Ghent (Gent)

Summer has arrived in Belgium and for the last three weeks we have had fine and sunny days with the temperature gradually increasing up to the mid- 30s. There's been no rain so the mown edges of the canals are getting very dry. Many people are out and about enjoying their summer break in such perfect conditions. There are many Belgian pleasure boats on the canals and rivers. There are also many Dutch but very few of other European nationalities, no French and one German in a hired boat. We have seen no British on the move, have run into three Australians (one of whom moved to Belgium in 1972 because of the Vietnam war, so he hardly counts) and saw one American boat. This is very different from our usual multinational experience.

We thoroughly enjoyed our few days in Ghent. It was a relief to get off the busy Zeeschelde onto the "Ringvaart", a ring canal around Ghent which enables the commercial boats to bypass it, but also gives excellent access for pleasure boat people like us. Ghent has through the ages been very important, located as it is on two rivers, the Leie which flows North to South and the Schelde, flowing West to East.

Our mooring in Ghent

The trip into Ghent was a great introduction to its charms. The narrow rivers and canals are lined with buildings and gardens. We came in at lunch time and passed many restaurant diners enjoying the fantastic weather. There are many bridges, all of them low. After this entrance we tied up in an approved spot along a narrow canal, metres away from the back of the opera house and concert hall. Well into the evening we had tourist boats with their commentary and private craft often with a picnic basket and bottles of wine, enjoying the city from the water. Several cities have been compared with Venice but so far, for us, this city comes closest in the number of criss- crossing and navigable waterways, the attractive and beautifully decorated bridges and the buildings straight on to the water.

View from the old castle

From about 1000 to 1550, Ghent was one of the most important cities in Europe, bigger than London, second only to Paris in size. It went downhill then until the 19th century when it flourished as the first major industrial city in Europe. It now has about 250,000 inhapbitants. Spared significant damage during the two World Wars, most of its built heritage has survived. The city is a good size to explore on foot, especially for lucky people like us who are parked right in the centre of town. Private vehicles are excluded from 35 hectares in the centre. It even has a castle in the middle of town, with dungeons and ramparts, the latter providing a wonderful view.

Getting ready for the festival!

Ghent has our number one rating for tourist assistance and welcome. The tourist office seems to be quite new and has been planned by people who know what will be helpful to tourists. There are walls lined with exactly the brochures we needed to find out what to see and where to find it; there is a huge two- level table in which is embedded many interactive keyboards on which you can choose your language and search for whatever you want such as post office, banks, tourist sites or transport. And if all that fails, or if you want to buy a museum card or make a booking, there is a desk manned by very helpful multilingual staff. In Brussels we were charged even for a simple, and not very helpful map of the city (which depicts but does not even list tourist attractions) so Ghent shone by comparison.

One of Ghent's Canals

Our good feelings about Ghent became even more positive when we found a nearby bakery with very fresh and delicious bread.

Where does all the beer end up? (See yellow pipe bottom right!)

We arrived a few days before Ghent's major annual festival, celebrating its 170th year.  offering Hundreds of free events are held around the city, including music events, puppet shows and a huge parade. It is expected to attract 1.7 million visitors over the ten days. Barriers, stands and marquees were being erected in every square in the city, rubbish was being collected by hand and gardens trimmed. As we walked along the main street into town we noticed several newly- placed urinal stands (four people at a time) with hoses leading straight into the drains. Except that there were no doors, they looked like portaloos. We looked closely at the signs on the side and realised that they were urinals, confirmed when we saw a man zipping up as he walked away. Maybe this would be an answer to Manly's Saturday night woes! We left the day before the festival started. While it would be a a great buzz, the crowds would be daunting. With the weather perfect it lookes like being a great success.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

 Bicycles are well catered for