Maison Cupcake

Home Cooking and Baking by Sarah Trivuncic

Postcard from… Ghent Belgium

by 15 Comments

This weekend’s Saturday Postcard comes from Ghent in Belgium, one of the larger towns in the Flemish part of the country.
On a weekend trip on the Eurostar we were visiting one of my former college friends who at the time was living in Waterloo, some 30 minutes south of Brussels.
My first trip to Belgium had been a work trip to the European Parliament, fascinating by day but deathly dull when spending time with my colleagues in the evening. It was good to go back to Belgium for fun.  I always imagined Belgium to be the same as France but it has a style all of it’s own and is more like how I’d imagine Holland to be.

 

Ghent is famous for it’s architecture and canals.  It was a bright day in January and the sun was very low in the sky making photos difficult.  I took these pictures long before my days as a blogger so they are very different to what I might try to capture now.

The canal was so still you could see the buildings almost reflected perfectly in the water.  Everyone seemed to be on bikes.

Looking up, there were lots of pretty shutters and windows.  We drank Kriek (Cherry Beer) in a bar and ate crepes with chocolate sauce in a cafe.

If you are visiting Belgium, I would recommend a daytrip to Ghent. I’ve not been to Bruges but heard that it is incredibly crowded.  Ghent is a quieter alternative but still has plenty to look at.

One thing confused us though.  All the shops still had Christmas displays and in the streets the trees and decorations were still up.  Didn’t anyone tell them it was mid January?!

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Comments

  6. Beautiful pictures. I've been to belgium, but not to Ghent. Sorry I missed out.
    Have a wonderful weekend!
    *kisses* HH

    Reply

  7. Great pictures! I haven't been to Belgium because I've always thought it's somehow like France where I have been several times lol .
    Thanks for the tour.
    Have a great weekend!

    Reply

  8. Ghent is a nice place but Brugges is well wonderful place, we just went there today , if you ever come to Brugges tell me we can meet up there.
    Every time when i am in Brugges I love it.
    Love kriek beer too.
    In out town there is a farm ( outside the town) and in the summer seasin they make their own kriek beer, which is so sweet and delicous .

    Reply

  9. I have a bottle of Kriek beers….from 2008. Undrunk. Hmmmm. Would love to go to Ghent. We've been to Brussels a couple of times but not anywhere else…..

    That crepe looks lovely……

    Reply

  10. Happy New Year Sarah! Just to let you know that I have given you a 'Sunshine award' as you are one of my favourite blogs. Just pop along to my blog to collect. G x

    Reply

  11. Oh I love Ghent – I lived in Belgium for six months and spent a bit of time there. I think a lot of tourists just go to Brussels and Bruges so Ghent is the hidden gem (I also recommend Antwerp and Leuven).

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  12. I LOVE these photos! Especially the first one. 🙂 I've only spent a short amount of time in Belgium, but really loved it and can't wait to go back. 🙂

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  13. Looks pretty! I've been to Bruges but I can't say my ovverriding impression was of it being overcrowded – coming from London, it's hard to find somewhere else in Europe crowded 😉 Mmmm, Kriek!

    Reply

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