An Overdue Post (Part 3 - Ghent and Bruges)

Hey all, it's been a while (well, been 2 years)!

Someone mentioned about my blog which reminded me that I haven't been updating my blog at all. There were few times I tried to update it, I even wrote a draft! but decided not to post it.

Now, since I have some edited pictures ready to post, I will continue the overdue Europe trip post series. Went to Europe in February 2015, right after I completed my master thesis defence and before officially starting my full-time job. Kindly read the first two post of this series from links below.

An Overdue Post (Part 1 - Amsterdam)

An Overdue Post (Part 2 - Brussels)

In part 3, I will try my best to write what still remains in my memory from the trip to two Flanders cities in Belgium; Ghent and Bruges.

After some googling we did the night before, we figured that it would be cheap for us who were under 26yo back then to buy train ticket Go Pass 1. First stop of the day was Ghent or Gent. First impression after I saw the view outside the main train station Gent-Sint-Pieters was I liked the view better than Brussels. While you may want to take the tram ride from the station to touristic area, tourism spots in Ghent were close to each other and within walking distances. So I would recommend going around on foot if you have plenty of time. That way, you can enjoy the view of the city that is sooo beautiful. Climbing the Ghent Belfry, a UNESCO world heritage, would allow you to enjoy city view of Ghent from above. I also visited the Castle of the Counts, which amazed me as it was different than castles in Japan. We can also see the tools used to torture people back then. 

GO PASS 1 Ticket recommended for young traveler (under 26 yo)

The Ghent Belfry "Het Belfort van Gent" and the Castle of the Counts "Gravensteen"

St Nicholas Church seen from the Ghent Belfry

After spending few hours in Ghent, we continued our journey to the next Flanders city, Bruges or Brugge. The city has different atmosphere to the one in Ghent. I would say the view and the atmosphere of Bruges was fantasy-like but kinda gloomy (well maybe because it was cloudy the whole day). After being greeted by the swans in the Lake of Love "Minnewater", we had a quick look of Begijnhof (Beguinage), a world heritage, then decided to walked out. It was sooo quiet and we were not sure how to look around there as the 'religious' feels was strong even in silence. We didn't want to be impolite. Many famous places to visit in Bruges are churches.

Most recommended thing to do which you shouldn't miss is to take a boat trip around Bruges canals. Look for Rozenhoedkaai for the boat pier. From this point, you can enjoy an iconic view of the city which is said to be the most photographed location in Bruges.

One corner of the Market Square, with the Provincial Court and the Belfry of Bruges

The famous picturesque canal view in Bruges from Rozenhoedkaai

Enjoying the city view both from the canal boat ride and on foot

An Overdue Post (Part 2 - Brussels)

Following the "An Overdue Post (Part 1 - Amsterdam)," here it is finally the second part of what I can share from my trip to Europe in 2015. I must admit I am way not too diligent if I want to consider myself as a travel blogger, so.. no, I am not a travel blogger :) My travel posts are for the sake of my own travel diary. However, as I normally write about the trip so long after the trip itself (it took 2.5 years till I actually post this one!), obviously I'd have forgotten most of the details. LOL.

After spending about 1 day, 1 night in Amsterdam, Mita and I continued our trip taking a Eurolines bus to Brussels, Belgium. My first impression upon arriving in Brussels was the people were not as warm and friendly of those in Amsterdam. The station staff were not too helpful when we asked for information about the city bus. We ended up trusting the screenshot of the route shown by google map to go to the hostel we had reserved, taken few hours ago while Mita still had an internet connection in Amsterdam. We got on the bus, but after a while I started to feel suspicious that we might have taken the wrong bus as the trip shouldn't be too long. I asked a man who turned to be the first nice and friendly person we met in Brussels. He helped us confirm with the bus driver and we found out that due to a train strike on the day, most bus routes were altered. The man and the bus driver told us which bus number we should take. Fortunately, we arrived safely at the hostel. As it was dark already, not long after a quick rest, we went out to see the Grand Place. After that we decided to spend the rest of the day in the hostel and browse for all the information we need for the next day.

The next day, we traveled to Ghent and Bruges which will be part of another post :). We finally had a proper sightseeing around the city of Brussels on the third day of our stay in Belgium. We joined a free half-day guided-tour offered by the hostel. The tour was worth it, as it was free (although we gave him a tip at the end of the tour), and the key to be able to see as many as possible in a half-day tour was to walk very very quickly. hahaha. It was a bit hard for Mita and me to keep the pace of everyone else and we got left behind few times so we had to run to catch up sometimes. But it was fun, the guide was super expressive and nice. Please have a look at the pictures below for some of the spots that we got to see.

The Town Hall of Bruxelles in the Grand Place

Where Karl Marx used to stay and where he wrote the "Communist Party Manifesto"

(left) The 'petite' Manneken Pis, (middle) Zoomed in Manneken Pis, (right) Jeanneke Pis

Rue des Bouchers

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula 

The Royal Palace

The Monument of King Albert I far away

Koinobori and Tokyo Skytree

Last year on the same day, May 5th, I posted pictures of Koinobori at the feet of the Tokyo Tower. This year, today, I went to another tower in Tokyo, the Tokyo Skytree.