Belgian Train Strike so a Day in Ghent

It is convenient that Belgium announces weeks ahead of time when the trains will not be runnning due to a strike so you can plan accordingly. We knew we had a day here in town so decided to start it off this way.

Two flat whites from Take Five Espresso and one chocolate eclair from Kultur Bakery. This may turn into our everyday routine!

We spent most of the day rambling around town looking at the shops, buying some food for meals at home, and sitting in the sun enjoying the amazing weather.

Just down the street is Gravensteen Castle. It's odd to see this sitting in the middle of town but it is definitely a local landmark and tourist attraction. There were two options for audio tours - the comedy version or the serious version. We opted for comedy which turned out to be a little silly but you did hear the story of the castle starting back in the 1100's. Lots of torture devices and dungeons. Fun stuff. And a cute little bathroom up in one of the upper walkways where the count could deposit his "stuff" right down into the river. Charming.

On our tour of Ghent the other day, the guide pointed out a tiny bar that served jenever, a local drink. He described it as fruity and sweet, and it comes in lots of different flavors with about 20% alcohol. After dinner at home tonight, we wandered down the few blocks to this little place. The menu of flavors was long (about 215!) but we decided to try blood orange and gingerbread. Both were really a nice dessert. You sip them out of this very small glass and they have a huge amount of flavor. We'll be back to try more, I'm sure.

 

Saw this today and thought it was appropriate....