Belgium. Ghent

  Ghent is a city located in the Flemish region of Belgium, serving as the capital of East Flanders province. It lies at the confluence of the Lys and Scheldt rivers. Ghent is also a major educational hub, home to one university and four colleges, adding a youthful spirit to this medieval city...

  The first sight we encountered in Ghent was the tallest existing medieval belfry, reaching a height of 91 meters...

  Next, we arrived at the square of St. Bavo's Cathedral...

   The impressive sight of St. Bavo's Cathedral made us feel as if we had stepped into the medieval era...    

   The next landmark was St. Nicholas Church, further immersing us in the past ... 

    

   Crossing the bridge over the Lys River, the beautiful view of the old city turned into a fantastic panorama of its oldest part, creating a much-desired "WOW" effect...

   Descending from the bridge to the Korenlei embankment, we found ourselves in the most picturesque part of Ghent. The medieval buildings on the opposite Graslei embankment continued to impress us...

   

    Numerous groups of young people were sitting along the embankment by the Lys River, seemingly unaware of even 10% of the excitement that surrounded us...    

  The Gravensteen Castle (Dutch for "Count's Castle") was built in 1180 and is the only medieval castle in Flanders whose defensive system has remained virtually intact to this day. For several centuries, the castle was used by the Counts of Flanders as their residence. Looking at this castle, it reminded me of one of the castle templates from a Lego set... 

   Walking through the old streets of Ghent was also very interesting. Simple, small, and colorfully decorated houses created a very cozy atmosphere...     

   Next, we arrived at Friday Market Square, where there is a monument to Jacob van Artevelde, one of the leaders of the opposition in the cities of Flanders against France, who led the 1337 uprising...  

 In the next location, we had our much-anticipated tasting of the famed Belgian beer. This bar had a beer menu with 250 varieties to choose from...   

   Our choice fell on the beer "Kwak." This is a special amber-colored beer with a fruity aroma of malt, nougat, and caramelized banana. Additionally, it is quite strong, around 8%, and is served in a special glass on a stand with a capacity of 1.2 liters. However, the unique glass on the stand is a tempting target for "collectors" of stolen glasses. So, before bringing us our order, I had to leave my sneaker as collateral, which the waiter then hung in a basket under the bar ceiling, ringing a bell to signal it...      

   Here is the glass on the stand and me without my shoe...

 After we paid and returned the "precious" glass, I got my sneaker back. Such a fun tradition... 

  After the pub, fueled with good cheer, we went for another stroll through the oldest and most beautiful part of the city. As the sun began to set, the main buildings started to take on a golden hue, allowing us to see them in a different light...      

   The medieval architecture and the unique beer we tried in one of Ghent's most colorful pubs left us with extremely positive impressions of our visit to this place...