Ghent
Happy New Years Day! Nothing is open on January 1, so we had to decide what to do when very few restaurants, shops, and tourist attractions are open. We took the train to Ghent, which is only 30 minutes from Brussels.
We started at the Gravensteen castle, where we walked around the outside and took some pictures. You can go into the castle, but of course it was closed today. So we just looked at it from the outside. The castle is on the edge of one of the canals but is not on the top of a hill and is right in the middle of the city! Not a very good place from which to defend the town.
We next went to the main bridge, St. Michaels, where we took a boat tour around the canals of Ghent. We got to sit in the front of the boat, which was nice. We went under several bridges, some so short that Zoey could reach up and touch the top!
One of the things that is unique about Belgium houses is the pointy roofs that look like stairsteps. The houses on the sides of the main canal were old guild houses, along with a tiny building for the tax house. We also saw the three towers of Ghent—two of the big churches and the bell tower.
The boat tour went by the castle, and the view was slightly different from the water. We also saw some old buildings and some gondolas and canoes. No one was out on the canals except the tourist boats though. There was some interesting graffiti along the river; my favorite was the blue monster. We went by the gunmasters guild (I don’t remember exactly what it was called), and Ronin thought that was pretty cool. We also went by an old monastery that is still being used today. The boat tour took us all the way to the end of the canal, or what used to be the entrance to the canal system from the big river where they used to collect the tolls to get into Ghent. Now it is all blocked off, but you can see how important the city of Ghent used to be.
You can’t really see it, but there was a lit up sign of Ghent. We have found these signs in a lot of the places we have been, and I like getting a picture of us in front of each of them. After the boat tour, we had booked a walking tour around Ghent. We met the walking tour at the bridge, and since it was such a nice day the tour was huge! The guy giving the tour was really great, and we had a wonderful time on the tour. We first passed the guild buildings again, which was where the tour started. We again saw the three main towers and enjoyed walking down the river.
We got some great views from St. Michael’s bridge looking right down the river. The guide showed us the Marriott, which is right on the river. The Marriott paid a huge amount in order to demolish the buildings behind to create one big hotel. The two swans facing away from each other on the façade of the building represent a tavern and a brothel; not the best signs for an upscale hotel!
We walked by this big toilet paper sculpture that is about to be taken down and replaced with a big building. This is in front of an art museum, and actually houses the toilets! Apparently the city didn’t like it very much.
The tour continued throughout the city and again we went past the castle. The guide mentioned that the castle has never been seized (since the city was conquered before the opponents every got to the castle so it was just handed over peacefully) until the early 1950s when a bunch of college students protested the rise in beer taxes. Apparently they snuck into the castle and held it for several hours until the police were able to get them out. But that was the only time the castle seized!
We then went by this huge cannon, which was brought in to the city to keep help keep the townspeople from trying to revolt. However, when they shot the cannon for the first time, the cannonball only went three feet! Therefore, it just sat in a ceremonial position looking interesting.
The guide took us by a beer hall that has this cool type of cup that is inside a wooden holder. However, too many people were stealing them, so now if you want to order one you have to give your shoe to them as a deposit—and it has to be an actual shoe, not a flip flop or sandal. There were over 500 types of beer here, and I wish we could have gone in but of course it was closed.
We walked down the graffiti alley, which allows anyone to spray paint or draw on the walls. JonPaul brought a marker so the kids got to sign the wall. They thought this was super fun!
The Christmas market was pretty much taken down, but the big windmill thing was still up and running. It was nice and festive, and the kids loved the big room that looks like a barn. The tour guide wasn’t as complementary, saying that it completely doesn’t go with the rest of the aesthetic of the city and is a complete eyesore. I think it’s rather interesting!
There are two main churches and the bell tower. We walked by all three and learned some interesting stories about them. By now the kids were pretty tired of walking around listening to some boring stories, but we thought this tour guide was really good. He spoke very good English, was really easy to understand, and had really great stories that were interesting.
The town of Ghent really was pretty, and it made a great trip for a day when most things weren’t open. Yes, we wish we could have gone into the castle, churches, and bar, but we had a nice time in Ghent despite this. The small train station was really pretty too, and our half our ride back to Brussels gave us enough time left in the day to still make a side trip.
The Atomium was created for the 1958 World’s Fair held in Brussels and is apparently the most photograph site in Brussels. We took the metro to the north of Brussels to get here and I was a little nervous because the metro stop by the train station was pretty sketchy. We made it to the Atomium, and it was packed! We didn’t go up to the top because it was pretty expensive and the panoramic viewpoint was closed anyway due to Covid, but just looking at it from the ground was impressive. This thing is huge! We walked up to the entrance and back, and we were glad we went at night because the balls were lit up and looked like they were sparkling.
