A Last Glimpse of Ghent, An Afternoon Back in Brussels

Monday, 8 August, 2011 - Our last day in Belgium. As can likely be discerned by the fact that we opted to see a movie during our afternoon rather than explore more, I don't think either of us were wildly captivated by Ghent. Don't get me wrong, Ghent was charming and lovely and very Belgian, but I think after the magic of Brugge it just didn't quite compare. We discussed our options over breakfast and decided there really wasn't much else we would regret not seeing, so we might as well spend the day in Brussels. Besides, I still needed to return to the Shop to see about that Thing for that Person*.

We did stop off at St. Bavo's Cathedral and St. Nicholas' Church before we left, though.

St. Bavo's was primarily a wooden construction consecrated in 942, but over the years it was renovated in both the Romanesque and Gothic styles, considered complete as we know it now in 1569. There used to be an abbey associated with the cathedral, but it was long since dissolved.

Although a newer building in comparison, only begun in the 13th century, St. Nicholas' Church was built in the Scheldt Gothic style, one particular to this region, best identified by the slender turrets cornering each arm of the church. It was built of a blue-grey stone particular to this region. Its central tower also used to serve as an observation point until the belfry was completed in 1380.

Ghent Belfry

Once back in Brussels, I let Ian go wander at will while I returned to the Shop to try and convince the owner to help in my quest. Long story short: no. She said she would contact their newest maker for me, but I never did hear back from either of them.

I relaxed and people watched in the Grand Place for the most part to kill some time before Ian and I were supposed to meet up for lunch. I just love the details in this square!

We ended up eating lunch in the Grand Place, too, even though I knew it was a huge tourist trap. Still, there's just something so pleasant about being right at the heart of medieval Brussels. Ian was feeling rather toured out by that point, so we went to grab a drink at Delirium Bar which he had heard about from a friend. It's down a small ally a little north of the Grand Place, and I was a little skeptical when we descended into a low-lit basement, but the bar itself was actually really neat.

Apparently this was the bar for the world class Delirium beer, though they offered over 200 varieties from around the world. Maybe not quite Irish beer in my books, but Belgian beer is well-known for a reason. I tried the Floris Honey. Good, but definitely a taste you would have to be in the mood for. However after an hour I still wanted to get out and wander around the city since our flight wasn't until much later that night. Ian was enjoying the bar, so I said I'd be back in an hour. I found a bookshop and spent some time in there, then met up with Ian again. We wandered around for a while longer, bought some chocolate, had a final Belgian waffle, then headed to the airport even though we were going to be about two hours early. Better safe than sorry. We made it back to Vienna without anything else too noteworthy, I for one very glad to be back in my own bed.

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*The Shop, the Thing, and the Person can all now be disclosed as it's past Christmas and the person in question is in on the loop - in 2010 I had seen these wooden carvings that looked to be from the Black Forest in Dandoy, a biscuiterie, of all places. They looked very much like something my Mother would really like and I considered getting one for her then, but it was too big to fit in my duffle bag. I took a picture of the inside of the shop, though, and when flipping through pictures when I got home, my Mom stopped and pointed at those, remarking how much she liked them without any prompting from me. I really really wanted to get one for her. See top right corner of below picture.