Last week N. turned 30. I thought that a trip to another country would be a great gift, but my budget could only take me as far as Belgium. No problem! We have been together to Brussels before, I have been to Antwerp twice and he has been to Bruges. But none of us has been to Ghent and I managed to find a great accommodation at airbnb which included a piano -which N. did appreciate- so we booked our train tickets.
The view from the train, going from Delft to Rosendaal.
It took 2 train changes and about 3 hours to get there. We went from Delft to Rosendaal and there we took the train to Antwerp. From Antwerp we ended up in Ghent. There are no controls of passports or IDs when traveling between those countries. All you need is your ticket. Seats are not numbered though, so you might end up traveling standing, which is what happened to me on the way back.
Antwerp train station
Antwerp train station, exterior
Ghent train station St. Pieters
Ghent train station St. Pieters
Ghent train station St. Pieters
Our accommodation was about 20 minutes from the train station, in a not-so-fancy neighborhood, that was still very clean and quiet and with lots of colorful facades.
Our neighborhood
Our neighborhood
I love how these guys used their outdoor space.
5′ walk from our temporary home
At the border of the park, a river.
The park close to our temporary home was very lively the day that we visited it. Full of kids playing, celebrating the last days of summer, I am guessing.
Kids being kids and me being awkward with a map at hand
Following is a ton of Ghent pictures. We got most of them the first day as N. got a high fever and didn’t get to walk around much on day 2. Day 3 was much better though and we got some more nice shots, while enjoying getting lost in Ghent.
A not-so-famous part of the river.
Got to love the variety of materials and colors on Ghent facades.
A church, me thinks.
And then there was the castle, casually rooted in the middle of the city center.
The old fish market
Cafes next to the castle
One of the rivers. I have no clue if its Scheldt or Lys.
window shopping for weirdos. (I love this shop)
window shopping for weirdos. (I love this shop) 2
Close to St. Michael’s bridge.
St. Michael’s bridge with sharp senior.
St. Nicolas church
It pays off to look up some times.
Landmarks make it easy to orientate. Landmarks everywhere!
Look who’s happy on the grass 🙂
When we went to Ghent, 7 piano installations where at different areas of the city. Anyone was welcome to play. This little guy brought tears to my eyes.
I just liked the framing of this one.
Some times you need to look closely to see the magic
Some times you need to look closely to see the magic
Some times I do really appreciate the beauty of Northern Europe.
I wouldn’t mind living at this house for a couple of years.
I don’t know what that is, but I like it.
More color.
I liked the roof of this one.
And then the sun came out.
For those of you with a sweet tooth.
Beautiful nettles
A Jackdaw.
At the Sunday flower market
At the Sunday flower market
We read that the locals eat oysters and drink white wine after they shop their flowers. It’s true.
The following pictures are from this place. I loved it and I think any non-hip hippie (and especially the hip hippies!) would love it as well. Worth a visit.
Vooruit
Vooruit
Vooruit
Vooruit
Next, we visited a square that was supposed to be filled with life, as it is the center of Ghent’s large scale events. Wasn’t. BUT you can find great student rooms around this area for less than 250. Much cheaper than in the Netherlands.
Not as pictured.
This is me hugging a tree. I can supposedly become facebook friends with said tree. That’s what a Ghent guide said. I cannot find its facebook profile though. I will keep looking. It is a good tree.
Last but not least, this is the last photo of me wearing my favorite ring. It is the last one because it slipped off of my finger and fell into a sewage or ventilation cover or something like that in Ghent. RIP dear ring.
The non-hip hippies 
Wonderful pictures and captions, Travelling to another country is a good self birthday gift. Belated happy birthday! 🙂
Hi Isabela! It was a gift to my husband, not myself, but thank you for the wishes 🙂 I just checked out your blog and I love it too. Great pics!
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nice to see your pics. Ghent has more vegetarian restos (with vegan options) per capita than any other city in Europe!
And only a half an hour train ride away is beautiful Bruges (Unesco World Heritage)! also with many places where vegans are welcome, see our blog!
greets from Belgium
Hello! Thank you for the tip! I will definitely check out your blog 🙂