Blogs from Gent, East Flanders, Belgium, Europe - page 2

Ghent After another night on the river, we woke up at the port of Ghent or Gent. I’ve seen it spelled both ways. Google prefers Gent in the English version, Ghent in Belgian. Going from the Netherlands to Belgium is a short trip but from the minute we got off the boat, there was a palpable difference that’s very hard to describe but I felt very good being in Belgium. It looked different. It sounded different. And the people were very, very, friendly though they didn’t all speak English like in the Netherlands. It seemed like the Belgians were much more like the French or Italians, loose and emotional, while the Dutch were more like the English, stiff (upper lip and the like) and proud. This is just me and those of you that have a ... read more

Hi Everyone We had a fabulous train holiday through Sweden and Norway,and we said our goodbyes to everyone,who were going in all directions of the globe We had a night in London,and next Day proceeded to catch the Euro star to Ghent via Brussels. Spent the afternoon at Ghent getting our washing done a5 the Laundramat in town and doing a bit of food shopping. In bed bed early as we were shattered!! Today we walked around the town,and then we had a boat trip through the canals ,they explained all about the buildings,fantastic old buildings. In the 2nd world war Ghent authorities asked the Germans when they came to leave the buildings alone ,in return the people of Ghent would house and feed the German troops,that is why there are very old buildings standing today ... read more

Fairytale like towns :)... read more

Up at 0600 hrs and caught the bus in to Gent from the camp ground. Previously we'd seen a lot of mole hill but no moles however as we were walking through the park we saw a magpie attacking a small furry creature which turned out to be a mole. Well Gus and I rescued it returned it to the grassy area where it could hide. Sight seeing on Gent is great. Heaps of historic buildings. See photos and short comments.... read more

This day we headed to Ghent. We knew we wanted to take a boat tour around the city, but weren't exactly sure what else we would do. After walking all over Antwerp the day before, our feet weren't exactly ready for another 4 hour walk. As it turned out, the weather was really warm and we were not dressed appropriately. We really hadn't planned on it being so warm so all our shorts were back in England. We took the 40-minute boat tour, which was very nice, and then headed back to the house for a relaxing afternoon there. A little history on Ghent. It started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie in the later middle ages and became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe. It ... read more