Day Trip to Ghent, Belgium!

Another Belgian city in between Brussels and Bruges is Ghent!

I was surprised when I arrived, because I heard it was smaller than Bruges, but that's NOT the case! It is a port city with a population of almost 250,000 residents!

Since I was only going for the day, I had to carry my backpack around the city. It's also a 45 min walk from the train which I started, but decided the tram was worth it! ;)

This city is much less touristy than Brussels, and therefore no signs in English nor English announcements at the train station. However, if you are lost or not sure, most people speak English, and are friendly to help!

I walked around for a bit, and then grabbed a waffle to eat by the canals. It was very, very good which is somewhat surprising, because that region of Belgium is NOT know for waffles. Instead, as I learned, the East Flanders province is known for their frites, or fries!

Though not from this region of Belgium, this waffle WAS delicious!

Walking Tour
I saw there was another free walking tour so decided with only a couple hours before my train back to Paris, I would learn and see as much as I could and hear from a local! They also let me store my bag at their hostel which was super cool of them! 

I ran into a young, French couple who I actually met on the tour the other day in Bruges! They were very kind, and we ended up getting some frites after the tour! :)

For the tour, we started near the canals. It was a beautiful sunny day, with lots of students relaxing by the water having a nice picnic. There a few cools facts to be learned about this area.

• The buildings are actually leaning forward, because Ghent was once a port town! By having slanting facades, it would be much easier to get cargo up to the higher floors with a pully system.
• If you look closely you'll see a tiny building smooshed in between the other buildings. This is my favorite building, because how cute and little it is! However, if you asked anyone from Ghent, they would have told you they hated it...it's the tax building for the port! 
• Not all the buildings in this area are that old. In fact a few are even from the 20th century! The government created these to attract tourism and make this area a scenic spot -- well it worked! 
• If you put 2 swans next to each other they form a heart with their necks. For sailors coming into port, if they saw the swans on a building it was their symbol for a brothel! One building (which is now a very nice Marriott hotel) had swans facing opposite ways. This was to symbolize forbidden love.

Do you see the tiny building??

Can you see the opposite swans? Source

Castle of the Counts 
If you're walking around town, you might find it odd to find a castle smack dab in the middle of the city! It seems strangely placed. It's not a good spot to protect the city since it's already inside the border. Plus it's not on a hill so can't really see the enemy from far away...

Well, it was actually built to protect the government from its own people!! That's right, the people of Ghent are known (and proud!) of their rebellious nature.

The Noose Tradition
One symbol of Ghent is a noose. This is not a joke! After the revolt against taxes in 1539, as a way of humiliating those who had revolted, King Charles V paraded the rebels in undershirts with hangman nooses around their necks. As proud Ghent folk will tell you, this has become a symbol of their rebellious nature, and every summer during festivities the Noose Bearers parade through the streets dressed in white shirts with nooses around their necks.

 Photo credit: Foto Wannes Nimmegeers 

Het Groot Vleeshuis (Great Butcher's Hall)
Originally a covered market, this was the central place where meat was traded and inspected since the 15th century. Nowadays, meat is hung to dry from the rafters, and it also houses Ghent's smallest pub!

Graffitistrasse (aka Graffiti Street)
Another spot that's quite fun for photo and art lovers is the graffiti street of Ghent! The government didn't want graffiti to be everywhere throughout the city, so they created a street where it is legal to tag. It's worked which is surprising to me since graffiti is often an act of rebellion... In any case, it's quite beautiful plus it changes often with new artists' help!

Ghent is a lovely city in Belgium filled with great food, kind people, and beautiful canals. It also makes for a great day trip!

Have you been to Ghent? What's something you think I should add to this list?? Let me know in the comments!

bisous,
Lyndi


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