Monday April 21, 2025
Today I am headed from Brussels to the heart of Flanders. I will be exploring the charming cities of Bruges, known as the “Venice of the North,” and Ghent,
Our first stop was Ghent a port city in northwest Belgium, at the confluence of the Leie and Scheldt rivers. During the Middle Ages it was a prominent city-state. Today it’s a university town and cultural hub. Its pedestrianized center is known for medieval architecture such as 12th-century Gravensteen castle and the Graslei, a row of guildhalls beside the Leie river harbor.
Ghent has dedicated on very narrow street to street art. By providing this place for artistic expression the tagging of buildings has ended.
On one of the bridges they have stated a “love locks” collection.
A chocolate shop had shoes made from chocolate!!! My sister would have bought those!!!
One fun observation….there was a building with two swans as part of it facade which means in the 16 and 17th century is was a house of prostitution it is now a Marriott….hmmmmm!!!
Next we headed to Bruges the charming cobblestone streets and beautiful architecture makes it an interesting place to explore. Bruges, is the capital of West Flanders in northwest Belgium, is distinguished by its canals, cobbled streets and medieval buildings. Its port, Zeebrugge, was an important center for fishing and European trade.
We cruised the Bruges Canals providing us scenic views of the city!
After a full day of exploring it was time to get back on the coach for the long drive back to Brussels. As we approached the city it started raining…drat. Another walk in the rain back to the hotel ended the day.
Tomorrow is a travel day as I leave Belgium and head to Portugal so no blog!!
