Ghent Episode 4: Backtracking

From the south of Ghent, I headed back north again, passing through the town centre to get back to the train station I arrived in.

I could have taken the train from the Sint-Pieters station in the south, and changed trains to Antwerp in the Dampoort station (the station I arrived in, and the one I was going back to), but I decided not to. Instead, I planned to take the tram back to the town centre (in the north), but when I arrived at a tram stop, a notice was stuck on it. I wasn't quite sure what it meant (since I don't understand Dutch), but if I had to guess, I would have said that there was construction work going on somewhere along the tracks. I wasn't sure whether there was no tram at all or whether the tram stopped before the construction site, and I didn't want to wait for a tram that might not arrive, so I decided to walk instead. (there was no seat at that particular stop, and my legs were already awfully tired at the time :/ )

Oh, and did I mention that the public transport tickets are the same in Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent? They're also the same as the one in Brussels..if there's only one (I believe there were two public transport companies, I'm not sure whether they use the same ticket)

Anyway, I used a different route to get back to the town centre (I think that was probably why I wanted to take the tram...because it would show me different sights), and on the way I saw this building.

This should be the old palace of justice (if I translate "Oud Justitiepaleis" right) Where's the new one? I dunno...

a little something I missed in the town centre

Remember this building? It was on Vrijdag Markt.

See the little stall in front of the building? Jozef supposedly (according to Use-It!) bake their fries (why bake, not fry??) the old-fashioned way, without using frozen potatoes. I tried it (actually looked for Jozef, didn't find it and bought fries at a random stall, then walked off and saw that I bought the fries there after all :P ), but didn't find it anything special.

the same view from the same bridge I crossed to get to town, at a different time of the day

the other side of the bridge

Check out the little boat on the canal and the bird painted on the wall.

on the train, back to Antwerp

I saw the flowers on the way to Ghent (not long before arriving in Ghent), but I wasn't quick enough to take a photo. So on the trip back, I held my camera ready. Still managed to get only one photo though.

And here are some stuff I saw in a window.

What is "zoen"? Maybe it means "see" in Dutch...

That's all for Ghent, Berlin's up next!

Ghent Episode 3: Useless exhibits

As promised, this post will be about the Useless Exhibits^TM.

the not-so-spectacular canal out of the city centre

the Vooruit, so-called "most beautiful building" by the Use-It! guide. It was a palace for ordinary people (whatever that means) opened by the socialist movement in 1918, and today it is a concert hall, theatre, restaurant and bar. A must-see, they say.

The front view. It looks ugly to me... (useless exhibit no. 6)

Sint-Pieters Abbey. Nothing special. (useless exhibit no. 7)

Sint-Pieters square, with the Book Tower (is that really its name?) in the background (it's the main university library)

in the middle of Kunstlaan (that's the name of the road)

I have no idea what this is, but it's just outside the Citadel Park.

somewhere in the park

the museum of fine arts

the S.M.A.K., museum of contemporary art

Emile Claus. Who's that? I have no idea...though I believe I've heard the name before.

the entrance to the botanical garden (opposite Emile Claus)

the botanical garden is useless exhibit no. 8, actually

Any idea what that's supposed to be?

something about Rafflesia. They didn't mention Malaysia! :(

the 2-metre-wide Victoria Amazonica water lily that I went to see (and when I got back to Malaysia I heard on the news that we're getting one too)

crossing the park again, I saw a group of chickens rushing in one direction. Unfortunately I got my camera out too late, and this was the only one left.

a statue in the middle of Ijzerlaan (another road name)

a birdhouse in a strip of greenery smack in the middle of Ijzerlaan (or is it C. de Kerchovelaan? One road begins where the other ends...)

This is supposed to be a mini-park with Japanese cherry trees (sakura?) The Use-It! guide describes it as follows: "Cars racing to the left? Check. Cars racing to the right? Check. But still, sitting on the bench in this mini-park is a zen experience. There are plans to remove the Japanese cherry trees, but on February 15th 2010, a petition signed by 7000 Gentenaars was handed over to the mayor, to save this weird little park."

I didn't see a single bench, nor did I feel the slightest bit zen when I was there (because I didn't "sit on a bench", maybe?) I was there in August...so maybe the mayor decided to ignore the petition after all. Useless exhibit no. 9.

This tops the Useless Exhibits^TM list. "The most beautiful tree." Use-It! asks us to take a photo of ourselves kissing this tree and to send it to them. Because they "love this tree". Useless exhibit no. 10.

some graffiti (cute thing on the right, reason for my taking this photo)

don't know why there are so many drawings...

and check out all the stuff hanging from the windows!

Well, that was what I wasted the afternoon doing. I guess I could also say that it filled up my free time, but I would have preferred going back to Antwerp early, even if it was just to rest in the hostel. May I remind you that at this point, I had been travelling for four days? (Saturday and Sunday in Bruges, Monday in Antwerp, Tuesday in Ghent) And walking in every town?

So the next Ghent episode will be about the rest of the Ghent trip, or more accurately, walking back to the train station. :P

Ghent Episode 2: The centre

At the end of the first Ghent post, I was heading towards Graslei.

I reached Graslei

the buildings on Graslei

opposite Graslei (Korenlei)

Sint-Michiels bridge

Sint-Michiels Church, unfinished (without the tower)

the view from the bridge

the view on the other side, towards Graslei

Graslei viewed from Korenlei

to the left of the previous view
That's the other bridge connecting Graslei and Korenlei (other than Sint-Michiels bridge)

from Sint-Michiels bridge

crossing the bridge

Sint-Niklaas Church

the old post office, now converted to become a shopping centre called Post Plaza. Beautiful, isn't it? (I think the clock tower is part of it)

view of the square opposite the Post Plaza (to the left of Sint-Niklaas Church)

Now check out these two buildings. Do they look the same to you?



This first one, no. 8 on Graslei, was constructed for the World Fair in 1913 following the plans for a 16th-century building that had disappeared, the bricklayer's house. But in the 1980s, the original building was discovered entirely preserved behind another wall, not far away. That is the building in the second photo.

the Belfry clock tower
It is a typical Flemish watchtower that showed the power of the city in the Middle Ages. I guess that's why there was one in Bruges too!

The dragon on top is Ghent's symbol, and can be found on tourist postcards and chocolates. I don't know about that...I didn't look for souvenirs in Ghent :P

Sint-Baafs Cathedral (St. Bavo's Cathedral)

Inside the cathedral is the world-famous Adoration of the Lamb, painted in 1432 by Jan and Hubert van Eyck (remember Jan's statue in Bruges?). But in 1934, one of the 24 panels were stolen (the bottom-left one, now replaced by a replica). According the the Use-It! guide, and I quote: "The thief died just when he was about to confess its hiding place. It's still the biggest mystery in Ghent: every few years, new amateur detectives claim to know where the panel is. They're always wrong, so everyone is still looking for it. Which is lots of fun. In fact, we don't care about the 23 other panels."

the square (Sint-Baafs plein) with the statue there
I don't know what's the building next to the cathedral...can someone tell me? Maybe the opera or something like that?

This is the city hall.

and so is this (yes, I think it is one building)

Supposedly (according to Use-It!), after they spent millions of euros restoring the city hall, "someone found out in a dusty old book that the historically correct colours for the drainpipe are white and blue". Which is why the drainpipe is in those colours. (useless exhibit no. 5, but it's kinda interesting trivia)

some nice building near the city hall (just across the road intersection, I think)

And then I headed south towards several Useless Exhibits^TM. I shall tell you about them in the next episode.