Paul and Judy are on the road again: Ghent

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.