My week in pictures: Gallivanting in Ghent

Arriving in Ghent on the Eurostar, we admired the frescoes on the walls and ceiling of the station, before walking through town to our accommodation.

We were conveniently located next to Bookz & Booze - a shop we had been recommended to visit, which matches alcohol with book choices.

After a few purchases of both books and booze - how could I not? - we walked into town for our first beers of the trip. Our route took us past the graffitti street and several fabulous buildings.

There will now follow, lots of pictures of buildings and beer. If that's not your thing; scroll on. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Choices! The bar, Bier Central, has its own catalogue

The boys making choices

Flemish stew with frites; the first of many

Walking back past all the buildings lit up at night.

Many of the houses in Ghent are being rennovated, but the facades are historically listed and must be protected - hence lots of cranes butressing walls and windows while the main building is destroyed and replaced.

Jetlag inspires morning walks to find coffee and pastries past shops selling interesting items, little alleyways, canals, and bicycles. Bicycles are everywhere. It's cold and still and I like it.

Peering in windows of pubs not yet open

The Gravensteen, with bicycles

Ghent is also well-known for its quirkiness factor. Here is some quirk.

I think someone pushed in front of her in a queue

Watch me go!

This is a statue of Jacob van Artevelde in the centre of the Vrijdagmarkt square, named after the Friday Market. He was an important political dude in the fourteenth century, known for making money through weaving, and forming alliances with Ypres, Bruges and England in the Hundred Years War against the French. He is also known as The Wise Man and the Brewer of Ghent, and he looks as though he is dancing along to I Will Survive in his pedestal pose.

Meanwhile the chaps are still peering through the windows of closed pubs, while I photograph almost every building and street in existence.

This is a sculpture by Walter De Buck in honour of Karel Warei, a nineteenth-century folk singer. Karl Warei (1842-1849) sang songs of politics and protest, denouncing the poverty of the workers in Ghent. Walter De Buck (1934-2014) was a Belgian singer, sculptor, versatile artist and founder of the Ghent Festival, becoming known as the grandfather of Ghent. This sculpture alludes to the themes of Warei's work including slave labour, blood ties and solidarity.

The Stadshal (Pavillion) was criticised upon its contruction in 2012 because of its size, height and use of modern materials in the historical surroundigns. I really like it, and it reminds me of the pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre Palace.

These are cuberdons, cone-shaped Belgium sweets known as neuzekes (little noses) or in Dutch as Gentse neus (Ghent noses). Traditionally purple, they are now available in many colours, made from gum arabic, sugar and fruit syrup with a hard shell and a soft raspberry-flavoured filling. The rumopur is that in 1873 a pharmacist De Vynck was trying to increase the shelf life of drugs which were packaged in the form of syrup. He discovered that a failed preparation formed a crust after a few days, while the core was still liquid and hit upon the technique to make confectionary. They are now recognised by the Flemish Government as an official regional product.

And then we went on a boat on the Lys River (Leie) and I took lots of photos from the middle of the canal of the buildings on either side.

Statue on St Michael's Bridge

Guild Hall of the Free Boatmen

The Gravensteen

The Gravensteen is a very impressive medieval castle (so much so, it has its own post), which sits between two branches of the River Lys. The current castle dates from 1180 and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until 1353. Over time, it has been repurposed as a court, prison, mint, and cotton mill and is now restored as a castle and museum.

The sculptures on the Bridge of Imperial Pleasures are by Walter De Buck (see above) and refer to various legends involving the life of Charles V. Apparently local residents refer to the bridge as 'cauliflower bridge' or 'ice cream bridge' due to the unusual appearance of the stone sculptures.

Fox Owl by Cee Pil on the public urinal

The Rabot - the end of the road/ waterway

After the boat trip we went into the Gravensteen (about which, more later, as I have said), and then required some much-needed refreshment.

Lena, Nestor and Luna by Stefaan De Visscher (Ghent's answer to Manneken Pis)

It was a little bit cold sat by the canal, so we went indoors to a different pub, with a very similar vibe.

More Flemish stew and frites

It was then time for a quick walk and a trip up the belfry, as you do.

Fountain of Kneeling Youths by George Minne

In 1313, the people of Ghent began to build the Belfry and designated it as the city's proudest symbol of independence. For many years wooden peaks of all sorts of design topped the tower, until the current fixture was put in place at the start of the 20th century. In 1999 the Belfry was added to the prestigious list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

"Originally, it stood on its own, but later it is incorportaed in the complex of the 15th-century Cloth Hall and 18th-century town prison or 'Mammelockker'. The belfry's solid bulk ends in the corner turrets, restored according to the original model and marked by the statues of the famous 'Men from Ghent', the stone watchmen. Gilded crockets and the famous dragon-shaped weather vane decorate the elegant spires. The belfry accommodates, amongst others, the 'secreet' (secret chamber) and the 54-bell carillon. Together with the towers of the St Nicholas Church and the St Bavo Cathedral, it determines the well-known skyline of the city of Ghent."

The Men of Ghent

"In 1339, four bluestone tower guards were installed on the corners of the belfy. They remained in place until 1870. The stone sculpture with the knight's outfit, sword and shield represents a crossbow archer of St George's Guild. The plaster copies represent a longbowman of St Sebastian's Guild, a member of the butcher's trade with his axe, and a city trupeter. The guards around the great clock were added after the restoration campaign in the run-up of the 1913 World Expo.

"The people of Ghent call these guards 'kannenschijters'. The name refers to the jug that the tower guards would take with them as they climbed the tower at the start of a long working day. There were no toilets in the Belfry, and any self-respecting guard refused to leave his post for a sanitary break. This was just not done. Hence the jug..."

"The Belfry primarily acts as an alarm installation for the medieval city. A colourful bunch of tower guards populated the tower. The bell-ringers sounded the bells on the hour and for work and stood guard during the day. At night, they patrolled the city's streets with a small lantern and a trained dog. The night watch was the job of the city trumpeters, who blew their trumpets every hour out of the Belfry's windows. The 'schalmeiers' or town pipers were professional musicians, who went from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, proclaiming the new bylaws. Together they formed the corps of town guards. They were the city's watchmen."

"The story goes that Count Baudouin IX brought the dragon to Ghent from Constantinople in the thirteenth cnetury. But the city's accounts indicate that it was cast in Ghent. The fantastic beast is Ghent's protector and safeguards the city's privileges in the secret chamber or 'secreet'.

"In the sixteenth century, the dragon also created a spectacle during the city-wide festivities. Barrels of burning tar were used to create the illusion that the dragon really spewed fire. The oldest dragon has been guarding the city for almost 500 years. The current dragon was installed on top of the Belfry in 1980, using a helicpoter. It is made from stainless steel and weighs approximately 400kg. The dragon breathed fire again for the first time in 2018 during the Ghent festivities."

St Nicholas' Church from the Belfry

After our excursion up the Belfry, we needed more refreshment, so we went to 't Dreupelkot, the jenever bar which had been recommended to us by several friends. It is the home to 215 jenever flavours (such as vanilla, coconut and cactus), including about 50 home-made jenevers.

Outside 't Dreupelkot

The bar is known for its eccentric owner, Pol ('described as a jolly Santa Claus look-alike despite his sometimes grumpy demeanour') who stands behind the bar reading a paper and barely conversing until you tell him you'd like a drink. The jenever is served in shot glasses and filled to the brim so you must take your first sip at the bar without raising your glass. The pub is basic, small and cosy, and is what is known in these parts as a 'brown pub' due to its traditional and rustic ambiance.

After a few shots of 'classic, strong and flavoured' varieties, we stumbled back through town in the encroaching dusk to meet up with the Canberra Brewers.

Naturally, we found them in a pub - the Trollekelder - another brown beer pub with a 15th century basement and over 300 Belgian beers on offer. The basement used to be a library until the 1980s when it was transformed into a bar. The manager's wife had a love of trolls and mythological creatures which explains the name and some of the decor. We sampled several of the local delights, including the Westvleteren 12 and a 'flight' of Orval from different years, before finally walking home through the night and the lights.

One of the trolls?

City Hall and the Belfry

Our final outing in Ghent the next morning was for a coffee at this tiny little venue, 't Galgenhuisje. It is the smallest cafe/ bar in Ghent, but it used to be the tripe house and before that, a prison for people awaiting punishment in the adjacent square. It has friendly service, great coffee, daffodils in window boxes, a chocolate egg on the side (as we approach Easter) and some of the steepest stairs I've ever seen in a public place. It also features beautiful old tiles on the wall, and individual old men at the tables.