Groovin' on Ghent

After leaving Brugge Dale and I made a stop at Ghent on our way to Brussels. We didn't know much about Ghent but we stopped because there was a brewery we wanted to check out. As we were walking to the brewery from the train station we managed to find quite a bit of interesting things. Belgium, the land of surprises! First we found a cool castle.

Then we found the Belfry of Ghent, pictured above, which looks like a church but is really an observation tower to watch for invasions. These Belfries are all over the Benelux region. As we continued walking to the brewery we found some cool little squares with great architecture.

Then we were finally at Gruut. Gruut is a brewery owned and operated by women and instead of hops it uses a special mix of spices, called gruit, which is apparently how beer was originally brewed.

 Gruut was a great stop and we had a blast hanging out at the brewery talking with the owner and a nice fellow from Bonn, Germany. At Gruut they also serve their beers in a special glass with a little silver rectangle and special coasters. At first glance the coasters are a scrambled nothing drawing, but when you align the rectangle just right with the coaster you could see a picture, in this case of a pretty lady. Fun!

After we finished up at the brewery we walked back to the train station but made sure to stop and see some of the graffiti that line so many of the buildings in Ghent. In the picture below I'm standing with Dale's favorite graffiti we found and below that is my favorite.

That was the end of our fun filled afternoon in Ghent!
Love Always,
Matilda