LKR: Around Gent and drafting to Bruges

There was a lot to see in Gent, and the heart of town was so attractively surrounded by canals, cobble streets, narrow bridges, castles and churches and small cafes that we were drawn back to it Tuesday morning. Our ride from Gent to Bruges scheduled for this day was also much shorter, so we figured we had more time to finally do some exploring on foot. Jeff and Dave were the van driver and navigator respectively this day – they drove the van closer to downtown and the rest of us met them near the Gravensteen castle – a quintessential castle complete with moats and turrets, built in the 12th century to “protect the townsfolk as well as to intimidate them into law-abiding submission” according to the lonely planet guide book.

Some members of our group found koffe (espresso) and later viewed the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb – an early and famous oil painting by Jan Van Eyck, while CJ, Laurie, myself and later, Emily, followed the walking tour described in the guide book, climbed the spiral stair case of the 14th century World Heritage-listed belfy for great views of the city and an up-close playing of the carillon (which is like a big music box), and then also viewed the Van Eyck painting – one that has quite the colorful history.

By about 2pm the four of us figured we ought to start our ride to Bruges. Initially led astray by the wrong canal, we eventually got on the right bike path on the right canal and followed it all the way to Bruges. For awhile we were pulled by an extremely fit 50-something Belgian cyclist (we drafted behind) and we also rode along two horse-cart racers. The horse’s long, gorgeous extended trot carried them away much more quickly than we rode – very fun and graceful to watch!

Our first evening in Bruges was relaxing – and now I find it humorous that the only trouble we had with rain on the entire Belgium part of the trip was during our dinner – where our die-hard selves insisted on eating in the outdoor courtyard of the restaurant we chose. After being outside all day, we still couldn’t give up the thought of remaining outside – a testament to the like-mindedness of the group, and probably also to how much most of us have to work inside the rest of the year. While we debated about how long the sprinkles would last, the rest of the outside guests moved in, and soon we had no other choice. But the waiters were quick to start pulling out all of their terrace umbrellas to ensure that we stayed and after a few variations of umbrella arrangements, we were soon happily consuming pasta and stir-fry dishes and continuing our Belgian beer tasting.