Blogs from East Flanders, Belgium, Europe - page 3

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Europe » Belgium » East Flanders » Gent September 13th 2016

Like trying to choose at a giant international ice cream parlor, where all the flavors are exciting and inviting, we sit down each month to decide where our next destination might be. We can only choose one flavor per month, so we have to be smart about our choice. Pick something that you don’t like and you may be stuck for a whole month with a half-eaten, melted, soggy-cone mess that no amount of effort will repair to the level of expectations you had before you took your first bite. We sit around a table; our favorite web sites loaded on the computer and try to use logic to pick what destination might interest us in the upcoming month. Like looking through the jewel case display of global deliciousness available at your favorite gelateria, we peruse ... read more
Bruges Backstreets
Ghent Canals
St. Michael's Bridge

Europe » Belgium » East Flanders » Gent August 29th 2016

We are currently on the train from Ghent, Belgium to Brugges which will be a short half hour trip. The last 2 days in Ghent have been alright – a big adjustment from the laid back Mediterranean lifestyle we had become accustomed to! After about 7 hours of travel (train, train, bus, plane) we arrived in Brussels. It was pleasant to see small dogs in the airport! Then we discovered there is a dog show in Brussels this weekend! We took a train to Ghent which was our home for the next 2 nights. It certainly is……different. The buildings and old city itself is certainly Northern European – dark brick buildings and tall imposing dark cathedrals/churches. The biggest difference you can see are the people around you. Northern Europeans can be……larger than their Mediterranean counterparts. However, ... read more
Ghent by night
Graffiti street
Ghent harbour by night

Europe » Belgium » East Flanders » Gent April 18th 2016

Today we started a bit later so eileen could catch some much needed z's. At this point in the trip, her nose is running so bad she is keeping a tissue under her nose at all times. She is starting to resemble an Asian tourist with a white mask over her face. Our first stop this morning is a pharmacist. This was a great experience. The pharmacist was behind the counter and eileen was able to describe her symptoms and get some medicine right away. We decided to take advantage of Starbucks being available and grabbed a gallon sized hot tea and breakfast. After breakfast, the Ghent belfry was the next stop which promised picture perfect views of the town and did not disappoint. We shared the belfry with cute Belgium school children on field trips. ... read more
Ghent bell music drum
View from the belfry
Ghent belfry bell

Europe » Belgium » East Flanders » Gent April 17th 2016

We booked a very early train this morning, so we were out of the hotel by 8am. The train station was only 1 block away. We had enough time for a posh tea service on a silver tray in the station before boarding our train to Ghent. On the train, we discovered that dogs rule in this area of Europe. The sweetest Dalmatian boarded the train and was quite content to ride in the aisle and get pets from other passengers. I didn't want to stalk him, but took a quick snap with my phone for proof! The train took us thru Brussels where we had a quick change of trains. Upon arriving in Ghent, we immediately knew we were in a college town. We found a Starbucks in the train station and the biggest bike ... read more
Castle of the counts
Couch at the design museum
Awesome bike at the design museum

Europe » Belgium » East Flanders » Gent September 3rd 2015

When asking locals about the best place to visit in Belgium everyone told me that Ghent was their favourite location. The response was "just as beautiful and medieval as Bruges but without all the tourists". It became apparent to me that Ghent was over-shadowed by it's neighbour Bruges. My car journey from Bruges to Ghent was a short 35 miles drive down the E40. I did my research online before my trip and discovered that parking was expensive in the city centre and everyone uses the trams. Ghent has the best tram transportation in the whole of Belgium. I learnt that there was a park and ride with ample of free parking on the outskirts of the city, the tram station is called Flanders Expo and takes about 20 minutes to get you into the centre. ... read more
Ghent Beef Stew
Gravensteen by river
Belfry at night

Europe » Belgium » East Flanders » Gent August 1st 2015

Saturday 1 August 2015 Isn't Belgium a wonderful place, especially on a sunny summer day. Our second fine day in a row and all is looking good for a few days more. Today we drive south to the city of Ghent (local spelling Gent). Driving south along the highway traffic heading north is almost at a standstill. In England we experienced "black Friday", in France today was "black Saturday ". Everyone was heading away on their summer holiday. Later in the day a news item showed gridlock on the roads in the Rhone Valley. Ghent is the capital of the region, unlike Bruges the buildings represent the commercial heart of the region. A light rail traverses the city. Where it runs through the many pedestrian spaces there appears to be many close calls between tram and ... read more
Ghent
Ghent
Ghent

Europe » Belgium » East Flanders June 30th 2015

Despite protests from Colehill, we move on. After an exhausting and comprehensive Grand Tour of Great Britain, Claude and his crew were excited to be heading back to the mainland for more amazing adventures and even to get used to hot weather again. To this end, your correspondent and Cusco the Chief Spaniel were quivering heaps of excitement as we pulled into the the campsite. The Chief Spaniel looked out the window and then looked at me. I looked out the window and then at him. Then, we both looked out the window and looked at each other and the same thought was shared between us - this is Folkestone !!! This is not a new adventure - this is the same campsite as five months ago. Admittedly the sun was now out, it was 15 ... read more
now, where is the muddiest area
en guarde
looks soooo Belgian

Europe » Belgium » East Flanders » Gent April 25th 2015

Day 11 - April 25 Ghent and Brugge Belgium Today we chose to go to the town of Brugge for the entire day. It was about an hour coach ride from Ghent where the ship was docked and our guide for the day, Max, used some of that time to share with us the history of Belgium. Brugge is known as the Venice of the north with so many canals as well as chocolate. There are 170 chocolate stores in the city alone! It was slightly drizzling when we arrived but by the time we all assembled ready for the walk and tour of the city it had stopped. It was a 30 minute stroll through town and we finally arrived at the area where we would board canal cruise boats for a tour of the ... read more
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Europe » Belgium » East Flanders August 15th 2014

Geo: 51.054, 3.72169I had intended to be up early this morning, but I didn't get a very good nights sleep and ended up sleeping in until 8 o'clock. The plan today was to catch a train to Ghent and spend the day there. I got myself organised and walked across town to the station. Purchasing a ticket was no issue, although I thought I would have to specify my return time. No issues, its a daily ticket and I can return when I want. I was so happy with that result I forgot to ask which platform. That was a challenge. Looking at the schedules I had worked out I was supposed to be on Platform 9. I get to 9 and there is no-one there. The other platforms have people and trains going in and ... read more
Bloody Stairs!
Gravensteen Castle
Ghent History Tour

Europe » Belgium » East Flanders » Gent July 28th 2014

We didn't want to miss the opportunity to experience more history on our trip. We stayed in a scenic village near the city of Gent, where our B&B hosts started things off on a high note by offering everyone local beverages, Dad indulged himself in some local brew. Everyone enjoyed this introduction to the new country. After our introductions we had a nice dinner in the city of Gent but wanted to get a good nights sleep after the long day of travel. After waking up and enjoying a nice breakfast and garden tour, we made our way to the Flanders Fields Museum in the historic town of Ypres. The museum was a wealth of information not only about the battle of Ypres but the whole of World War I. On top of this, you were ... read more
Tyne Cote Cemetary - Flanders Fields - Pano




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