Last weekend we had planned to make use of the gorgeous weather. We were planning on going to Brugge (Bruges) for two days. We tried to find a hotel but we were not having any luck. As the week drew on, we finally decided to instead go to Gent (Ghent) for the day - Saturday.
I love this city for an innumerable amount of reason, first of which: I served part of my mission in Gent! This city has charm. I love the old city of Gent because it is unique! As an American, I had my idea about what particular places are like, relative to what I had seen and heard in school and books. Europe was so foreign and magical to me. Part of the "culture shock" as a traveler, is having those ideas blown out of the water! However, cities like Gent bring back the magic for me and becomes a culprit as my imagination runs wild. This city helps me see back in time with its 9th century architecture, castle, cobblestone paths and roads.
Betsy and I went for one purpose: to relax! It was great to get away! The train ride from Brussels to Gent should take a half hour. We arrived to the South train station in Brussels to find out that our train was going to be a little late (15 minutes). We went to our platform and find that there are many others who had the same idea - to enjoy the warm weather. When our train arrived, we scurried to one of the doors only to find out that the people who were standing in the isles of the train, and in the door way, were not getting off. This was going to be a packed train.
Betsy and I got on and stood in the entrance of the train with about 15 other people and were joined by five more who squeezed themselves on, filling all the space. At least we were able to get on :) Also, it was probably good that there was not any space between all of us. Any variance in the train's velocity (for my sister taking physics: velocity - a change in direction and speed) makes it difficult to stand, but now we all could keep ourselves standing! It took us a little over an hour to get to Gent. Upon our arrival, we were glad to move our legs around after standing for that long on the train.
We walked from the Sint Pieters Station to my old missionary studio. From there, we walked to the old city of Gent and found a restaurant to eat at close to Het Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts).
It was fun eating in Gent. I got to use my Flemish to order and talk with our waiter. Overall, we were able to get the relaxation that we needed.
After our meal, we went shopping - Betsy's favorite! We look forward to our weekend get-a-ways! 
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