgium.

Silhouetted against a glary, stormy sky, St Michael
 deals a fatal blow to satan's agents atop the bridge

Looking towards St Bavo's cathedral

St Bavo's Cathedral, with the Belfort partially
visible on its right (the building with the flag)

Decorated shutters on an old building

Decorations on a building facade

The decorated facade of the oldest part 
of the Town Hall (newer section at left)

Mark, our host, led us around Ghent and gave us a comprehensive
explanation of local history.  Here he explains a memorial commemorating
the formation of the Free Belgian Army late in 1944.   His father, a WW2
Resistance leader became volunteer number 3 in the new army.

Mark's dad on the right - Belgian Army volunteer #3

The main river-side stage for the Ghent Festival

The Castle of the Counts at night.  (There's
just no escaping those tram power lines!)

Castle of the Counts, Ghent,
Check out the bikes - Ghent is
very much a "bike friendly" city

River Leie at night

Edinburgh - Scotland's capital city

Edinburgh (Wednesday 16th to Friday morning 18th July, 2014)

On Wednesday morning Neil dropped us at the station (saving a long haul of our cases) and we travelled up to Edinburgh with only occasional glimpses of the countryside and coastline until we were quite close to our destination. 

Our small hotel was right across the road from the Haymarket station.  The stops for the bus and tram to the city in one direction and airport in the opposite direction were right there also.  We were too early to check in but were able to leave our bags and head in to the city centre where it wasn't long before we heard the sound of the bagpipes and saw pipers busking on street corners.

After quickly scouting out touring options we joined a group for a 2 hour walking tour of the old city.  Our young guide was knowledgeable and entertaining and kept us informed and amused.  Not following our route exactly here are some scenes from Edinburgh "central".

Edinburgh street scene

David would enjoy this -  the Edinburgh "story telling cafe
Come in here and shares tales of Edinburgh's local history 

The car park beside St Giles cathedral.  Actually it isn't a true
"cathedral" as there isn't an Archbishop in the Scottish Church.
What is of interest in a car park?  Parking space #23 (next pic).

John Knox (1514-1572), reformer and founder of Presbyterianism, was
buried in the St Giles graveyard beside the church.  Only his grave has
survived, and is marked by a plaque at parking space number 23.

St Giles Church

Interior of St Giles church

Scottish regalia and souvenirs

Edinburgh "old town" sky line

Statue depicting the famous "Greyfriar's Bobby"

"Bobby's" gravestone in Greyfriars Graveyard

Don't know about "Greyfriars Bobby".  Some aspects of his story are disputed and there are some variations in the main account.  The traditional story is that he was a Skye Terrier, the pet of John Gray, a local neighborhood nightwatchman /  policeman.  When Gray died, Bobby spent the rest of his life guarding Gray's grave.  He became something of a local celebratory and the Lord provost paid his registration fees and gave him a collar, now in the museum.  On his death he was buried not far from his former master.  Years later a memorial was erected honouring him and commending his devotion. 

There have been several fanciful accounts of his story, the earliest being Greyfriars Bobby (1912) by Eleanor Atkinson who only 40 years on had already altered several generally accepted "facts".  Others say the whole story is a complete fabrication.

Before we move on from the cemetery there are other things of interest here.

Greyfriars Cemetery, Edinburgh

View to the castle from Greyfriars

Greyfriars Cemetery

A portion of the gravestone of Thomas Riddell.  Many fans of J.K. Rowling's
Harry Potter books visit this site as the source of the name of the character
"Voldemort" (who in the books was born "Tom Riddle").  For a time Rowling lived
in Edinburgh and several cafes claim she wrote part of the novels whilst in them.

Moving away from the old town and our walk, here are some other views of Edinburgh.

The memorial to Sir Walter Scott.  This is
possibly the ugliest memorial I've ever seen.

Shop window display - Scottish fashion wares

Beware - man in kilt showing a bit of leg.
A comedian/artist poses for publicity shots
for forthcoming Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Edinburgh Castle from city level

Former Royal Yacht Britannia, now a much visited attraction,
 is just a short (but winding) bus ride from the city centre.

View from forecourt of the Art Gallery (right)
up to the buildings in the old town.

Again from the Art Gallery, but now looking into the park

Refreshments at the Art Gallery.

No visit to Edinburgh would be complete without ascending the hill to enter the mighty Edinburgh Castle, famous as the setting for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.  This event is held over several nights in August and is televised around the world.  Riggers and technicians were in the early stages of setting up the temporary stands, the sound systems and electrical infrastructure.

Walking through the structures emerging in the castle's outer courtyard.

Looking up to the inner defences

Looking down to the city

Cannon keep guard over the city

An ancient siege cannon

Tableux depicting the investiture of a king of Scotland

View from the upper wall, across the courtyard
being prepared for the Military Tattoo.

Firing the "1 o'clock gun"

The seats are labelled "B1" and "B2" but
where are the "Bananas in Pyjamas"?
(bananas B1 & B2 are popular children's TV characters)

The Scottish "Enlightment thinker" David Hume (1711 - 1776) was one of the world's great philosopher.  He was a rationalist and published a major work denouncing superstition, arguing that rational philosophy would free people from superstition and its unhelpful consequences.  In 1995 the city erected a statue of him outside the high court.  For whatever reason (sly sense of humour?  disapproval ?) the sculptor stuck its right big toe out over the edge of the plinth.  Now people passing by rub the big toe to "bring them good luck".  Hume with the shiny toe would probably not be amused.

David Hume, Scottish philosopher.

Hume's toes - polished shiny by passers by rubbing them for good luck.

Calton Hill is a small steep hill, about 100m high, at the eastern end of Princes Street, the main E-W thoroughfare.  It overlooks the central city to its west, and Hollyrood Palace and the new Scottish Parliament to the south-east.  From the summit you can see the Firth of Forth with islands, bays and the harbour.

On the top or upper slopes are several monuments and buildings: the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the old Royal High School, the Robert Burns Monument, the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory.

Looking to the summit of Calton Hill.

Hollyrood Palace from Calton Hill

The Nelson monument, built 1807-15 to celebrate Nelson's
victory at Trafalgar and commemorate his death in battle.

The Edinburgh Monument on Calton Hill.  It started as a
memorial to Scottish soldiers killed in the Napoleonic Wars.
It was intended as a replica of a Greek temple - like the
"Parthenon".  The money ran out, it was never finished 
and now it's an embarrassing and unintended "classical ruin".

About 15 km from Edinburgh's centre is the Forth Bridge (rail only) across the Firth of Forth.  When opened in 1890 after 7 years of construction and 63 deaths it was the longest single span cantilever bridge in the world.  It was displaced in 1917 and now is "2nd".  It's still an impressive engineering work, with each of its 4 towers standing just over 100m high.

The Forth Bridge - looking north across the Forth from Queensferry South.

I'll finish this blog entry on Edinburgh with some photos from the museum. It's quite an interesting place and has a significant collection of items on Scottish history back to ancient times, as well as an impressive collection of steam locomotives.

The central atrium of the museum

Hello Dolly!  Dolly was the first cloned sheep embryo.

A whisky distillation "pot" (after all, this IS Scotland)
A small locomotive in the background.

More than 100 years before the more famous French Guillotine
the Scots had their own version.  It was considered much more
humane than the axe or sword which could be rather ineptly used.

So with this forerunner to Le Guillotine I'll give this visit "the chop".