Ghent and Sint-Martens-Latem

We spent time with Bruce's lovely relatives in a town outside of Ghent, Sint-Martens-Latem. There were wonderful meals and lots of socializing over three days and Mieke and Frank, our hosts, were amazing. Knowing about Bruce's passion for beer they took us into Ghent where we would hunt down a couple of places on Bruce's list, but first we went to St. Bavo's Cathedral for an amazing virtual reality tour. St. Bavo's is the home of a famous Flemish masterpiece called The Lamb of God. This alterpiece was started in the mid 1420s by Hubert Van Eyck but after his death in 1426, the painting was completed by his brother Jan.

The virtual tour walks you around the basement of the church where there is a model of the church and a couple of relics

but mostly empty space.

Your headset guides you to spots where scenes play before your (partially covered) eyes. It teaches the history of the church and the painting and shows you details in the painting you wouldn't notice otherwise. The painting had a calamitous history, including being captured by the Nazis. Hitler ordered it to be destroyed but the American Monuments Men found it before they could do so.

In 2012 a massive restoration project was undertaken by the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent. Many of the panels had been overpainted in the 16th century, a discovery made possible by advances in imaging techniques. The painting was restored to its original 1420s version. Here's an example of a before and after that I found on Wikipedia:

Once finished with the tour, you can walk up the stairs to the Cathedral to see the actual work of art itself. It is a massive piece and the colors are surprisingly vivid. There are twelve inner panels and eight outer panels, two of which are portraits of Jodocus Vijd and his wife Lysbette Borluut, who commissioned the piece.

The bottom center panel:

closer view showing the lamb:

Jodocus Vijd on the outer panel: Lysbette Borluut on the outer panel:

The church itself is grand and filled with art and sculpture:

The pulpit:

At the exit of the church is a sculpture suspended from the ceiling, called "Opus" by Wim Delvoye. It is made of laser cut stainless steel with smaller and larger pieces fused together to create a helical gothic tower. It's quite stunning.

Leaving the church, we walked around the center of Ghent, admiring the architecture, both old and new.

Belfort Tower:

The Mason's Guild Hall:

Ghent Market Hall:

The Fountain of Kneeling Youth, by George Minne (sans water):

Bruce and Frank tasted some beers,

we walked around town and saw some great street art,

then stopped for lunch before we headed off to GUM, Ghent University Museum.

It's a fascinating place with such diverse displays on a variety of subjects, from biology to archeology, psychology to medicine. I can tell that I was immersed in all of it because I didn't take a single photo. On the same property is the botanical garden which was in its autumn state, foliage but no flowers. There was, however, a very nice greenhouse.

Emorsyon by Nick Ervinck:

That's something that really struck me about Ghent, art is everywhere. There seems to be a particular fondness for modern art. It's wonderful.

The next day, after lunch with another one of the cousins, we visited the Flanders Field American Cemetery. We arrived too late to visit the graves, but the person in charge invited us to go to the chapel while she locked up. On its walls are inscribed the names of the missing and others killed in the area in WWI. It has a lovely ceramic ceiling and is a very moving place.

Sadly, the next day we were off again, bidding farewell to all these lovely people.

I did get a laugh at the train station. (Please read aloud.) You'd better

and I guess that those who didn't do so

Okay, that's my silliness done.