Gorgeous Ghent

Ghent is one of those mysterious cities that you don't hear too much about. Sure, everyone knows about Brussels or Brugge, but Ghent? Not so much. She lures you in with the idea of exploring some of her historic buildings, and then she stuns you speechless with her amazing beauty. She isn't easy, though. She makes you work hard to admire her. A friend and I took the train to check her out. (Over two hours one way, but she was worth it.) At one point in the morning, we were starting to think that we were providing comic relief for the city. We got a bit turned around with the buses outside the train station. Let's face it, when you have about half a dozen double length buses to choose from, it can get a bit confusing. When I approached a bus driver to see if his bus was the one we needed to reach our destination, I asked him if he spoke English. He replied (with a smile), "I have to, because you do not speak Dutch." Fair enough. He kindly pointed us in the right direction and we were soon in the heart of the historic centrum of Ghent.

Ghent was founded in the 7th century, and was originally known as Ganda. She lies between the Schelde and Leie rivers. She was destroyed by the Normans in the 9th century, and was rebuilt with a stronghold known as Gravensteen. She's well known for her lace and linen. This is the Stadhuis, or Town Hall. It was built a little after 1302.

Rounding the corner, you get to admire this beauty. (Sorry about the poor pictures this time, but I didn't' realize that my camera was on the wrong setting until just before we headed for home. None of these pictures do Ghent justice.) This is St. Baafskathedraal, and was founded in 942. She was just a little chapel at that time, but in 1550, she grew into the statuesque beauty that she is today. Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures inside, but trust me when I say WOW!

Across from St. Baafskathedraal is Belfort. Belfort was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. She has 44 bells, and is quite famous in these parts.

The statue of Jacob van Arteveld stands in the middle of the Vrijdagmarkt. He was once the burgomaster of the city.

This is the Vrijdagmarkt, or The Friday Market. It's a beautiful place and reminds me of both Antwerp and Brugge.

Lots of beautiful little streets lead off from the Friday Market. This is where Ghent starts to take your breath away. It's not the majestic buildings full of history, but the quiet little canals hidden just around each corner. Absolutely beautiful. If you're curious about the red cannon on the left, it is the Dulle Griet. It's a cast iron cannon that was built somewhere between 1430 and 1481. It weighs 16,000 kg (3,520 pounds). This building on the corner is called The Flute Player, and dates back to 1669. The one to it's left is the Seven Works of Mercy house. I could find out any information about this fellow, but I am guessing that it's Zeus. He was across the street from... Gravensteen. This is the Castle of the Counts, and was built as a stronghold by Count Baldwin I after the original city of Ghent was destroyed in the 9th century.

You can tour the inside of the castle, and it's in pretty good shape.

This is the view from one of the turrets on top of the Castle. And here is the view from the very top. It's said to be the best view of the city, and I believe it! Back inside the castle, we finished up the rest of our tour. This is a copy of a guillotine

that was used here from 1796 to 1861. The guillotine is a reproduction. The blade is original.

This is a chapel inside the castle. Later, it was used as a torture chamber.

After all that walking and climbing, we were more than ready for some lunch, so we headed around the corner and came upon the Koorniei. It was the center of the Medieval port. Apparently, it's the place to be on a beautiful afternoon in Ghent. This was the view we had when we ate lunch at De Witte Leeuw (The White Lion). As far as we could tell, they had the best lunch deal in the entire city. For a mere 10 euro, we had asparagus soup, chicken stew in white gravy, salad, fries, and chocolate mousse (yummmm!) for desert. I know. It's a tough life, but someone has to do it. I'd almost feel guilty if it weren't for that whole April Fools incident. I'm just saying. After a delicious lunch, basking in the sun and people watching on the waterfront, we were off on our adventure once again.

Are you starting to understand why Ghent is known as Little Brugge? Crossing another bridge led us back to the area that we had started, so we took the opportunity to check out St. Kiklaaskerk.

Sint Niklaaskerk was built around the middle of the 11th century. During the French Revolution, the church was actually used as a horse stable. It's hard to believe, isn't it? The carved marble was absolutely stunning. I've come to believe that churches in Europe are the most beautiful in the entire world. It was getting late in the day and it was time to say goodbye to gorgeous Ghent. Yes, it was a bit of a challenge getting there, but it was definitely worth the trouble. She's a beautiful city. And the bus drivers have a sassy sense of humor, too.

The Christmas Markets at Cologne, Germany

KB planned a day trip to the Christmas Markets in Cologne, Germany, on Monday, so a friend and I tagged along for the ride. Cologne, or Koln, has been on my list of places that I've wanted to see in Europe for a long time. Besides, who can resist a Christmas Market? We got there pretty early, so we were some of the first customers when Markets opened. Cologne is such a huge city that it doesn't have just one Christmas Market. It has 5! This one is near the center of town. What? A castle in the middle of the city? This is the Hahnentorburg, and it's one of the three medieval gatehouses to the city that remain standing. It dates back to somewhere between 1180 to 1220. This entrance was once used by Royal visitors to the city.

On to the second Christmas Market. It's only a few blocks from the first one, and the crouds were starting to pick up. After shopping for a bit, we decided to walk over to the Christmas Market at the foot of the Cathedral. The pride of Cologne is the Cathedral, or as the locals call it, The Dom. We meandered through the city streets, patiently looking for her, until finally...she peeked out at us from behind a building.

She's quite the beauty, isn't she? As impressive as she looks in pictures, she is much bigger in real life.

Time for more holiday shopping. Market #3 awaits... Yep. That's roasted wild boar. I didn't eat any of this, but isn't it interesting? It actually smelled really good.

Another view of the Cathedral... This is the right side. From the front, you can really get an idea of how enormous this building really is.

The two towers are just over 157 meters tall. Did you know that the North tower is actually 7 cm taller than the South one? I'm sure that will come in handy one day when you are playing Trivial Pursuit. Or maybe Jeopardy. The base of the Cathedral is bigger than a football field!

The area in front of the Dom is a popular hang out place.

We walked around the side of the Cathedral looking for...you guessed it....another Christmas Market. Our goal was to see all of them.

The architecture is amazing. There was even a gold cross on the top.

Soon, we were on the back side of the Dom and walking down to the water front.

We found it...Market #4! How many people can say they've been to a floating Christmas Market? This one had lots of interesting things, including some antiques. Pretty soon, it was time to head back to the bus. We did spot the last Christmas Market (#5) on the way back, but we didn't have time to check it out. In all, it was a very successful trip, and I finished up most of my Christmas shopping. I picked up some goodies for Grandma and Nana there, too, but they will just have to wait until their boxes arrive to see what their surprises are. I'm not telling.

It's Spring...

Well, maybe I'm jumping the gun a little bit on that one, but it's definitely warmer. The snow has melted, the temps have gone back into the 40's, and I'm one happy camper. Ahhhhh. (You have no idea how slippery cobblestones are when they are covered with ice and snow!) Besides, it's so much more tempting to hide indoors, sitting at the computer with a hot cup of coffee, when it's snowing outside. I'm ready for Spring. In the meantime, my friends and I decided to celebrate the warmer temps with a little day trip to Aachen, German. What does one do in Aachen, you ask? Well, go for a sushi lunch, of course. Isn't that what everyone goes to Germany for? Actually, I'm told that the BEST place around here for sushi is in Eindhoven, but they weren't open for lunch, so...off to Aachen. It was a great day, full of lots of laughs. Aachen is one of those cities that you just love to walk around and admire. This is the Cathedral. One of these days, when it's a little warmer, I'm going to take the family here and we are going to check out the inside of this beauty. This is the time of year when I start making out my list of things that I REALLY want to see. I told the family to enjoy these lazy winter weekends, because when Spring arrives, we are on the road again. I can't wait. I've already started marking things down. Let's see...there's Paris, London, Brugges (this time it will be warm enough to really check it out!), Bastogne, Cochem Castle in Germany...the list goes on and on. This is going to be a great Spring and Summer. I can just feel it!