Cold, windy, rainy morning.
We met for coffee, chatted to Steven the hotel owner, then got our bags together and packed the car.
Decided to drive into town because it was so cold and rainy – parking was easy at an underground lot, then we just braved the wind and the rain to get to St. Bavo’s Cathedral.
This is the main church of Ghent and beyond the fact that it houses the original Adoration of the Mystic Lamb altar piece by Jan Van Eyck, it is just an incredibly huge and breathtaking cathedral (oh, and did I mention cold???? OMG it is colder in here than outside – and that’s saying something! Brrrr.) . Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures, so I have nothing to share on the majesty of this building – but trust me, it takes your breath away. It is huge – soaring ceilings with frescoes, the pulpit represents the tree of life and is an incredible piece of art on its own. The marble work, the paintings, the altar..everything is pretty incredible. Interesting side note: the cathedral was built over many centuries and you can see the different styles of building from the three different stones used from back to front (gray stone, red brick then yellow stone). Also interesting, all the stained glass is from the 19th Century – after the original glass was destroyed in the 16th Century during the iconoclastic period.
Originally, you could see a replica of the Adoration altar piece for free – but they’ve changed that now – and you need a ticket. So, we decide we’re here – we’ll go see the original! Well worth the 4 Euro fee. Pretty phenomenal! And the audioguide was really fantastic too. Excellent explanations of each panel, the controversies, the suggested meanings, etc. The altar piece was one of the artworks featured in the movie Monuments Men – true story – the altar piece was stolen by the Nazis and recovered by the Army group that was tasked with finding the artwork stolen during the war.
After the Cathedral, we braved the rain, cross St. Bavo square, past the Belfry and the Cloth hall – it’s so windy and rainy, I don’t even want to take the phone out, but at least Ed takes one shot!
We press on past the bizarre contemporary wood market hall – very bizarre stuffed in between all these gothic behemoths – and finally reach St. Nicholas Church. Made mostly of gray limestone, the exterior is better than the interior. We only peek through the glass doors into the main part of the church. We’re all a little wet and cold and have decided it is time to head back to Brussels. But, it is about 11:30, and we’re also rather peckish. So Gaby suggests we find a little café here to snack, then hit the road. Excellent idea!
We walk into the square a bit beyond St. Nicholas, and find a lovely little café, Brasserie Borluut, with rough hewn stone walls, a small fire place at the back and just the right amount of snacks for us!
Table for 4 and we all end up with Croque something or other! We only wanted a bit, and Gaby and I decided we really should have shared, since we each got 2 sandwiches! Girls had Croque Monsieur (ham cheese), Ed had Croque Madame (with eggs) and Sigis had Croque Speciale (with Bolognese sauce!). Wow!!! We are stuffed!
It has at least stopped raining by the time we leave the café, so the walk back to the car is only windy and cold – not wet. The drive back to Brussels takes less than an hour – everything in this country is so close! We find the Renaissance hotel with no problem – thanks to Sigis – the #1 driver in the world!
Lovely hotel, different from the city centre Marriott in that it is more modern in the lobby, but somehow more European in the rooms. We dump our luggage and head back to the city centre Marriott to pick up our big bags and some clothes Matthias wants Gaby and Sigis to take home. We all say goodbye to Matthias…
… and head back to the other side of town for our final evening in Belgium.
No comments:
Post a Comment