Belgium: Ghent
After a good night's rest in Bruges, we went on to Ghent
Ghent may be a lot less 'touristic' than Bruges but it certainly feels more authentic.
Ghent has quite an interesting history. It uses a Noose as its symbol. Yes, the hangman's noose. The object that will seal a poor man's fate in a few weeks in Singapore. Anyway, the people of Ghent are known as the 'noose bearers'. This is the reason:
"In 1537, Emperor Charles V found the inhabitants of Ghent guilty of disobedience, forgery, popular uprising, rebellion and lese majesty. He sentenced them to public humiliation: they had to walk the streets barefoot, with only a shirt on and wearing a noose around their neck. Nowadays they re-enact the incident with their heads held high, as proof of their proud obstinancy"
This is the must-see view from St Michael's bridge (next to St Michael's Church)-a unique view of 3 towers: St Nicholas' church, Belfry & St Bavo's cathedral
St Bavo's Cathedral is filled with art treasures and has 22 altars! It even an underground altar below it. It is famous for the mystic lamb painting which has one of its panels stolen and which is still missing.
There is this bearded harpist who plays such heavenly harp music that I was seriously contemplating whether to buy his 20Euro Cd. I didn't in the end but I sure miss his music. He's so good that every 5 min, a person is buying his Cd... I can't find his music. Anyone can help?! His cd is called "Harp Meditation between Flowers" (Link)
Impressive Castle of the Counts showing who's the boss
There was a display room showcasing the medieval weapons. Looking at all the two-handed swords, pocket crossbow, morning star, I suddenly feel like playing Diablo 2 again. Anyway civilization 4 is out. And the review is awesome.
View of St Bavo, Belfry and St Nicholas from the top of the Castle of the Counts
The Guillotine next to the Chamber of torture. Can your head fit into the bag?
Somehow, the words "Count" & "Castle" reminds me of vampires. Maybe I should go Transylvania in Romania to see Castle Dracula. Hmmm...
Ghent may be a lot less 'touristic' than Bruges but it certainly feels more authentic.
Ghent has quite an interesting history. It uses a Noose as its symbol. Yes, the hangman's noose. The object that will seal a poor man's fate in a few weeks in Singapore. Anyway, the people of Ghent are known as the 'noose bearers'. This is the reason:
"In 1537, Emperor Charles V found the inhabitants of Ghent guilty of disobedience, forgery, popular uprising, rebellion and lese majesty. He sentenced them to public humiliation: they had to walk the streets barefoot, with only a shirt on and wearing a noose around their neck. Nowadays they re-enact the incident with their heads held high, as proof of their proud obstinancy"
This is the must-see view from St Michael's bridge (next to St Michael's Church)-a unique view of 3 towers: St Nicholas' church, Belfry & St Bavo's cathedral
St Bavo's Cathedral is filled with art treasures and has 22 altars! It even an underground altar below it. It is famous for the mystic lamb painting which has one of its panels stolen and which is still missing.
There is this bearded harpist who plays such heavenly harp music that I was seriously contemplating whether to buy his 20Euro Cd. I didn't in the end but I sure miss his music. He's so good that every 5 min, a person is buying his Cd... I can't find his music. Anyone can help?! His cd is called "Harp Meditation between Flowers" (Link)
Impressive Castle of the Counts showing who's the boss
There was a display room showcasing the medieval weapons. Looking at all the two-handed swords, pocket crossbow, morning star, I suddenly feel like playing Diablo 2 again. Anyway civilization 4 is out. And the review is awesome.
View of St Bavo, Belfry and St Nicholas from the top of the Castle of the Counts
The Guillotine next to the Chamber of torture. Can your head fit into the bag?
Somehow, the words "Count" & "Castle" reminds me of vampires. Maybe I should go Transylvania in Romania to see Castle Dracula. Hmmm...
posted by Kaiz at 1:41 PM
1 Comments:
wah!! those are nice castles!! They really look like those fairy tale story book castles!
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