day8..breda and gent

We knew almost nothing about Breda, so we decided to take a look to see what it was like. On the way, we crossed the Rhine at the nearest bridging point to the sea; it was like crossing a miniature ocean. Breda turned out to have a very nice centre, in which we saw Ivy in her natural habitat ... SHOPPING! The Cathedral is vast, in fact so big that we couldn't fit it onto one picture from any angle. We found a very nice traditional shoemaker with a large selection of clogs (traditional Dutch wooden shoes). We also found a lovely traditional wurlitzer (automatic, but not electronic, music machine) playing traditional tunes in the main street.

The motorway from Breda to Antwerp was jammed solid, so we took the back roads. On the way, we passed a bizarre building called `Jaiselings Royal Palace'. This is actually not a palace at all but a conference, convention & party centre set up by a Dutch function organiser who wanted to create a fairytale setting. Anyway it looks spectacular!

B E L G I U M

We crossed the border into Belgium, still on the back road, and drove through Brasschaat, the prosperous suburb of Antwerp. The road was lined with splendid houses such as this one, Kasteel Torenhof.

Being in Flanders (the Dutch speaking, North section of Belgium), we had to sample the Flemish specialities - Waterzooi (a rich stew of fish or chicken consisting primarily of butter), seafood, and the ubiquitous chips! The restaurant was in a converted cellar under one of the grand merchants' houses near St Nicholas' Church.

Around the City (daytime)

Gent is probably David's favourite town in Belgium, and you can see why.

Separate bell towers with a carillon (musical ring of bells) are a Flemish speciality. Gent has one of the best.	The architectural style, very embellished and with stepped gables, is very distinctive.	Looking along St Nicholas' Church to the bell tower.	Amazing statues adorning the gables of a grand house opposite the church.	Amazing stone carvings, including Neptune (the God of the Sea) adorning this gatehouse.	Different styles of merchants' houses by the canal - the original source of Gent's prosperity, linking it to import & export trade throughout Europe.	Full view of St Nicholas' Church (Roman Catholic).
Charles in his natural habitat (scoffing ice cream!)	Charles trying to get into the fountain!	Like much of Southern Europe, many cafes have chairs on the pavement where people can simply sit and watch the world go by.	Early Spring brought this blossom out to welcome us beside the castle of the Dukes of Flanders.	Overlooking the canal and some of the old warehouses behind.	Tourist boats on the canal, heading down towards the castle.	Picture taken by Charles! He insisted on trying the camera and, with trepidation, we let him: the result was surprisingly good.

Castles

Gent has two castles. This is the Castle of the Dukes of Flanders, dating back almost 1,000 years. It now houses a museum.

This is the castle of `Count Gerard the Devil'. Many of the nobles were pretty appalling in the middle ages, so to have been named `the devil', Gerard must have been pretty spectacularly atrocious.

In the evening

Gent still uses trams (a cross between a train and a bus, running on rails embedded into the normal roads): Charles insisted on going on one!

Full view of the Castle of Gerard the Devil.

At dinner (picture taken by the waitress in the restaurant).

Night scene

Ivy & Charles outside the hotel.

We were glad to get into a decent hotel after our bad experience the night before, so we played safe. The room was very comfortable. The first photograph (missing the top slice of our heads) was by Charles ...