Ghent, Belgium

Before we started planning our trip to Belgium, I had very limited knowledge of the city of Ghent.  You’ll also see Ghent spelled Gent.  It’s hard to figure out what to call some cities in Europe because many have more than one spelling depending on which language you’re trying to reference them in.  It’s confusing.

When we left Bruges, I really had no idea what we were going to do in Ghent.  We arrived late in the afternoon, went grocery shopping at the market around the corner and came home to make dinner.  After eating a lot of simple sandwiches, granola bars and fruit in Bruges, we were all ready for something home cooked.  Brian and I spent the evening planning out some activities for the next day.  I’m still not really sure what the “must do” things are in Ghent, because we didn’t do a ton of touristy stuff.  Mostly we just enjoyed walking around the old city.

 

 

There are two things I will probably remember years from now about Ghent.

1.  The heat.
2.  The story behind the Ghent Altarpiece.

 

The Heat

Ahh!!!!  It was so hot!  And I’m not joking at all.  The average high temperature in Ghent, Belgium in late July is supposed to be about 73 degrees.  During our 3 day stay, the high temperatures were 88, 95, and 96.  Think about that – that’s an insane heat wave!  We were staying in an Airbnb rental that was pretty great.  But no amount of cute decor or modern styling could overcome the fact that the bedrooms were on the 2nd and 3rd floors where the heat was unbearable.  The first night, we all slept in our bedrooms with the windows open and barely survived the heat and mosquitoes.  The mosquitoes that left Brian, Jack and I alone in Bruges found me in Ghent.  Now Ben and I have matching mosquito bites and we both look like measles patients.  By day 2, I knew there was no way the kids were going to be able to sleep in their bedrooms on the 3rd floor.  Luckily, there were two extra kid-sized roll-away mattresses the Airbnb host had supplied.  I took the mattresses and set them up in two corners on the first floor where it was the coolest.  Initially, I made a little spot in the hallway for both kids to sleep, but Ben proved to be a giant distraction to Jack (the best sleeper on the planet) and had to be relocated to his own little spot in the living room where he couldn’t bother anyone.  Both kids slept on these mattresses for their naps and overnight for the next two nights.  They definitely had the best sleeping set up because Brian and I still had to sweat to death in our 2nd floor room.  Unlike the first night, by nights 2 and 3 the breeze had completely disappeared so we were just hot, hot, hot.

The only silver lining to this weather was that sitting on the roof top terrace drinking wine after the kids went to bed was awesome.  By 10pm the temperatures had dipped into the 80’s (yes…only the 80’s) and it doesn’t get dark until after 10 p.m., so it was really relaxing to sit outside and enjoy the evening.  I really wished there would have been a hammock out here to sleep in.

 

 

The Ghent Altarpiece

Trivia time.  What’s the most stolen artwork of all time?  If you guessed the Ghent Altarpiece, you’re right!  I’m not a big fan of art (paintings, sculptures) unless there is a cool story behind it.  I found the story behind the Ghent Altarpiece so intriguing I read several articles about this collection of paintings for more than an hour one afternoon while the boys napped.

The Ghent Altarpiece is a painting from the 15th century that is considered one of the world’s treasures.  It is housed inside St. Bavo’s Cathedral and can be publicly viewed.  No photos are allowed in the room where it is stored.  The cathedral has hand-held listening devices you can use to learn the history behind each of the panels.

 

There are a few links below to articles with more details about this painting’s rough life, but the short version of the story is this:

• In 1934 someone stole the panel in the lower left corner (it’s called the “Just Judges”) and it’s never been found. There are a lot of conspiracy theories over where it may be and who stole it.  The story is juicy with talk of an inside job, ransom notes, deathbed confessions and continued mystery.
• During World War II, the Ghent Altarpiece was being moved to the Vatican to keep it safe from the Nazi’s when it was stolen by the Germans.  They stored it in a salt mine in Austria where it was eventually recovered by the Allied forces Monuments Men and returned to Ghent.  This story was loosely portrayed in the George Clooney movie The Monuments Men.

Links to stories about the painting:

• https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/20/ghent-altarpiece-most-stolen-artwork-of-all-time
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/15/puzzler-says-he-has-cracked-code-to-stolen-belgian-masterpiece

 

Other things I’ll remember from Gent

• Somehow we made it through 3 weeks in the Netherlands and Belgium without Ben pooping when we were outside the house.  Not the case in Belgium.  We were in the middle of visiting St. Bavo’s Cathedral and the Ghent Altarpiece when I smelled an all too familiar odor.  Ok, I’m sure there is a bathroom around here somewhere.  Oh wait, there’s not.  This is Europe and you have to pay for public toilets everywhere and it is extremely hard to find one with baby changing facilities.  Ok, let’s just change him on this deserted street behind the church.  Let me get the wipes.  Ah!  I have none.  Kleenex it is.  Ewww.  This is gross.  Really gross.  Let me get the hand sanitizer.  Ah!  I have none.  I am so prepared.  Mom of the year.  At least I had a diaper.

  

• We didn’t rent bikes, but we managed to see the city by taking the bus (Jack loved it) from our Airbnb to the downtown area (about a 5-10 minute ride) and bringing the umbrella stroller and backpack baby carrier.  I’m not sure at what age a kid could handle walking on their own, but it’s not 4.  And definitely not in the heat we were dealing with.
• We went to the grocery store at least twice every day.  I think they thought we were nuts.  The first trip was usually to buy food for the day.  The second trip was usually because we were absent minded…or purchased sausage when we meant to buy beef (buying meat is difficult apparently…there was even a cow on the package…how is this sausage??).  The third trip was usually for wine or ice cream.  Good thing the store was right around the corner.  Especially that time we really needed ice cream.
• I kept thinking about how spoiled we are with air conditioning in the U.S.  None (maybe a very small percentage) of the houses here have it.  Granted, this was a very rare heat wave.  But I really have no idea how anyone with a bedroom on the 3rd floor or higher would have survived in their room.  When I go home, I am going to turn on my air conditioning at night and be thankful I don’t have to sleep drenched in sweat every night.
• Kids needs to get out of the house.  We only had a couple trucks and few Lego’s with us in Belgium for the boys.  Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal because we usually leave the house and take the kids to a park to burn off energy.  Except that’s not happening when it’s 96 degrees outside.  Instead, Jack and Ben ran around the first floor of the house in circles like little Tasmanian devils and drove Brian and I crazy.  There was way too much screen time happening in Ghent because it was the only way to keep them from killing themselves or tackling each other on the concrete floor.