Day 2 was just as busy as the first. We got an early start and took off for the 2010 Ghent Floralies (sorry I’m going to leave you with a cliff hanger and explain that in the next post.) After the Floralies, Rik and I climbed the Ghent belfry which was like a mini, vertical museum. Each level had something different: There was a collection of the old bells that were once used as well as the original dragon from the top of the spire, the watchmens’ room and the clock mechanism which looks like a gigantic music box. 
At the top was a magnificent view of the city. I learned that work was first started on the belfry in 1313 and that it uses 54 bells to chime out the time every fifteen minutes.
Afterwards we walked to the Gravensteen, or Ghent castle. Inside the donjon were a bunch of weapons and a torture chamber with devices like thumbscrews, brands, a stretcher and spiked collars. Very gruesome. The actual chateau was constructed in 1180 by Philippe of Alsace, but the first fortifications were started in the 9th century.
Rita met us for lunch and I got my first taste of Belgian fries. Did you know French fries actually originated in Belgium? Well, they do and naturally the originals are better. Hands down. Following lunch I met Rik and Rita’s neighbor Hilde for her guided tour of Ghent.
She told us (the French tourists and I) that at one point, the castle keep was taken over by University students in protest of the rising price of beer. One of the French guys joked that that was a worthy cause if there ever was one. We passed the old Poissonerie which definitely doesn’t look like a fish market with its statue of Neptune and the Boucherie (Butchery) with fake ham hanging from the ceiling and a colonnade with Napoleon’s eagle. 
Next was the impressive St Bavo’s cathedral. Inside was a painting by Peter Paul Reubens and the triptych “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” by Jan Van Eyck.The triptych, painted in 1432, was wayyy larger than I thought and incredibly detailed. It also features prominently in Nazi conspiracy theory. 
Bought by the King of Prussia in the early 1800s, it was exhibited in Germany until the Germans had to give it back to Belgium as part of the World War I war reparations. Apparently the Germans greatly resented this because in 1942, Hitler ordered that the altarpiece be taken back to Germany. It was stolen by the SS and stored in a salt mine until recovered by the Americans who gave it back to Belgium in a special ceremony. (No French officials were invited to the ceremony because Belgium was still mad at France for allowing the painting to be taken.) 
But before it became a German hostage there was an earlier attempt to steal the altarpiece that was partially successful. In 1934, one of the panels “Just Judges” was stolen and it has never been recovered. (Forget Detective Poirot, where’s Indiana Jones?) And that is the true mystery of the mystic lamb.
Bought by the King of Prussia in the early 1800s, it was exhibited in Germany until the Germans had to give it back to Belgium as part of the World War I war reparations. Apparently the Germans greatly resented this because in 1942, Hitler ordered that the altarpiece be taken back to Germany. It was stolen by the SS and stored in a salt mine until recovered by the Americans who gave it back to Belgium in a special ceremony. (No French officials were invited to the ceremony because Belgium was still mad at France for allowing the painting to be taken.) 
But before it became a German hostage there was an earlier attempt to steal the altarpiece that was partially successful. In 1934, one of the panels “Just Judges” was stolen and it has never been recovered. (Forget Detective Poirot, where’s Indiana Jones?) And that is the true mystery of the mystic lamb. 
The last item on our agenda was a canal ride accompanied by coffee and biscuits. I’ve always loved boat rides and this one was so very relaxing. I enjoyed looking at the colorful buildings on either side of the canal and the chess players on the quay. 
Right after getting back from the tour, the Verbeke’s and I went to meet Rik's sister, Nicole, and her husband, Hugo, who live maybe 15 minutes away. Hugo is a sculptor and he showed me his workshop, his gallery, the different sculpting tools, and even explained the difference between stone and marble (marble is far more difficult to work with because it’s more crystallized). 
It was SO cool. I’d never seen anything like it and the smoothness of the stone compared to what it was like before being sculpted was unbelievable. 
For dinner we went to the Flemish castle of Ooidonk and ate in the carriage house next door, but not before seeing the Lys river. Dinner was magnificent: filet mignon with mushrooms accompanied with a white wine. And the conversation was even better. 
What an unforgettable day! Tot ziens!
Heidi
P.S. The Treaty of Ghent between the US and Great Britain for the War of 1812 happened here. And there’s a LEGAL graffiti wall. 
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