Hello again!
So a few weeks ago I went on a little day trip to Gent! It's about an hour away from Brussels on the train, but Belgium has this great system where young people can go anywhere in Belgium for 10 euros at the weekend, so it's so cheap and easy to travel around! Everybody had told me how beautiful Gent is so I decided to see for myself, and I wasn't disappointed!
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| Gent aka the most beautiful city on the planet |
So I was supposed to go with a friend but they got ill and couldn't go so I ended up going on my own but it was still so nice!! In a way I feel like I get to see more when I'm on my own so I really didn't mind just for one day.
When I first arrived, I pretty much arrived straight at a church (which I don't seem to have taken any pictures of sadly!) which was really beautiful so I headed straight inside and I wasn't disappointed! It was all so pretty and since I hadn't been in a church for a while I forgot how stunning they are!
I then went for a wander around the city and the shops. There was a cute little market where a Scottish bagpipe band were playing; not sure how much the locals enjoyed it though! It was hilarious watching their faces as they tried to understand what the Scottish people were saying with their super thick accents; even I had a hard time, so I doubt everyone else understood a word!
After that I went for a stroll along the canal (I think it's a canal anyway :S) that runs through Gent. It was absolutely picturesque and I really fell in love with the city. The only thing I find really difficult whenever I go to Flemish-speaking cities is the fact that I can't speak a word of Flemish!! Well, I can say please and thank you, but I can't order food or ask for directions or anything, so I always feel kind of ignorant. But never mind, Flemish is top of my language learning list but I have to master French, Spanish and Italian first...
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| Not even sure what this is but I just thought it was a nice building |
One complaint about Gent; how can one city have so many names??? Gent, Ghent, Gand... does anyone actually know what to call it anymore?? This is the thing I struggle with allllll the time in Belgium - everywhere has two names. So like Antwerp is Anvers in French, Liège is Luik in Flemish... Why can't they just agree on one name? Oh and the train stations! So in French, there's Bruxelles-Midi, which means exactly what you think it does; it's like mid-Brussels station. But in Flemish, it's called Brussel Zuid, which means South Brussels - how can one station be both the middle and south? THAT MAKES NO SENSE.
Okay so, rant over. Basically I had a great day in Gent, saw cool buildings, ate a waffle and drank beer and life is fabulous. I <3 Belgium.
Au revoir et à bientôt!
Emma
