While I was going to mostly do the Netherlands until the end of February, I was just a little too excited about this one! Just a week ago, as our Valentine's Day getaway, we booked a one night stay in Ghent, a city located in the Belgian province of Flanders.
We live really close to the Belgian border, so it was only a 1h30min train ride to get there. We left in the morning of Valentine's Day and came back the day after in the evening. We spent most of our time exploring the city, but it was a Valentine's trip after all - so we also ensured we would enjoy a great romantic dinner, tasty meals all across the day, as well as some time for just the two of us; both in the privacy of our hotel, as well as by just sitting down and enjoying the time off we had.
There was a lot to see in Ghent, so I will divide this post into two parts, with the second part being posted on Thursday (unless plans change and I have to skip Thursday's post).
Sint-Michielsbrug
Stone bridge known in English as the Saint Michael's Bridge is likely the most known landmark of Ghent. It is quite a beautiful monument, but I find it difficult to decide whether it is the bridge that is more beautiful - or the views you can find when you're atop it.
We were lucky to have stayed in an accommodation just a few minutes walk away from here, so we managed to take tons of photos. It is worth noting that Ghent is never too touristy, but especially not in a cold and fairly rainy month like February. There were very few tourists, which was amazing as we had tons of space everywhere. That said, it got a little frustrating, because it can be difficult to find anyone to take pictures of us.. And we can't really take friends for that on Valentine's Day.
Around the Bridge
I mentioned the views from the bridge and really I think it's not that easy to explain with words. There is a pretty picture to be taken no matter which way you point the camera - we just simply stood there and revelled in the beauty for a good few minutes before we finally managed to leave and move onto more sightseeing.
The bridge is surrounded by the beautiful Sint Michiel Kerk (Saint Michael's Church) from one side, which you can see both on the pictures with the bridge, as well as some FROM the bridge below. This was a church we have not visited, but it apparently contains some beautiful artwork in the form of paintings and sculptures.
If you look the opposite way, there is the Sint Niklaas Kerk (Saint Nicholas' Church) which is a gothic work of art that adds even more charm to the city. We did visit this one and were quite impressed at the stunning altar, as well as the sheer size from the inside!
The altar in the church.
Finally, it is a bridge, so obviously there is water - you can get some fairytale-looking photos and views if you just stare down the canal; you can see a small sample of that on the pictures right here:
Graffiti Street
This is not necessarily my biggest interest, as I am not that much of an artsy person, but Ghent in general has a large amount of street art across the whole city. There is a dedicated street quite close to the centre of the city, where you can find tons of graffiti and anyone can contribute (as far as I know) to what it looks like.
This means that the city is ever-changing - as the walls will always look just a bit different on a week-to-week and month-to-month basis. To be honest, I am not that big of a fan of a complete chaos, so I wasn't overly impressed, but it is still quite an interesting experience!
Closing Words
Ghent is an awesome city with so much to see. You can stroll around the center for hours just marvelling at the beautiful architecture, taking photos from every side. The few canals let you cool down a little and sit by them - and when you're bored of that, there's a whole ton of street art waiting for you all around!
There is even more to it, as there will be one more post coming! We went to an old castle called Gravensteen and loved every second of our visit - so stay tuned for Thursday!
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Your post is really cool.
I loved the trip.
I'm already a person who loves graffiti!
Thanks for sharing, see you in the next post.
Hug from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
And have a good week!Thanks a lot! Personally, my favourite was the castle, I will write about that one tomorrow! It was amazing to travel again, hoping to go somewhere new every month this year!
Have a good week as well :)
Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1483.
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