And back to Ghent
I just checked and see that it was 2007 when we were last in the city. No wonder that I found it hard to remember the finer details then. Anyway, both my hero and I were sure that we hadn’t been to this part of Ghent on our previous visit, so this was all new to us.
Or so we thought.
My photo from 2007
Well, my excuse is that it was Autumn on that visit and the atmosphere was rather different from the warm Summer’s day last week!!
Not only that, but we’d had an early start. Last evening we’d returned to our suite to find a little note on the door. Usually this is an invitation to cocktails or dinner maybe, but this was from the Belgian Border Control. They wanted to see a “selected group” of passengers for a face to face immigration check.
OK. Except…
We were requested (!) to be present on the quayside at 7.45am the following morning, from where a shuttle bus would take us to the checkpoint and bring us back to the ship. What? Why couldn’t someone come on board and do as they did in Shetland, when a UK Border Force Officer set up shop in the theatre and checked everyone’s passports there?
More to the point, how was this “select group” chosen? None of our American friends were involved, but all the British people we spoke to had the same letter. Hmmm. Brexit-related?
As we gathered to wait for the bus, we observed there was another group who’d already left at 7.30am and both groups were made up of just UK, Canadian and Australian passport holders. Interesting.
Thankfully, they let us in. I couldn’t help but feel there ought to have been an easier way though.
It wasn’t a very long drive to Ghent from Zeebrugge, where we were berthed. We had a lively guide, Charlotte, who outlined the plan: we’d walk a while, get on a boat for an hour or so, then have an hour to ourselves before taking the same boat back to a different place where our coach would be waiting.
As she spoke, I was already remembering how the small details of buildings here fascinate me!
And as we walked over the bridge, I was reminded of how irritated I am by locks on bridges too!! Grr!
As we walked, Charlotte pointed out places of interest. The old Post Office, there on the corner had been turned into a restaurant and cafe and along the riverside, these grand buildings with fine shaped gables were mostly guild houses from the time when Ghent was a working port.
One more point she made was the contrast of approach between Bruges and Ghent. The community in Ghent was eager to keep up with the times, to allow contemporary artworks and to develop as a lively place to visit. Bruges, however, strictly controlled its heritage and did not allow such modern features, choosing instead to preserve the historic city. I sensed a definite rivalry between the two differing approaches.
Anyhow, many of the members of these guilds were illiterate at the time, Charlotte explained, which explains why they mostly have large pictorial symbols of their trade on the building. This one was for seafarers - but you worked that one out already, didn’t you?!
We walked down towards the boat jetty, from where our boat would leave. The twenty or so of us would have a boat to ourselves, which on this very warm day, was a very attractive idea!
Our boat skipper was a lively chap, full of interesting information and funny stories. He kept us both informed and entertained.
The breeze as we set off upstream was blissful!
His first story related to the Mannekin Pis in Brussels, for there’s a similar figure here in Ghent. This, the skipper explained, celebrates the young boys who were paid for their urine; a valuable ingredient in the local tannery. These chaps are dressed in the black and white of the city’s flag.
Just like in Amsterdam, the bike is a popular mode of transport but thankfully here, there are not quite so many!
As we passed by, we spotted many desirable waterfront properties, many with boat moorings. How lovely to have a pied-à-terre here, though the continual noise of boats passing by, not to mention the skippers’ commentaries would soon get a little tiring, I’m sure - unless one was a former Prime Minister with the power to get a ruling for silence on that part of the river. Boats with engines had to shut them off as they passed by, whereas our electric boat just sailed quietly by.
This was certainly a lovely way to see the city.
A little further upstream was the castle, the Gravensteen.
Next up, the Bridge of Imperial Pleasures. I couldn’t get both sides in one snap, so did a quick turn to get the other side too.
The skipper was offering so many stories and bits of information, I was torn between wanting to see it all and to enjoy a relaxing journey on the river!
But actually, we’d reached the turning point, in front of the city’s defensive Het Rabot. The river stops here and we could go no further. It’s a grand place to see, isn’t it?
The way back was more relaxing because we were passing the same places, of course, including the red house which is owned by the former PM who likes his peace and quiet.
We passed this old wooden building too, a rare sight amongst all the brickwork.
Back at the jetty, we had an hour for a quick look around and maybe some lunch? Our American friends were tempted by the idea of chips with mayonnaise, so we went in search…
It didn’t take us long to find a chippy! Not the most organised place in the world but the service was quick and the chips were first class. The mayonnaise accompaniment was declared a hit, too!
They comprised of a very sweet, sugary shell with a similarly sweet raspberry jelly like filling. One was (more than) enough.
Back to the weathervane on top of the gable end of the other seamans’ guildhouse, where as our skipper noted, the sculptor of the ornament had probably never seen a dolphin before.
Travelling downstream now, we passed by the old Post Office and the three towers: The Ghent Belfry, St Bavo’s Cathedral and St Nicholas Church.
We were soon beyond the historic central area and into a more residential section or the river.
The statue of a diving lady stands on the balcony of an apartment on one side of the river.
Whilst on the opposite side, it appears that she’s about to have some company!
Finally, out here in the area that had been the place where several grand homes had been, there were a couple of small tea houses there by the river; the remnants of an earlier lifestyle where friends would meet for tea in the rather grander settings of the day.
Back on the coach, we were soon back in Zeebrugge, where a huge number of new cars were there, waiting for despatch, one of the main import/exports of the port here
and evidenced by the Gracious Ace, which sailed past our window as we were making a quick turnaround in our suite.
We were just in time for Trivia, fuelled today by the last of the Tunnocks tea cakes bought in St Andrews, Aperol Spritz, Margarita and two baby Hugos!!
We won!
