Gent Off The Beaten Path

This is an Art Nouveau themed CO-ED sauna. It is beautifully crafted out of an old town house. It is a very serene and special place. They are especially good about orienting first-time visitors to the rules of sauna engagement- especially that peace and quiet should be preserved in the actual sauna and bath areas. There is a lovely bar to enjoy a drink before or after the sauna. It's all about heating the body up and letting it cool down. Unlike Sauna Deco in Amsterdam, this is on several levels involving quite a few steps. make sure to climb up to the relaxation room, too.

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The Westerbegraafplaats is a beautiful cemetry outside the centre of Gent.
You can reach it by taking tramline 1 and a little walk.
On the cemetry you'll find wargraves from WW I and WW II.
One of my favourite Belgian authors, Cyriel Buysse, is als burried here.

The adress is:
Palinghuizen 143
9000 Gent

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Once the marshaling grounds for troops during WW I, the Leopoldskazerne is the new home of HISK candidates laureates.

Address: Charles de Kerchovelaan 187

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Trees, ponds and flowers have replaced the foreboding citadel of Ghent. A site that was once used Wellington, Charles V and as an abbey of St. Bavon is now home to Floraliapaleis (Feestpaleis), an exhibition and trade fair complex. The park also holds the Museum of Fine Arts , completed in 1902.

Every house have the nane from a saint.
For these period (X-Mas) the doors are decored with crown made from pine trees pices.
On one of them (pic) I sew the word Vrede what means Peace in Flamish.
And that is what I whish to every one in the world.

I recommend Brussels for an afternoon or evening visit. The Grand Place of Brussels is spectacular and worth the visit during the day, but especially at night the place is quite magical. One of the prettiest squares in Europe day or night. There is The Belgian Center For Comic Strips, which is quite interesting and the Victor Horta Museum, the father of Art Nouveau that is very beautiful. There are also walking tours of Brussels that highlight Art Nouveau architecture. There are many museums in Brussels that are quite good and worth visiting. Don't miss trying a Belgian Waffle from one of the movable waffle stands. Just incredible!!!!

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Behind the Sint-Pietersstation you will find a real gem called the Miljoenenkwartier or the Millionairs District which is the former 'beehive' of the rich and wealthy of the early 20th century. A lot of architects, businessmen and factoryowners built some really extraordinary houses and villas which give a special look and atmosphere to this neighborhood. i recently discovered this area, though Gent was quite familiar to me before. You will see hardly tourists here coz it is not close to the historical heart of the city but its nevertheless easy to visit coz the trainstation is just a little walk away.

This bombarde is made of wrought iron and is as heavy as 12.000 kilos and as long as 5 meter ! Produced in the 15th century, the legend telsus it made one victim during it's first usage : the shooter himself !
Originally it was probably stolen in Oudenaarde around 1578 together with another weapen.

Located at the Groot kanonplein, between the Graslei and the Vrijdagsmarkt.