The Cathedral and some Chocolate

Today was our day to go to St. Bravo's Cathedral to see the Lamb of God, also known as the Ghent Alterpiece. It's a well known, large piece (18 panels) that has a fascinating history. It was painted back in the 1400's, and has survived being stolen several times, divided up, and then reunited back in Ghent. In order to view it, we needed to make reservations days in advance. 

The Cathedral itself is magnificent, and the tour starts in the crypt which is part of the original church structure dating back to the 1200's. People are admitted a few at a time because you are fitted with headsets.

The story of the Alterpiece is told with what they called "Augmented Reality". You see holograms as you are guided around the crypt. I was enthralled with the technology of it all and the way that the story was presented. In addition to the history of the work, we were also given details about each panel and what the artist included and why. We opted for the one hour tour which included the past 100 years or so in the life of the piece. This part contained the information about the Nazi's taking the work, and how the American Monument Men found it hidden in a cave. It also included the story about how one panel was stolen and has never been found. After going through the history of the Alterpiece in the Crypt, we then walked up the stairs into the church and saw the real thing. I knew I couldn't take a photo of it that would do it justice so I'll just put one here from online.

The four panels on each end fold onto the center and there are other panels on the outside of the work. The colors in the Alterpiece seemed much more vivid in person. It really is beautiful and this tour was a highlight for us.

Greg was happy to see that the hot chocolate was back in his favorite chocolate shop. The weather has gone from 80 degrees to highs in the 50-60's. The rest of the day was spent here in Ghent doing to shopping and also planning the next phase of our trip in London. We head there in two days.