A cold Christmas makes the festive celebrations feel more traditional, and over the past two winters we have enjoyed mulled wine, sausages and a creamy stew of potatoes with ham in Cologne and Vienna.
This year we traveled by Eurostar train to Belgium where we enjoyed the festive treats on offer in Ghent and Antwerp - with separate blog posts written for each city.
Eurostar train to Brussels
Our travels started off with an early morning mini-cab to St Pancras international. Travelling by Eurostar to Belgium is our preferred method of transport, as there are frequent trains available to Brussels where connections can be made to almost every major city in Europe. As this was our third trip to Brussels together and Mei's forth after a girl's trip earlier this year; we chose not to visit any tourist sites as we had seen them last year during our New Year's Eve trip.
Arriving at Gare du Midi (Brussels South Station) we had a short wait for the next train to Ghent. One of the Eurostar ticket options is 'Any Belgian Station' providing excellent flexibility to explore other towns within this small country. On arrival at Ghent St Pieters station, we had a 20 minute walk to our hotel that was based near the historic Old Town.
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| Main train station in Ghent |
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| Rugged up for some winter weather |
Ghent City Background
Ghent is a city that has a reputation of being 'stubborn'. This originates from conflicts with King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. The King made the nobles of Ghent walk around with a noose around their neck as punishment. Ghent later became wealthy due to the textile (Flemish weaving) trade and has beautiful architecture as it mostly escaped from being heavily bombed in both World Wars.
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| A university building |
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| The facade of an old building turned into a cinema |
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| Pretty architecture |
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| A building along the river in Granlei |
Hotel Onderbergen
We stayed at Hotel Onderbergen, a Bed and Breakfast establishment that had a grand old manor style entrance but a modern refurnished interior. On arrival we were given complementary drink vouchers to use at the Irish Pub next door and the hotel was less than 10 minutes walk from the main tourist sites along the scenic canals.
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| Bakery with over-sized cupcakes |
Three icons of Ghent Skyline
Our first stop was to visit the Christmas Markets, located under the towers of the Ghent skyline - the Belfry and Cloth Hall, St Nicholas's Church and St Bavo's Cathedral.
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| St Nicholas's Church, built in Romanesque style |
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| The Belfry and Cloth Hall |
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| St Bavos Cathedral |
Ghent Christmas Markets
There were about 40 stalls in the market selling small toys, candles, chocolate and food including bratwurst sausage, a hot potato salad and gluhwein (mulled wine); a small ice-skating rink and Ferris wheel were also set up for entertainment.
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| Tasty bratwurst |
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| Ice-skate around the sponsor's car |
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| Giant Ferris Wheel |
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| With a reindeer made of lights - last year we ate reindeer during Christmas in Norway |
St Bravos Cathedral
After lunch we ventured into St Bravo's Cathedral to see one of the most famous pieces of artwork in the world - the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb [Ghent Altarpiece]. This set of 12 panels painted by the Van Eyck brothers (15th century AD) is more amazing than artwork we have seen elsewhere in the world and should be as well known as the Mona Lisa to non-art lovers.
The panels are currently under restoration (unfortunately no photos were allowed), as over the past centuries attempts have been made to burn the artwork and they have been stolen during the French Revolution and the Nazis in World War II (hidden in Neuschwanstein Castle and in a salt mine).
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| The altar inside St Bavos Cathedral |
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| Monument to the Van Eyck brothers |
Walking along the canals
After the Cathedral, we walked along the canals, taking in more of the beautiful buildings - the Castle of Gerald the Devil (a former prison, now Records Office); Dulle Griet (a medieval red cannon); St Michael's Bridge and many pretty buildings in the traditional tall narrow style.
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| Castle of Gerald the Devil |
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| Dulle Griet - the medieval cannon |
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| Taking in the scenery of Graslei and Korenlei |
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| Looking towards St Michael's Bridge |
Castle of the Count (Gravensteen)
The next tourist destination on the 'to do list' was The Castle of the Count (Gravensteen) built in 1180AD and renovated by the city in 1885 as a museum.
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| Gravensteen was renovated after being abandoned in medieval times |
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| Photo from the castle wall |
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| The castle courtyard |
Weapons of Torture and Execution
The Castle was originally used by the Counts of Flanders until the 14th Century but gradually feel into disrepair. It is now used to house an impressive collection of weaponry, including the city's own guillotine and set of execution swords (that looked well used) that had been used for public beheadings in Ghent and were donated to the museum by the son of the city's last Executioner.
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| Shields from the Counts of Flanders |
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| Medieval suit of armour |
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| Guillotine - once used in Ghent |
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| Double handed sword |
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| The city's set of swords used for beheading prisoners of noble rank - normal people were hung whereas nobles were spared the embarrassment |
View from the top
The Castle had a set of narrow Gothic style winding staircases that force visitors (and invaders) to travel in single file and were used primarily for defence as anyone travelling up the stairs (attacking) would have to use their sword in their left hand; whereas the people coming down the stairs (defending) could easily swing their swords. The staircases connected to the top of the Keep where we had an excellent view of the city skyline.
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| The skyline with the three iconic towers of Ghent |
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| Catching the last bit of sunshine for the day |
Old Chapel
The rest of the castle tour included a visit to the old chapel and a room used to torture prisoners. The torture method required the prisoner to stand in the middle of the room with a necklace of sharp daggers pointed at their neck - a slight movement to either side would result in a slow death and usually the prisoners could only last standing in the same position for four hours.
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| Remains of the medieval castle chapel |
Castle Walls
A platform was constructed around the perimeter of the castle walls, allowing visitors to walk a lap with care as the platform lacked a boundary fence and had a sharp drop of up to 10m. The castle wall walk contained a number of towers including a stone garderobe (medieval toilet).
Tapas for dinner
From the castle, went back to the Christmas markets for something quick to eat - finding ourselves at a tapas stall where we ate a non-traditional plate of cured meats, cheese and glass of cava (Spanish wine).
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| Tapas plate |
Creative Candy
In our past blog entries in Belgium, we have showcased photos of chocolate sculptures. This time we saw some shops showcasing designs made from different types of candy.
Picnic in the hotel room
For dinner, we stumbled by accident into a supermarket that sold a range of prepacked foods that gave us the idea of a hotel picnic - including smoked duck, stuffed peppers, smoked fish, little bottles of Prosecco and a pack of 10 macaroons for just 5 euro.
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