Belguim - Val St. Lambert Crystal and Ghent

We enjoyed visiting other countries on weekends, going whenever the company jet was headed, if we could get a couple of seats on it. Since the company owner was from Belgium, it often went there. 

One weekend when we flew to Belgium, we drove to the Val St. Lambert Crystal factory in Liege, where they make amazing crystal items. In the lobby is a huge, almost-as-big-as-me crystal vase, used to show off their technique and attention to detail. We were able to tour the factory, where I learned that their red crystal gets it ruby color from a bit of gold. I deeply regret not buying anything here.

Another day we went to a great street market in Ghent. Randy found a stall selling meats; the vendor appreciated Randy's enthusiasm and kept giving him samples and more samples. Together we bought a big paper cone of marshmallow treats and a beautiful old coffee mill. Over the market stands a dramatic statue of Jacob van Artevelde. He was a political guy but was also known as "The Brewer of Ghent", which is a pretty good reason to get a statue.

In Belgium you cannot drink the tap water, which is not that uncommon in Europe. The land is mostly flat, and where there are trees, they are usually tall, pine-like, with no branches on the lower 10 feet of the trunk. Biking is a common form of transportation here; in Spain it is just a sport, but here bicycles are used for work and shopping. The highway speed limit outside of town was usually 100k, and the police really care about the speed limit. To know if you are  speeding, police take your photo; all you see is a quick blue flash, and there is no argument. And if you are caught going 140k, you lose your license. 

Ria taught us a little Flemish. We asked how to say please: "alsjeblieft" pronounced al-stur-blif. Since she gave us directions in the car, we learned that "links" is left and "da rechts" (pronounced da rache) is right. And beautiful is "mooi" (pronounced moy); I learned that because I thought everything was "mooi". 

Ria was with us when we visited Ghent. The old buildings along Graslei Harbor are tourist attractions, based solely on their beautiful facades. They show the "corbie-step" roofline that is so common in historic Belgium. 

In the newer section of town, I loved this little house, very old and surrounded by new buildings but standing tall and proud.

St. Bavo's Cathedral is near the center of town, with it's tall, straight bell tower and apse supported by flying buttresses.

This cathedral has amazing details. I've been told that the great cathedrals used carvings to teach Bible stories and morality lessons to the mostly-illiterate parishioners.

Inside the apse is an altarpiece painting by the van Eyck brothers, called "the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb". Outside the apse is a big monument built to honor Hubert and Jan van Eyck, with statues of people bringing flowers and garlands to the brothers.

Nearby is the beautiful medieval belfry of Ghent, the tallest belfry in Belgium.  

One of my favorite castles, Gravensteen Castle, is in Ghent; I like it because it hasn't been restored or remodeled.

The Royal Dutch Theatre has a lovely mosaic over its door. 

The "Groot Vleeshuis" aka Butcher's Hall building dates back to the 14th century.

We went to a coffee house for coffee and soda. The coffee house was tucked between two larger buildings, and we had to walk through a fairly narrow hallway to get there, but it was a nice stop.  

We also took a boat ride through the canals, admiring the old buildings that had been there for centuries and were still in daily use.

We saw the Rabot Gate, an old-style hydraulic sluice gate from 1491.

We found the Prinsenhof, with its fine old entrance,  used by counts of Flanders since 1366. 

It was here, I think, that we saw an unusual copper sign about the layout of the Prinsenhof. 

We saw the archway of the Rue del l'Âne Avenge - a handsome, decorative arch which must have some history I don't know about. 

There were many sights we enjoyed, even though I can't recall the significance of all of them. Lovely Ghent.