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Updated March, 2016 | |||
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| As we left the harbor at Terneuzen, we called the Terneuzen Lock on the VHF, and the Lockmaster directed us to the East Chamber. We had watched for a time when there was no incoming sea-going giant zooming by within a few yards of the harbor entrance and swung out into the west-bound lane. We thought we would have to wait, as ships were just coming out of the lock, but Traffic Control told us that the first was headed for sea, and the second, although headed inland, would wait for us to pass, so all was well. |
The Former Lock Leading from the Gent-Terneuzen Canal to the Lys | ||
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Moored Just South of Joremaaie, in Ghent | |||
| As we ran south in the Ghent - Terneuzen Canal, we were struck by the number of chemical plants on the canalsides, especially once we crossed into Belgium. In fact, the whole area is an important chemical center, with the largest DuPont facility in Europe just outside Terneuzen. As we were about to leave New Orleans, many years ago, there was a map circulating that showed a strong correlation between incidence of cancer and concentrations of chemical plants, and we did wonder whether that was still true, or true in Europe as well. |
The Belfort (Belfry) - Ghent | ||
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Guild Houses along the Leie | |||
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The position of Ghent, at the junction of the Lys and the Scheldt, assured its early importance, and it quickly became a principal seat of the Counts of Flanders. It is still an important port, but these days the ships unload in a herringbone row of slips north of the city center.
We passed by these and their busy cranes, and made a sharp left turn just before the Tolhuissluis, the Toll House Lock, into the Handelsdok, the former trading ship harbor, now much too small for any of today's sea-going commercial vessels. |
The Gravensteen, 12th-Century Castle of the Counts of Flanders | ||
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At the south end of the Handelsdok, we turned right in the circular turning basin, the Dampoort, and headed through the former Castle Lock. At the end of the short, narrow connecting canal we turned right again into the Lys, where we found a mooring just south of the Joremaaie Bridge, in Portus Ganda. Ganda, we are told, is a Celtic word meaning "confluence" or "junction," and is the origin of the city name, "Gand" in French.
We quickly made the acquaintance of the friendly Harbormaster and then set out to see the sights.Ghent is a pretty big city, so we could only see a few highlights, but it was easy to see the historic center because, as was often the case, we were moored in the middle of it. Because it is a university town, there was a lot of student life in the streets, which always makes a place more enjoyable. Ghent is also very cosmopolitan; we had a good dinner and watched a World Cup Rugby match in an Irish pub near our berth. A gentleman named St. Bavo had been following us around the Netherlands. We first ran into him in Haarlem, where the cathedral is dedicated to him, and another church as well. Like most Americans, we did not know much (anything) about this St. Bavo, but at the time we visited Haarlem there was a lot we didn't know, and St. Bavo dropped off our radar. The cathedral in Ghent, however, is also dedicated to St. Bavo, which was interesting. Turns out that Bavo is a local boy, a young aristocrat who lived in Ghent in the mid-seventh century as a soldier and playboy. Later on, after the death of his wife, and later is a relative term, since he seems to have died at the age of 37, he is said to have become convinced of the emptiness of worldly goods, whereupon he founded an abbey and gave the rest of his wealth to the poor. |
Fish Detail on the Fish Market Door | ||
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| We always try to be unscheduled when cruising, but we are often unsuccessful in this. Perhaps it is easier when one is on vacation, on a "time out" from one's ordinary life, or if one has no concerns outside the boat, but neither of these scenarios fit us. We were living on the boat, to be sure, but we had obligations and commitments, just as if we lived ashore. One of these was to get out of the European Union before our allotted time ran out. There have been cases (or so I have been told) of people overstaying and having their passports stamped "No Entry," a risk we did not want to run. |
Back Corner of St. Bavo's Cathedral - Ghent | ||
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Palace of Justice - Ghent | |||
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The Lys - Ghent | |||
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We also wanted to be sure to be in the Virgin Islands by mid-December, since we had planned a family Christmas on Jost van Dyke Island, and there was every possibility of weather or other delays in getting back across the Atlantic.
These factors meant that we stayed in Ghent only two nights, a ridiculously short time. We did manage to restock our larder, and two days after arriving, we went back through the Dampoort and Handelsdok, with their sharp turns, and this time waited in front of the Toll House Lock that would lead us to the Canal From Ghent to Ostende. |
Looking Across the Lys at St. Macharius Church - Ghent | ||
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The St. Bavo Abbey, Ghent | |||
| We had been a little concerned, crossing into Belgium, since we knew that Belgium requires vessels to pay for the use of her waterways, but while we were willing, we did not know how to do this. We figured, however, that someone would eventually tell us, and sure enough, once we were settled in the lock, the keeper leaned out his window and called me in. I filled out a form, paid 80 euros, and received a handsome vignette, a sticker that allowed us to travel on the Belgian waterways from September 1st to March 31st. This I taped up in a pilot- house window on the advice of a waterman sharing the lock with us. |
WWII German Bunkers Along the Canal near Bruges | ||
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After a short run in a narrow canal through back streets, we turned right into the Brugse Vaart, that would in turn lead us to the Canal to Ostende, by way of Bruges.
Northwestern Ghent is a land of elaborate villas and parks, that suddenly gave way to cornfields. There is a little bit of industry around the junction with the Ring Canal (where most cities have ring highways, Ghent has a Ring Canal around the city center), but otherwise it is pretty rural. |
The Godshuis "Hertsberge" - Bruges | ||
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We had one tense moment as we approached the Ring. I was going slowly and watching for a break in the commercial traffic, when the depth sounder told me we briefly had only 4.1 feet of water. Technically, we were aground, but the silt, washed into the canal by the Ring traffic, was so fine that we just brushed it aside and kept on going.
As we got closer to Bruges, we were intrigued to see a series of concrete bunkers on the left side of the canal, left-over pieces of the World War II German Westwall, or Atlantic Wall. |
The Market Square - Bruges | ||
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As we came to the edges of Bruges, we branched off to the left into a cutoff part of the canal that originally led to Bruges' Harbor, now the Minnewater Lake. We found the Flandria Yacht Club, and although we didn't know where to go, there was a space on a float about our size, so we took it. When we found the Harbormaster, in his little hut, he confirmed that was a good place for us, so we were all set.
The Yacht Club is small and very pleasant, with a good restaurant, run by Karo and Vanneste, a young couple whose children sit at open tables after school doing their homework, and then help out in the early evening. |
Horses & Carriages in the Market Square - Bruges | ||
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Bruges is a beautiful medieval city, with a very well-preserved center in easy walking distance from our berth.
It was a very important trading center from the 12th to the 15th centuries, with a rich textile industry as well, and supported many artists and printers. This is clear, even without research, from the buildings that remain in street after street of medieval and renaissance buildings.
There are also many former almshouses, like the Hofjes of Holland, but here they are called Godshuizen, and we passed one each time we went into the center, just after leaving the Yacht Club. These days, the principal industry of Bruges is tourism, and it is thriving. The city center, not very roomy in any case, is packed, to the point that it is hard to move around in some corners. It happened that there was a rally of older sports cars taking place the day we were in town, and they were everywhere for most of the day, zipping around the tight corners and zooming through otherwise quiet squares. |
The Belfort (Belfry, with Carillon) - Bruges | ||
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| We had heard that fuel prices were better in Belgium than elsewhere in Europe, so we had decided to bunker there. As I was wondering how to arrange this, Barbara struck up a conversation with a tank truck driver who was delivering to another boat, and we agreed that he would come the next day to bring fuel to us. When I asked about prices, he said that the first thousand liters would be at the official price, but after that there would be a dispensation. But if we wanted to pay by credit card, all would have to be official. So we went around town and raised a large number of euros using various kinds of plastic, and when the truck finally came (after dark, it was), we took on some 3,300 liters at a price that was very satisfactory for Europe. |
Bruges | ||
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Going into town, we could either take a street lined with pleasant buildings, among them a Godshuis, or we could go through the park by the Minnewater, the lake that used to be the main harbor, and by the former Beguinage. These were like convents, but inhabited by ladies, mainly wealthy, who lived together and did good works, but did not take religious vows.
Either way was beautiful; we could not lose. |
Gateway - Bruges | ||
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Lace is still made in Belgium, especially in the towns around Bruges, and in a little shop just off a big square with a crafts market, we found a nice piece to bring back as a present.
We could have spent much more time in Bruges, but again, our schedule pushed us, and after we got fuel on our third evening we left the next morning for Ostende, where we would go out into the English Channel. Bruges is a target-rich environment for a photographer, so we have more pictures than commentary; we hope you enjoy them. |
Old Car Rally through the Streets of Bruges | ||
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Minnewater and the De la Faille "Castle" - Bruges | |||
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Precincts of the Church of Our Lady - Bruges | |||
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St. Jan Courtyard and Tower of the Church of Our Lady - Bruges | |||
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