Gent (Ghent)
Gent is a thriving city; trams and busses run everywhere. Numerous cafes and restaurants serve all manner of food and drink, and the prices are quite reasonable for Belgium. One of the attractions are the five churches all built along the same street along the east end of the old town. Go to St. Michael's bridge to see the famous Gent towers all at once: St. Nicholas' Church, the Belfry, St. Bavo's Cathederal, the Gothic St. Michael's Church, and the former Dominican monastery 'Het Pand.'
The Best Three Euros You'll Spend in Gent
Go to the Belfort and take the trip up to the top. But don't just go any time. On ten after the hour they give tours in four languages (English is one of them) and this one is not to be missed. It's the same 3 Euros as the self guided sessions, and the guy doesn't seem to look for tips. You'll learn a whole lot about Gent history, and not just the dry facts. You'll see the mechanism that drives the 49 bells (think gigantic music box here). And if you wondered why there's a pretty girl and a lion on each bell, well, that's the symbol of Gent that came about when the city fathers commissioned an artist to create a symbol of "power" for the city. Evidently, the word for "power" and the word for "virgin" were almost identical, so the artist heard "virgin" as artists do, and off he went to paint one scantily clad. The lion was evidently added later to appease the fathers.
And to top it all off, there's a view of the whole city you won't forget. Make sure you have film in that camera of yours.
Staying in Gent
The Ibis Centrum offers rooms in a central location near the cathederal for 90 Euros a night. Tourist information has a wonderful book of bed and breakfasts with many pictures, so you might want to check that out. It's behind the belfort.
Belgian Beer
Yes, it's all about beer in Belgium, although wine and soft drinks of all kinds are available. Each style of beer is served in its own type of glass - and there are many styles to choose from, some of them pushing the ability of yeast to ferment without killing itself from the alcohol it produces - some beers come in at over 10 percent. A glass costs from 1.50 to 3.50 Euros, and isn't near the pint sizes you'll find in England, for example.
A word on Safety and European Attitudes to Americans
Our host told us that Belgians really don't have negative opinions about people from the US here. The Bulgarian tourists staying at the farm B & B remarked that each administration, in both the European countries and the American ones, acted in their own interests, and shrugged off the idea that people couldn't be civil under such circumstances.
We've seen fewer Americans in Europe than we expected, but see no reason why an American would pospone a trip due to anti-American attitudes or perceived safety. I've spent two days in France at this point and haven't seen a single instance of anti-American sentiment.
Happy traveling.
