Amsterdam to Gent - Updated 4/23

Today we leave Amsterdam and travel by train to Gent, Belgium.  We had a good night sleep and woke refreshed.  Dressed for the day and headed out to McDonalds for breakfast. The breakfast at the hotel would be about $40 per person while we spent only 5 euros for our McMuffins and coffee and tea.  Back to the hotel to get ready for our trip.  We are storing our luggage at the hotel as we will return here next weekend.

We walked to the train station and now having tea at Starbuck's with free internet.  Our train trip involves two transfers.  First one is in Rotterdam and the second in Antwerp.  Hope we make all the transfers.  Boy, in Rotterdam, we had to walk up a flight of wooden stairs.  This, dragging my suitcase.

Well, we made it to Gent.  We booked second class and it tends to get crowded and my luggage was a little too big to fit in the overhead.  So I kept it on the floor so I took up two seats.  I was not the only one to do this.  I think on the way back to Amsterdam, we will book first class.  Just more comfortable if you have luggage.

The lobby lounge.  On the wall are poppies.  Not sure why but there they are.

The glass elevator we take up to our room

When we got to Gent we took a taxi to the hotel where our room was ready.  We will stay here for three nights.  I booked this hotel using Capital One points.  We were suppose to get here yesterday but I called Capital One and told them we would be coming in on Monday and they said fine but we could only stay two nights as the hotel was sold out after that.  I also called the hotel to tell them we would be arriving on Monday and not Sunday they said fine.  So when we checked in, the man said you will be here for three nights, right.  We said right.  So much for sold out.

The lobby of the hotel here in Gent.  The elevators are glass.  This is the lobby lounge.

We walked from our hotel to the first canal we found.  They have canal tours so we might take on later on in our stay.

The buildings near the canal are the same as we found in all of Belgium and Netherland.

This is St. Nicholas Church.

Some figures we found on one of the buildings.  I found them quite amusing.  This is the original sixteenth-century Masons' Guild House.  On the stepped gable Moriscos dancers turn in the wind.

Inside St. Nicholas Church.  There was a lady having an organ lesson which was quite pleasant to listen to.  No pews as we know.  Now they have chairs at least.

More of St. Nicholas Church.

More of the interior of St. Nicholas Church.  The church in bluestone from the Tournai region is one of the most beautiful examples of the Scheldt Gothic style.

This is the Belfry.  You can walk up the 280 steps or take an elevator to the top.  Bob wants to walk but if I go, I will ride. This is a symbol of Gent's independence.

The rear of St. Nicholas Church.  We find the churches of Europe quite impressive.

We stopped here for a hot chocolate and some chocolates.  They melt in you mouth.  Good stuff.

This is the interior of the Cathedral here in Ghent.  Just a side aisle.

The altar area of the Cathedral.

More of the interior of the Cathedral

These figures are at the base of the pulpit.

The Cathedral is undergoing renovations.  This was on the floor of one of the side chapels.  I think they took it down from somewhere but do not know this for a fact.

The very top of the Belfry.  We think it is a winged dragon.  The dragon has been watching over the city since 1380.

Another view of the buildings around the city.

An old castle inside the city.  We will try and visit it another day.

We opened up the restaurant.  Here in Ghent, most of the restaurants close between lunch and then open for dinner at 6:30pm.  We were a bit early so we stopped for a beer at the beer house and then for dinner we had beer and pizza.  Notice no one else in there.  It did start to fill up as we were leaving.   Food was very good.

These were the beers we had for dinner.  Notice that the kind of beer you drink is on the glass.  You cannot drink a Maes beer from a Grimbergen glass.

The room is great.  Lots of storage and a nice bathroom.  All non smoking.  We unpacked and then headed out.  Visited two churches and just walked about this city.  Stopped for a hot chocolate and candy.  Bob got to see "The Lamb Of God" painting.  Part of it is being restored.

This is a copy of the "Lamb of God" painting.  You had to pay 4 Euros to go to the chapel where the original painting is hung.  Bob did this.  They are in the process of restoring it.  So the original top part is somewhere else.  But the bottom part will not be restored until 2014.  Actually it is called "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb".  It was painted by the Van Eyck brothers.  It survived the Protestant iconoclasm, fell into French hands under Napoleon and was requistioned by Nazi Germany during WWII.  The Just Judges' panel, stolen in 1934, is still missing.

Back at the hotel, watching tv and then bed.  A busy day.  Will post pictures when they are downloaded.