Nice ride! Belgium is definitely an underrated cycling destination. Several years ago I was riding along that path between Ghent and Bruges and got a flat tire. The sun was baking so went over to a house with an overhang to fix the flat. An older man pulled up and I asked him if he had a better pump than the one I had. He said I came to the right place and asked me if I knew who lived there. It was none other than Greg Van Avermaet, who was in the states riding the Tour of California at the time. The man was Greg's father-in-law. He went into the garage, came out and said Greg had 10 bikes in there but no pump. Then he drove to his house and brought me back a pump and a coke. 🙂
Haha wow what a crazy coincidence! I found the folks in the area really helpful and friendly, but can't say I got a coke or a story of that level out of anyone- lol!
Love it! For the Canadian flag, it's because Belgium has been Europe's battleground in WWI and WWII, with many foreign soldiers dying on our soil. So there are military cemeteries that are officially foreign territories (this one belongs to Canada), but it's maintained by Belgium. You'll find other cemeteries like that. Most of the municipal cemeteries for Belgian citizens have separate sections with foreign soldiers too. US, UK, Canada, Australia, and German, Polish, etc. Thanks for being here, and being such a wonderful visitor. I hope my countrymen treated you equally excellent. If not, then there are beers in our fridge for you to make up for it. Or chocolate, waffles, or sprouts. Because we do that oo.
Thanks for sharing that info! I thought it must be WWII related, we learned a lot about flander’s fields growing up in Canada. It was cool to be there! I found everyone really helpful and friendly but I’ll gladly come back to try more beers and chocolate! Thanks for watching :)
German students come to wartime cemeteries to do some maintenance every year. It’s beautiful to see. It’s a sign of respect and a good way to remind everyone about the mistakes made by our ancestors.
Canadian flag is there because the Canadian army librated the region around Bruges at the end of the Second World War. A lot of streets and bridges are named after Canadian towns and regions.
I was born and raised in Ghent. Moreover, I am a passionate cyclist! So nice that someone makes a video about my favorite cycling route between Ghent and Bruges! I do this bike ride almost every week in the spring and summer! I always start in Sint Denijs Westrem (municipality of Ghent) and cycle to Bruges. From Bruges I continue my bikeride to Damme, and then further to Sluis (just across the border in the Netherlands). From Gent to Sluis and back is this cycling tour approximately 130 kilometers. The bike ride between Bruges and Sluis is certainly worth doing! Damme and Sluis are also two places that are very nice to visit! ;)
Damme looks beautiful as well! I was sad not to have had quite enough time to see it. Sounds like a gorgeous route, you're lucky to have such great infrastructure for riding in Belgium, very jealous!
The cows you speak of around 7:00 are not raised for milk, but - as you say it yourself 'ripped looking' - for meat. There are called the Belgian whit-blue breed.
as a belgian i would say belgium is a lovely country to cycle.. just so sad that the bike lanes are in such terrible condition ... definetely you should also visit the south of belgium and Limburg/haspengouw in spring time
The fact that your doing this trip using a bike and public transport only is interesting. Your personal view and narrative makes it beautiful. Thanks for the video!
Funny to see my street on a UA-cam vlog 2:09 😂. Living in Bruges and working in Ghent, you drove along many streets in both cities that I use for my daily commute, nice to see this! By the way that tour bus that nearly run you over did a traffic violation to drive there at the canal bike path, the only motorized vehicles that are allowed at the path are the ones from the state owned water company who is managing our waterways.
What a gorgeous place to call home! And that makes sense re; that bus! I translated a sign a bit further down the way saying basically no motorized vehicles so I suspected that bus was not exactly playing by the rules lol
Also cool that you like our bike infrastructure, compared to our neighbours of the Netherlands we still quite lag behind them in many ways but slowly we are catching up! :)
Looked like a fun trip. Thank you for sharing. I do enjoy a travel by bike video that is more than “look how many miles I road”. This was a relatable story.
Exactly. We're conditioned to it via the rat race where all that matters is the numbers. Learned how much cool stuff I missed after my first bike tour. If life is a race, then death is the finish line and the rat race wants you to win.
Definitely underrated, I can’t believe that it’s not on more people’s cycling destination radar. Between the infrastructure, food, cobbles, classic routes, and of course beer…Flanders in cycling Mecca. Hopefully you made it to ride around Oudenaard, and made a trip to Ypres to see the WW1 museum, truly heart stopping.
Oudenaard wasn't even on my radar! All the replies with great suggestions to this video have me itching to get back- I'll add it to the list, looks stunning!
My wife and I are from Canada as well and will be cycling this same route in June. Starting Brussels, then Ghent, then Bruge then up to the east coast to Amsterdam. Thanks for scouting the canal route which is our planned route as well.
Waffles for sure are a part of our culture. In our family, we have a yearly waffle back off (yes, with different types of waffles), where we try to eat as much as we can. The main table isn't big enough for the whole family, so if you have to tap out.. somebody else takes your place. Fun times. Also, we all hate the pay for bathrooms in Belgium. We hear you. It is slowly but steadily getting a thing of the past.
@@Ratzie01 indeed. A dusting of sugar, maybe some whipped cream, that's about it most of the time. Definitely not and strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate all at the same time, as it would mean that the waffle gets all soggy ;)
Really like the equal treatment of the ride and the curiosity on the fantastic cultural treasures. And wow, the presentation via cut in living-room-sequences and the choice of music does so well. Thx 🌲
Nice ride👍 Belgium is my favorite country! The food,beer and chocolate are unbelievable and the bike riding / racing is passionate. I’m very lucky to live just a few hours north by bike.
Thank you!.. memories rushed back so intensely here! I miss cycling in Belgium sooo much.. Bruges is a dream city.. 2017-2019 I did some 10k kms in Belgium on my bike.. LOVE is cycling in Belgium! Great video and subscribed! 👍
A beautiful picturesque trip. Seeing such a strong bike culture woven into everyday normal life and not additional or added feature is really awesome. Thanks for share! Take care.
Thank the algorithm gods! What a fun ride to tag along to. Can't wait to see how you experienced Antwerp. (As a Belgian i'm going to guess it was a bit more daunting then brugge/Gent). Subscribed for more!
This is the first video of yours ive watched, and I really love your vibes! Reminds me of Probably Riding and Path Less Pedaled a bit. Your riding outfit with the cycling cap and everything looks so cool and chic! I feel like I typically look like an dorky german tourist when out for a long ride haha Those cities (and waffles) look lovely! You gotta try Belgium friets (fries) while youre there. If you want to see more incredibly historical places and EVEN BETTER bike infrastructure, you gotta come to the Netherlands! I moved here from the USA and it was the best decision ive ever made!
Thanks for the kind words! I'm really excited to go to the Netherlands, on this trip I took the Eurostar for the first time from Paris (where there's now a direct flight from our city, very exciting) and I realized that the Eurostar goes to Rotterdam as well I believe so it's high on the list for next time I'm in Europe!
Toilets are free in most places in Belgium just specifically not in teain stations (but not on the train) and highway rest points. Public toilets (at least in Ghent) are free and wherever you pay something too.
Some Ravel-tracks in the Ardennes are also worth checking + vennbahn in eastern belgium + germany + city of Leuven (+ outskirts like Bierbeek etc.). There's also a Ravel in neighbourhood of Villers-la-ville if I remember well, at least in the neighbourhoods of Lasne, Bousval, Ohain,...
Yes there are Ravel routes around Lasne (where I live), Nivelles, Ottignies … and all over Belgium really. Those along the multiple EuroVelo routes that go through Belgium and the fantastic Points Noeud system make it a really nice place to cycle. Riding along the canals (the old Brussels to Charleroi canal is beautiful) and rivers is just so relaxing. Just make sure to stay away from the maniacs on the road.
First off, amazing video Emma! You absolutely nailed the vlog - great job! I honestly thought you were wearing a Pantera t-shirt the whole time, not an Antwerp one - haha! Looking forward to the next part! :D
Almost 1000 canadian soldiers died fighting in belgium. Not far away in the netherlands is where canada liberated the dutch from hitler. The Canadians are loved in that part of the world.
The South of Belgium is great as well (Dinant, Namur, Bouillon, Fagnes). It's steeper, with lots of beautiful lakes and forests, citadels. It's a shame most people focus on Bruges, Gent, Antwerp and Brussels ... (ps : I love your haircut !)
I lived in Belgium for 8 years and while the south has some nice landscapes, it looks like a 2nd world country compared to the north (Flanders). No offense, but the poor (cycling, road, housing) infrastructure and run-down cities in the south are nothing compared to the jewels in the north. I still regret the day I made the mistake to visit Liège... My appetite to visit more of Wallonia was gone instantly. The towns you mentioned are indeed lovely but very small.
As a feral American - I appreciated that all the train station bathrooms I found were nice and functional - probably worth the euro to avoid the crimes against sanitation we endure here.
I live in Bruges, so I ride those streets quite often! I do try to avoid those cobbles as much as possible when I'm on thinner tyres, and the tourists jumping in front out of nowhere also don't help 😅 Glad to hear to you liked it over here! Just so you know: there's also museums in Bruges (such as Groeninge), and you need to climb the 365 steps of the Belfry! To plenty to discover when you come back!
It's great that you recommend Belgium. However, you've only shown 2 of the most touristic cities. There's also Brussels of course, Antwerp, Leuven, Liege, Namur, ... and so much more. But besides all these beautiful cities, there's so much more to experience for cycling enthusiasts in the Kempen (Limburg and Antwerp). The green belt around Brussels (the Sonian Forest, the Meerdaal Forest). The Hageland (Flemish Brabant). The Flemish Ardennes (a bit tougher to cycle) where all the legendary cycling races take place. In Wallonia, the High Fens (more for hikers), the Ardennes where so many cycling tourists come to test and improve their climbing condition. In short, you've shown a beautiful part of Belgium, thank you for that, but there's so much more.
I live in Ghent, glad you enjoyed it :) Those canal towpaths are nice, I used to commute on the second half of the towpath between Bruges and Ghent (the part between Aalter and Ghent) and I do miss it. Now I just do weekend bike rides along those paths sometimes when I don't feel like taking a train to more interesting places.
Lovely video which echoed my trip there i the spring of the last two years. I too visited Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges as well as Ypers and Oudenaarde. I was unexpected blown away with Ghent particularly the square around St Bavos, I'll go back fro sure. I rode extensively while there and loved the canal side fiestpads. FYI< the Canadian flag was there as most of Belgium and the Netherlands was liberated primarily by Candian forces during WWll.I find Belgium is a hidden treasure of europe and am heading back there again next spring
You seem to have missed out on the Ghent railway station main entrance building (Gent Sint-Pieters).. ;-) Fun to see that throughout this clip, you have such a refreshing view at things that are very familiar to me...
I realized that afterwards!! Lol I was so focused on finding the train. I had seen it in my research but I seem to have gone in a funny way. All the more reason to go back, it looks beautiful :)
Love your video, love cycling around Belgium and that path between Bruges and Ghent is fantastic so quiet and that coach should not be on it! My friend Fatima lives in Ghent which helps when planning routes.
Funny enough after a few days in Belgium I went to visit my pals in London. I went on a ride just outside London and WOW do you have no shoulders on those roads! You can see me struggle through that in an upcoming video!
@@bike.breath It's horrible around London, I'm about 25 miles south of it and the roads are a constant battle with drivers who are always in a hurry and generally want to kill you. Up North around the Pennines it's much nicer, no shoulders still but the drivers are friendly and have more patience!
Happy you enjoyed our country! 1) I wouldn't call waffles a tourist trap, although us Belgians don't eat waffles that often. Not sure why we are known for that to be honest. 2)The Canadian flag probably has to do with a 1st world war memorial. 3) Those are definitely not dairy cows, they're for beef. 4) You were very lucky with the weather!
I was sure I was going to get rain! I've had good luck in Europe in the fall, 2022 I went to Norway in the fall and had not a single rainy day the week I was there as well!
Your Canadian flag is deeply appreciated, more than 15.000 Canadians lost their life in battle in Belgium, for our freedom. Greetings from Flanders. You are very cute by the way. I hope you don't find this weird and just take it as a compliment
Such a special relationship between our countries! On the next train ride I took some time to refresh myself on the history of those battles, what a beautiful land to help liberate!
Quality stuff, subbed straight away! I've got the exact same bike and tires lol. And sorry about the paid bathrooms, I too find it weird that we still do that
There's a Michelangelo statue called the Madonna of Bruges in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges that was also stolen by the Germans and recovered in that salt mine in Austria. It was also featured in that monuments men film.
About paying for a (clean) toilet. That is standard in many public places in Europe. I never pay there, as I rather go to a cafe and have a coffee or beer or glass of wine, and just enjoy my life. In my many decades living in Europe, I think I only paid about 10 times if that much. Way less than once per year.
Hi! I think you misunderstood what the man said in the cathedral of Ghent, he said: "Oh, don't bother. You don't need to make a reservation now, there's no problem. You can get in just like that". Usually it is indeed with a reservation, but if there's still spots they often just let you in anyways. I hope you enjoyed your time in Ghent/Belgium :)
It was all good though since it worked out, just a funny story after as I was moments from going to cry in the corner lol- I loved both cities they were so fun!
@@bike.breath I'm really glad you liked it! The painting is an absolute must-see so I'm glad that you were able to witness it in all its glory :D It took a long time to completely restore it, but it turned out really well.
@@bike.breath Remember that the man wasn't speaking in his native language. Though he managed to speak to you in understandable English. Wallonia will be something different.
Had a great watch, thank you so much! I was wondering if you would like to share what camera you were using to shoot the pics during this trip ? Loved the look of them:))
I feel like I have to apologise for the issues still existing in my country when it comes to cycling. We’re getting there but it’s annoyingly slow at times.
Loved that you are telling about it from your home with the book The Flemish Masters next to you :), kinda wonder which one is your favourite and which ones you saw paintings from in Belgium. Waiting for the Antwerp video, did you visit more places then those? Also curious did you go to the south of Belgium (Different terrain, nice mountainbike routes). Other provinces (Limburg) have also touristic spots for riding your bike (cycling through the trees, cycling through the water).
I only had time for those two locations on this trip, but I'm excited to go back in the near future and am thinking I'll do a Netherlands/Belgium hybrid trip! Re; Flemish masters, I do love Van Eyck, but really enjoyed the Rubens I saw as well. I think the highlight though from the art side of things on the trip was the James Ensor exhibit at KMSKA in Antwerp! There will be a bit on that in the Antwerp video :)
@@bike.breath You didn't vist the Rubens house in Antwerp? The dutch keep going on and on and on about Rembrant but even Rembrant was a big fan of Rubens, even buying a painting by Rubens, which years later he sold on ... and which now is in the Yale Art Gallery in New Haven USA.
Belgians do care about waffles, that's why you will see, on any tourist in Belgian video, loads of comments telling you "that's not how we eat waffles, it's a tourist trap".
Refreshing video, happy to have stumbled upon it by accident ! Will you be visiting Brussels? If you do, I would definitely suggest to do more than "just the city center", which is beautiful but that's where most tourists will leave it at while Brussels is quite fragmented and worth to be seen from more angles, which can be very diverse. In case you do: Would suggest to do the "Promenade verte" which is a great cycling road all around the city, especially the North-West side of it, the multiple beautiful parks: Tervurenpark, Bois de la Cambre/Forêt de soignes, Osseghempark, Rouge cloitre, amongst one of the few. And then neighbourhoods like Marolles, Saint-Gilles, Chatelain, Schaarbeek, or Dieweg can we worthwile with all these art nouveau houses and blend of styles even if it's quite hilly and not always well tought out for bikes.
Thank you so much for the reccos! Sadly on that trip I only had a few days so I just visited Ghent/Bruges and Antwerp. I'm hoping to go back and visit other parts of Belgium along with the Netherlands so I've added these spots to the list :)
What the Netherlands is for commuting on bicycles, Belgium is for recreational cycling. It's basically the center of the professional cycling world. The Canadian flag is because Belgium was liberated by among other the Canadian army.
The commuting game was very impressive in Belgium too, I saw so many fun and inspiring cargo setups! All things bikes are top notch in Belgium from what I saw :)
@@bike.breath Ben is an absolute sweetheart. I'm from Gent, but Steershop is where I bought my very first gravelbike, back in 2016. I know that canal ride between Gent and Brugge pretty much by heart. Glad you enjoyed your ride!
As a kid, in the south of France, I decided to throw stones at a group of swans while sitting on top of a lofty climbing frame. It seemed a fairly fun game at the time until I fell and the swans (rightly) took their revenge on me. As a result I have been scared of birds ever since!
Ah, you should have carried on for your second full day to Oudenaarde and ridden some of the classics cobbled climbs and Tour of Flanders routes. I don't think there's many more iconic routes in the world. Also, beer. You didn't mention the beer!
Sadly I didn't have time on this trip! Just Antwerp and then I headed over to England to visit some friends. Though I definitely want to ride in Wallonia when I can make it back, I'm by no means a high level cyclist but I do like to climb.
@@bike.breath England is awesome! I moved for work from Canada to Belgium in 2023. Staying in Wallonia. It is hardcore terrain. Flat roads are only among rivers. Bike needs lower than 1:1 gear ratio to be able to climb on "regular" roads :)
The shop rented me a lock as well! It was such a nice setup, bike, helmet, bag and lock so that I didn't have to lug everything around with me on the other parts of my trip!
Thanks for watching! I ended up just using google maps, The route was pretty straightforward so I screenshotted directions in case I lost service, but I ended up having service the whole time which was nice :)
Ok so I really should be studying for my exams but here's my two cents: I'm from Belgium, and I'm currently attending the Ghent University (and living in Ghent part time now). I've only been to Bruges once with school, we didn't really get to explore it properly, so I feel like I should go back sometime. From what I've seen though, it's not as amazing as people seem to think. 4:54 Can confirm, I'm always surprised when people are so obsessed with our waffles. I do like them, but from our perspective, fries, beer and maybe chocolade are much more Belgian than waffles. Also, most of them are not that good. Liege waffles are godly though. 5:47 As far as I know that's pretty friggin illegal??? 5:53 Yup that's Belgian weather for you. You're lucky it didn't rain with little clouds: that seemed like a great day! 6:29 Reading the text, my suspicions were quickly confirmed: war. It reads: "forge war into eternal peace. Memorial of 50 years of the battle of Moerbrugge." So that should mean that in 1944, a mostly Canadian group of the allied army fought a pretty bloody battle against the Nazis. Belgian has been the focal point of both world wars, so you find these things everywhere. Belgium was founded because no one could decide who this piece of land should belong to, so they decided no one could have it. Resulting it a pretty big division in Belgium, between the french and dutch speaking parts. You have only seen the nice parts, when you go have a look around Brussels or further south, you have a very different image. 7:03 Nope, those cows are fed all sorts of stuff to be as bulky as possible. They don't produce milk, they are killed when they are big enough, to eat. That's where steak comes from. ;) 7:29 To be honest, I've never seen such good roads in Belgium. Our roads are notoriously bad so you were lucky. 8:01 Often, when I feel like it, I go for a walk at like 11 pm, though the historic centre. It really is a beautiful place. I've been there so many times and still I can't stop looking around there. I'm surprised you didn't mention the medieval castle you see in the distance. It's called the "Gravensteen", or Counts stone or something like that. If you were to ask me, it's so much more interesting than the painting (really don't understand the hype). Certainly for americans that don't often get to see such historical buildings. You really missed something there! Also, you probably missed half of Ghent's historical centre, from what I can see. 9:25 The actual name is "Het lam Gods", "God's lamb", which sounds a bit underwhelming in comparison lol. 9:38 I did not know the Nazi story. What I do know is that the lower right panel "de rechtvaardige rechters" or "the just judges" is a fake. It was stolen and never found. Don't know when exactly though, I think it was quite a while ago. I never actually saw the painting. You have to pay to get to see it, and we went there with school so no chance they would let us see that thing with that many people. We did wander around the cathedral though and as it turns out, about seven copies of the painting hang aroud there. Really quite funny. 11:14 You have no idea how many times I have thundered down there on my crappy bike at 7 pm in the dark to catch my train to go home, back when I was stil going back and forth with the train to take my classes. 11:29 I don't think anyone actually uses it though. It's very new and in my experience, quite useless. You never know where exactly the train is going to stop, so you kind of have to guess. As for the occupancy rate, it's wildly inaccurate and probably useless as well: when you have to take the train at a certain time, you take it no matter what. 12:17 Agreed, absolute crime 12:46 Yeah should have looked that up :) It's expensive as well, it's like 4 or 7 euros I believe. 14:31 What an absolute dick. Anyway, nice video! I really should go back to studying now, I've spent waaaay too long on this
Glad I could help you escape studying for a moment, lol! The Ghent city centre must be very cool at night, whenever I can make it back I'm going to stay there so I can take in more of it! The castle looked really interesting as well but I spent a long time with the painting because I'm just a big Art nerd, so I didn't end up having time. All the more reason to visit the city again! Thanks for watching and for all the insights :)
Oh hell yeah! The Canadian flag on the monument was probably a commemorative monument for the Canadian troops that helped liberate Belgium during WW2. Ghent is a super amazing city, the arts and music scene is awesome. Sorry about the rude guy at the end, just your typical disgruntled Flemish male probably. Oh, and Liege waffles are the best in the world, definitely not a tourist thing at all! If you guys ever come back to Belgium hit me up, I live on the east side next to the German border by the highest point of Belgium called the Haute Fagnes. Our area is incredible for riding and we literally have hundreds of forests with the funnest trails, you guys would have a blast here! Super excited to see the Antwerp episode, we lived there for 6 years before relocating to the countryside.
Thanks for the info! Your area is amazing and we need to go back as the two of us! Brendan needs to ride here too. I keep saying we should move to Antwerp! Loved it so much. Thanks for watching!
I’m assuming you locked your bike up when you went to the cathedral right ? Was that an easy process ? Finding a place to lock it up ? Did the bike shop instruct you on things like that ? Always lock the bike up everywhere or take the bike with you everywhere when you aren’t riding it ?
Yep exactly! I rented a lock from the shop as well. There were bike racks sprinkled around the city centre in Ghent so I could easily lock up about half a block away!
@ That’s good to know, I was wondering myself as I’ve considered traveling to either Belgium, Netherlands or Luxembourg and was curious about these small details. It was always nice to see you can rent a proper gravel bike.
You don't know why there is a Canadian Flag? World War 1 ... a huge amount of Canadians died in Flanders Fields. They are remembered daily since in Ypres with the Last Post.
Slovenia is definitely on my list! Beer was 11/10- belgian chocolate all the way, I did stop over in Paris on my way to Belgium and the pain au chocolate was worth the stop :)
There's a reason you have to pay for a toilet in a train station. some people don't have a lot of respect for public places. I don't mind paying for a toilet if they are well maintained. Next time go to a café, have a drink, use the toilet there. at 1:50 you entered a one direction street, full of tourists all the time not knowing where to walk. :D But glad you liked my hometown and the bikeshop where I go to all the time.
Check out our Merch Shop 👉 Bikebreath.com
Nice ride! Belgium is definitely an underrated cycling destination. Several years ago I was riding along that path between Ghent and Bruges and got a flat tire. The sun was baking so went over to a house with an overhang to fix the flat. An older man pulled up and I asked him if he had a better pump than the one I had. He said I came to the right place and asked me if I knew who lived there. It was none other than Greg Van Avermaet, who was in the states riding the Tour of California at the time. The man was Greg's father-in-law. He went into the garage, came out and said Greg had 10 bikes in there but no pump. Then he drove to his house and brought me back a pump and a coke. 🙂
Haha wow what a crazy coincidence! I found the folks in the area really helpful and friendly, but can't say I got a coke or a story of that level out of anyone- lol!
Greg is the nicest guy in cycling!
Love it! For the Canadian flag, it's because Belgium has been Europe's battleground in WWI and WWII, with many foreign soldiers dying on our soil. So there are military cemeteries that are officially foreign territories (this one belongs to Canada), but it's maintained by Belgium. You'll find other cemeteries like that. Most of the municipal cemeteries for Belgian citizens have separate sections with foreign soldiers too. US, UK, Canada, Australia, and German, Polish, etc.
Thanks for being here, and being such a wonderful visitor. I hope my countrymen treated you equally excellent. If not, then there are beers in our fridge for you to make up for it. Or chocolate, waffles, or sprouts. Because we do that oo.
Thanks for sharing that info! I thought it must be WWII related, we learned a lot about flander’s fields growing up in Canada. It was cool to be there! I found everyone really helpful and friendly but I’ll gladly come back to try more beers and chocolate! Thanks for watching :)
German students come to wartime cemeteries to do some maintenance every year. It’s beautiful to see. It’s a sign of respect and a good way to remind everyone about the mistakes made by our ancestors.
@@bike.breath in this case, it is there to memorate the Battle of Moerbrugge: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Moerbrugge
Forget the chocolate and waffles, she needs to try “frieten met stoofvleessaus” 👊🙂
As a Belgian myself my absolute dream is to visit Canada one day!
Canadian flag is there because the Canadian army librated the region around Bruges at the end of the Second World War. A lot of streets and bridges are named after Canadian towns and regions.
I was born and raised in Ghent. Moreover, I am a passionate cyclist! So nice that someone makes a video about my favorite cycling route between Ghent and Bruges! I do this bike ride almost every week in the spring and summer! I always start in Sint Denijs Westrem (municipality of Ghent) and cycle to Bruges. From Bruges I continue my bikeride to Damme, and then further to Sluis (just across the border in the Netherlands). From Gent to Sluis and back is this cycling tour approximately 130 kilometers. The bike ride between Bruges and Sluis is certainly worth doing! Damme and Sluis are also two places that are very nice to visit! ;)
Damme looks beautiful as well! I was sad not to have had quite enough time to see it. Sounds like a gorgeous route, you're lucky to have such great infrastructure for riding in Belgium, very jealous!
The cows you speak of around 7:00 are not raised for milk, but - as you say it yourself 'ripped looking' - for meat. There are called the Belgian whit-blue breed.
Lol yes I probably should have put 2+2 together on that one, makes sense!
5:49 that bus isn't allowed to drive there 🤣
That's what I thought! Later on in the ride on that same path I saw a sign that said no vehicles over X weight!
0:09 Nobody is allowed to ride in that street in that direction 😂
Being from Bruges myself, this one caught my eye immediately.
as a belgian i would say belgium is a lovely country to cycle.. just so sad that the bike lanes are in such terrible condition ... definetely you should also visit the south of belgium and Limburg/haspengouw in spring time
The fact that your doing this trip using a bike and public transport only is interesting. Your personal view and narrative makes it beautiful. Thanks for the video!
Thanks so much for the kind words, glad you enjoyed!
Funny to see my street on a UA-cam vlog 2:09 😂. Living in Bruges and working in Ghent, you drove along many streets in both cities that I use for my daily commute, nice to see this! By the way that tour bus that nearly run you over did a traffic violation to drive there at the canal bike path, the only motorized vehicles that are allowed at the path are the ones from the state owned water company who is managing our waterways.
What a gorgeous place to call home! And that makes sense re; that bus! I translated a sign a bit further down the way saying basically no motorized vehicles so I suspected that bus was not exactly playing by the rules lol
Also cool that you like our bike infrastructure, compared to our neighbours of the Netherlands we still quite lag behind them in many ways but slowly we are catching up! :)
Looked like a fun trip. Thank you for sharing. I do enjoy a travel by bike video that is more than “look how many miles I road”. This was a relatable story.
Really appreciate you saying that! That’s so nice to hear.
Exactly. We're conditioned to it via the rat race where all that matters is the numbers. Learned how much cool stuff I missed after my first bike tour. If life is a race, then death is the finish line and the rat race wants you to win.
Super cool video! It was such a pleasure to watch, and I can’t wait for the next one!
So glad you enjoyed! Excited for the next one, and there's third from some riding I did in the English countryside on the 2nd half of the trip :)
Definitely underrated, I can’t believe that it’s not on more people’s cycling destination radar. Between the infrastructure, food, cobbles, classic routes, and of course beer…Flanders in cycling Mecca. Hopefully you made it to ride around Oudenaard, and made a trip to Ypres to see the WW1 museum, truly heart stopping.
Oudenaard wasn't even on my radar! All the replies with great suggestions to this video have me itching to get back- I'll add it to the list, looks stunning!
My wife and I are from Canada as well and will be cycling this same route in June. Starting Brussels, then Ghent, then Bruge then up to the east coast to Amsterdam. Thanks for scouting the canal route which is our planned route as well.
Ou that sounds like such a great route, enjoy!
Waffles for sure are a part of our culture. In our family, we have a yearly waffle back off (yes, with different types of waffles), where we try to eat as much as we can. The main table isn't big enough for the whole family, so if you have to tap out.. somebody else takes your place. Fun times. Also, we all hate the pay for bathrooms in Belgium. We hear you. It is slowly but steadily getting a thing of the past.
Both of these nuggets of info make me so happy! Thanks for watching and sharing :)
Yes, we do like waffles. What we don't do is eat them with a ton of toppings. That is the tourist trap.
@@Ratzie01 indeed. A dusting of sugar, maybe some whipped cream, that's about it most of the time. Definitely not and strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate all at the same time, as it would mean that the waffle gets all soggy ;)
Really like the equal treatment of the ride and the curiosity on the fantastic cultural treasures. And wow, the presentation via cut in living-room-sequences and the choice of music does so well.
Thx 🌲
@@INTERpEST thanks for leaving such a kind note! Really appreciate it. Cheers!
great edit, and great content! thanks
Thanks for watching!
This was great! Loved the tour on the bike!
Thanks for watching!
Nice ride👍 Belgium is my favorite country! The food,beer and chocolate are unbelievable and the bike riding / racing is passionate. I’m very lucky to live just a few hours north by bike.
Definitely lucky! I loved it as well, they have great taste :)
Thank you!.. memories rushed back so intensely here! I miss cycling in Belgium sooo much.. Bruges is a dream city.. 2017-2019 I did some 10k kms in Belgium on my bike.. LOVE is cycling in Belgium! Great video and subscribed! 👍
Thanks for watching! It really is lovely to ride there, the scenery and infrastructure are excellent :)
I am overjoyed that you appreciated my country and city (you nearly passed by my house in Ghent) as a cycling destination! Welcome back anytime!
What a gorgeous place to call home, thanks for watching!
Looks lovely. Thanks for sharing this, nice work.
Thanks for watching!
A beautiful picturesque trip. Seeing such a strong bike culture woven into everyday normal life and not additional or added feature is really awesome. Thanks for share! Take care.
It is awesome! I loved seeing so many amazing cargo setups out on the road in particular! Clearly folks with a cycling forward mindset!
Woa that was beautiful scenery with much easier and enjoyable riding than here in NA. Kudos on going solo adventuring, that is always intimidating.
Thank you! It's always intimidating but the infrastructure there was amazing so that gave me a lot of confidence!
Thank the algorithm gods! What a fun ride to tag along to. Can't wait to see how you experienced Antwerp. (As a Belgian i'm going to guess it was a bit more daunting then brugge/Gent). Subscribed for more!
I loved riding Antwerp- spoiler, it maaaay have taken the crown as my favourite European city I've visited so far! Thanks for the sub :)
This is so cool to see my own country reflected through your cycling eyes!
Such a gorgeous place to ride!
First video. Subscribed. I think I love you. That is all. ❤
This is the first video of yours ive watched, and I really love your vibes! Reminds me of Probably Riding and Path Less Pedaled a bit.
Your riding outfit with the cycling cap and everything looks so cool and chic! I feel like I typically look like an dorky german tourist when out for a long ride haha
Those cities (and waffles) look lovely! You gotta try Belgium friets (fries) while youre there. If you want to see more incredibly historical places and EVEN BETTER bike infrastructure, you gotta come to the Netherlands! I moved here from the USA and it was the best decision ive ever made!
Thanks for the kind words! I'm really excited to go to the Netherlands, on this trip I took the Eurostar for the first time from Paris (where there's now a direct flight from our city, very exciting) and I realized that the Eurostar goes to Rotterdam as well I believe so it's high on the list for next time I'm in Europe!
What a great video! It's cool to see what's simple and what's complicated about travelling by bike.
Thanks so much for watching! Definitely pros and cons whether you rent or decide to bring your bike along for the trip.
Thank you for sharing. You gave me inspiration for coming spring/summer to cycle from The Netherlands to Vlaanderen!🚴🚴
Ahh that sounds like a gorgeous route!
Love this video. Was an art history minor while getting my BFA and Monument Men was such a great movie. Thanks for sharing my friend. Big hugs! 💚
BFA buddies! I also minored in Art History, was very cool to see a lot of what was on the pages in real life. Thanks for tuning in!
Toilets are free in most places in Belgium just specifically not in teain stations (but not on the train) and highway rest points. Public toilets (at least in Ghent) are free and wherever you pay something too.
During ww2 the Canadian troops where among the ones who liberated most of Flanders. Therefore we have commemorative monuments all over.
Fabulous scenery. Nice!
Thank you!
Some Ravel-tracks in the Ardennes are also worth checking + vennbahn in eastern belgium + germany + city of Leuven (+ outskirts like Bierbeek etc.). There's also a Ravel in neighbourhood of Villers-la-ville if I remember well, at least in the neighbourhoods of Lasne, Bousval, Ohain,...
Sounds like there's beautiful riding in so many of the nearby areas!
Yes there are Ravel routes around Lasne (where I live), Nivelles, Ottignies … and all over Belgium really. Those along the multiple EuroVelo routes that go through Belgium and the fantastic Points Noeud system make it a really nice place to cycle. Riding along the canals (the old Brussels to Charleroi canal is beautiful) and rivers is just so relaxing. Just make sure to stay away from the maniacs on the road.
Villers-La-Ville is known for its abbey ruins. Worth a visit.
I grew up in herrentals near Antwerp was always on my bike as a kid along the canals, class country Belguim
You're lucky, it's a gorgeous area to ride! Our next video is actually some riding around Antwerp :)
Great video. I like the travelogue idea. Looking forward to more.
First off, amazing video Emma! You absolutely nailed the vlog - great job! I honestly thought you were wearing a Pantera t-shirt the whole time, not an Antwerp one - haha! Looking forward to the next part! :D
@@nino8344 that’s hilarious (the shirt). That’s actually Brendan’s favorite band too. I can see how the font is similar! Thanks for watching!
cool to see my old LBS when i lived in Bruges :D great store. fun to see the roads ive ridden thousands of times. great video
Seems like such a lovely area to ride! Amazing infrastructure- and obviously gorgeous scenery :)
Almost 1000 canadian soldiers died fighting in belgium. Not far away in the netherlands is where canada liberated the dutch from hitler. The Canadians are loved in that part of the world.
Totally makes sense!
@ your video was really good btw!
Awesome videos 😊 !!!! Great 👍 job 👏
Thanks a bunch!
Hell yeah. Loved the vid, cant wait to see Antwerp.
Thanks!
The South of Belgium is great as well (Dinant, Namur, Bouillon, Fagnes). It's steeper, with lots of beautiful lakes and forests, citadels. It's a shame most people focus on Bruges, Gent, Antwerp and Brussels ... (ps : I love your haircut !)
Will have to add those areas to my list for when I can make it back, thanks so much!
I lived in Belgium for 8 years and while the south has some nice landscapes, it looks like a 2nd world country compared to the north (Flanders). No offense, but the poor (cycling, road, housing) infrastructure and run-down cities in the south are nothing compared to the jewels in the north. I still regret the day I made the mistake to visit Liège... My appetite to visit more of Wallonia was gone instantly. The towns you mentioned are indeed lovely but very small.
I agree that Liege is awful :)
i live in bruges and you rode right passed the house in the vlog. beautiful city glad you had fun
What a beautiful place to call home!
Cool video and great soundtrack!
Thanks so much! Brendan (my husband) had a lot of fun picking the music for this one, it's always his favourite part of editing :)
As a feral American - I appreciated that all the train station bathrooms I found were nice and functional - probably worth the euro to avoid the crimes against sanitation we endure here.
I live in Bruges, so I ride those streets quite often! I do try to avoid those cobbles as much as possible when I'm on thinner tyres, and the tourists jumping in front out of nowhere also don't help 😅
Glad to hear to you liked it over here! Just so you know: there's also museums in Bruges (such as Groeninge), and you need to climb the 365 steps of the Belfry! To plenty to discover when you come back!
Very excited to go back! I didn't even see the Madonna, which I'm kicking myself for!
It's great that you recommend Belgium. However, you've only shown 2 of the most touristic cities. There's also Brussels of course, Antwerp, Leuven, Liege, Namur, ... and so much more.
But besides all these beautiful cities, there's so much more to experience for cycling enthusiasts in the Kempen (Limburg and Antwerp). The green belt around Brussels (the Sonian Forest, the Meerdaal Forest). The Hageland (Flemish Brabant). The Flemish Ardennes (a bit tougher to cycle) where all the legendary cycling races take place.
In Wallonia, the High Fens (more for hikers), the Ardennes where so many cycling tourists come to test and improve their climbing condition.
In short, you've shown a beautiful part of Belgium, thank you for that, but there's so much more.
Where my family is from near Galway, Ireland, swans are often seen as fisherman/women lost at sea and fiercely protected by locals.
That's so cool!
Great video. I bet you're going to Antwerp to see the Rubens paintings 😉 Enjoy the trip and next time call me, we should have a coffee and cake 😄
I live in Ghent, glad you enjoyed it :) Those canal towpaths are nice, I used to commute on the second half of the towpath between Bruges and Ghent (the part between Aalter and Ghent) and I do miss it. Now I just do weekend bike rides along those paths sometimes when I don't feel like taking a train to more interesting places.
What a beautiful place to call home! If I make it back to the area I want to spend some more time in Ghent it seems really lively and fun!
@bike.breath if you visit again, you should have fries at De Frietketel or Chasse Patat!
PS I like the chill vibe of the video.
Lovely video which echoed my trip there i the spring of the last two years. I too visited Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges as well as Ypers and Oudenaarde. I was unexpected blown away with Ghent particularly the square around St Bavos, I'll go back fro sure. I rode extensively while there and loved the canal side fiestpads. FYI< the Canadian flag was there as most of Belgium and the Netherlands was liberated primarily by Candian forces during WWll.I find Belgium is a hidden treasure of europe and am heading back there again next spring
That square is gorgeous! I’m excited to get back some time as well and explore further 😀
You seem to have missed out on the Ghent railway station main entrance building (Gent Sint-Pieters).. ;-) Fun to see that throughout this clip, you have such a refreshing view at things that are very familiar to me...
I realized that afterwards!! Lol I was so focused on finding the train. I had seen it in my research but I seem to have gone in a funny way. All the more reason to go back, it looks beautiful :)
Very nice video! I enjoyed watching it as a Belgian cyclist ❤
Thanks so much for watching! Loved riding in your country!
Cool vlog, looks amazing during fall😊
Thank you! It really was great weather!
Underrated??? Belgium is the European capital of cycling. Tour of Flanders? Eddie Merckx? Tom Boonen? Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne? Liege-Bastgne-Liege?
It's very flat in the north but you need good legs to ride in the south. (Ardennes…). 😅
Lol the flat had me feeling fast, it was nice!
Love your video, love cycling around Belgium and that path between Bruges and Ghent is fantastic so quiet and that coach should not be on it! My friend Fatima lives in Ghent which helps when planning routes.
Yep that coach looked very much out of place, lol. What a gorgeous area to get to ride all the time!
@@bike.breath It sure did. I wished I lived over there or Netherlands/Luxembourg much friendlier towards cyclists than here in the UK.
Funny enough after a few days in Belgium I went to visit my pals in London. I went on a ride just outside London and WOW do you have no shoulders on those roads! You can see me struggle through that in an upcoming video!
@@bike.breath It's horrible around London, I'm about 25 miles south of it and the roads are a constant battle with drivers who are always in a hurry and generally want to kill you. Up North around the Pennines it's much nicer, no shoulders still but the drivers are friendly and have more patience!
The 'Flemish Masters' book is a very nice touch. :)
Haha glad you caught that!
@@bike.breath Nice to see that you like the flemish primitives and others. :) Greetings from Bruges. (I also love the arts)
more Emma content please!
More on the way for sure! There's some really fun footage from Antwerp and from England later on in the trip as well :)
U should have pickd ypers on ur trip too. one of the big 5 citys in medievel times;) "lakenhallen ieper" and saint martin catherdral are hughe
Happy you enjoyed our country! 1) I wouldn't call waffles a tourist trap, although us Belgians don't eat waffles that often. Not sure why we are known for that to be honest. 2)The Canadian flag probably has to do with a 1st world war memorial. 3) Those are definitely not dairy cows, they're for beef. 4) You were very lucky with the weather!
I was sure I was going to get rain! I've had good luck in Europe in the fall, 2022 I went to Norway in the fall and had not a single rainy day the week I was there as well!
Your Canadian flag is deeply appreciated, more than 15.000 Canadians lost their life in battle in Belgium, for our freedom. Greetings from Flanders. You are very cute by the way. I hope you don't find this weird and just take it as a compliment
Such a special relationship between our countries! On the next train ride I took some time to refresh myself on the history of those battles, what a beautiful land to help liberate!
Cool , my bikeshop , Steershop !!
Such a lovely shop!
Quality stuff, subbed straight away! I've got the exact same bike and tires lol. And sorry about the paid bathrooms, I too find it weird that we still do that
Such a nice setup! I really liked the geometry and those tires were nice on road + gravel/dirt!
There's a Michelangelo statue called the Madonna of Bruges in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges that was also stolen by the Germans and recovered in that salt mine in Austria. It was also featured in that monuments men film.
I realized I had somehow missed seeing the Madonna when after I'd left, oh well- all the more reason to go back sometime to see her :)
About paying for a (clean) toilet. That is standard in many public places in Europe. I never pay there, as I rather go to a cafe and have a coffee or beer or glass of wine, and just enjoy my life. In my many decades living in Europe, I think I only paid about 10 times if that much. Way less than once per year.
Hi!
I think you misunderstood what the man said in the cathedral of Ghent, he said:
"Oh, don't bother. You don't need to make a reservation now, there's no problem. You can get in just like that".
Usually it is indeed with a reservation, but if there's still spots they often just let you in anyways.
I hope you enjoyed your time in Ghent/Belgium :)
Oooh maybe! Trimmed the clip but he did say after that 'no chance'- it's possible I'd misunderstood though, you never no!
It was all good though since it worked out, just a funny story after as I was moments from going to cry in the corner lol- I loved both cities they were so fun!
@@bike.breath I'm really glad you liked it! The painting is an absolute must-see so I'm glad that you were able to witness it in all its glory :D It took a long time to completely restore it, but it turned out really well.
I've lived around the corner from that painting for a decade and to this day have never seen it 😅
@@bike.breath Remember that the man wasn't speaking in his native language. Though he managed to speak to you in understandable English. Wallonia will be something different.
Had a great watch, thank you so much! I was wondering if you would like to share what camera you were using to shoot the pics during this trip ? Loved the look of them:))
@@noelfautsch9656 thanks so much! Part two will be up late next week 😊 . The photos were taken on a Fujifilm X100V.
I feel like I have to apologise for the issues still existing in my country when it comes to cycling. We’re getting there but it’s annoyingly slow at times.
Still miles ahead of North America!
First time I checked you guys out. Heard about the channel from Tim Fitzwater. Cool shit! Enjoy your Euro adventures
-American Stoner in Germany
Thanks for checking it out!
Waffles aren't the tourist traps, the toppings are ;)
Loved that you are telling about it from your home with the book The Flemish Masters next to you :), kinda wonder which one is your favourite and which ones you saw paintings from in Belgium.
Waiting for the Antwerp video, did you visit more places then those? Also curious did you go to the south of Belgium (Different terrain, nice mountainbike routes). Other provinces (Limburg) have also touristic spots for riding your bike (cycling through the trees, cycling through the water).
I only had time for those two locations on this trip, but I'm excited to go back in the near future and am thinking I'll do a Netherlands/Belgium hybrid trip! Re; Flemish masters, I do love Van Eyck, but really enjoyed the Rubens I saw as well. I think the highlight though from the art side of things on the trip was the James Ensor exhibit at KMSKA in Antwerp! There will be a bit on that in the Antwerp video :)
@@bike.breath You didn't vist the Rubens house in Antwerp?
The dutch keep going on and on and on about Rembrant but even Rembrant was a big fan of Rubens, even buying a painting by Rubens, which years later he sold on ... and which now is in the Yale Art Gallery in New Haven USA.
Love my Topstone really is a great bike
It feels like it would be really versatile, great choice!
2:15 Exactly, everytime (almost every weekend I bike in Bruges) and it's sooo shaky
Belgians do care about waffles, that's why you will see, on any tourist in Belgian video, loads of comments telling you "that's not how we eat waffles, it's a tourist trap".
Ooooh! A bit like a poutine tourist trap in Canada, when folks should just be getting it at the depanneur/corner store- noted!
Refreshing video, happy to have stumbled upon it by accident !
Will you be visiting Brussels? If you do, I would definitely suggest to do more than "just the city center", which is beautiful but that's where most tourists will leave it at while Brussels is quite fragmented and worth to be seen from more angles, which can be very diverse.
In case you do: Would suggest to do the "Promenade verte" which is a great cycling road all around the city, especially the North-West side of it, the multiple beautiful parks: Tervurenpark, Bois de la Cambre/Forêt de soignes, Osseghempark, Rouge cloitre, amongst one of the few. And then neighbourhoods like Marolles, Saint-Gilles, Chatelain, Schaarbeek, or Dieweg can we worthwile with all these art nouveau houses and blend of styles even if it's quite hilly and not always well tought out for bikes.
Thank you so much for the reccos! Sadly on that trip I only had a few days so I just visited Ghent/Bruges and Antwerp. I'm hoping to go back and visit other parts of Belgium along with the Netherlands so I've added these spots to the list :)
If you want to cycle from painting to painting you should consider the Netherlands too.
Very much at the top of my list for my next trip across the pond!
What the Netherlands is for commuting on bicycles, Belgium is for recreational cycling. It's basically the center of the professional cycling world. The Canadian flag is because Belgium was liberated by among other the Canadian army.
The commuting game was very impressive in Belgium too, I saw so many fun and inspiring cargo setups! All things bikes are top notch in Belgium from what I saw :)
The towpaths in Belgium are such a pleasure to ride. 99% of my rides are on towpaths
You guys really do have unreal infrastructure! I felt so safe riding in the area, it really lets you take in the beautiful surroundings :)
One of de best bike shop in bruges ( steershop)
Such a great shop and the people were really helpful!
@@bike.breath Ben is an absolute sweetheart. I'm from Gent, but Steershop is where I bought my very first gravelbike, back in 2016. I know that canal ride between Gent and Brugge pretty much by heart. Glad you enjoyed your ride!
Aah the Belgian Blue.
That are 'our' cows. Bred for the milk (yes) and also the meat (steak Belgian Blue).
A dang swan bite my finger in Scotland, i’ll never forgive 🤣.
0:18 Bruges!!!
As a kid, in the south of France, I decided to throw stones at a group of swans while sitting on top of a lofty climbing frame. It seemed a fairly fun game at the time until I fell and the swans (rightly) took their revenge on me. As a result I have been scared of birds ever since!
That's a big bird to be chased by as a kid! Sounds like they stand their ground too, scary!
Did you lock your bike during your trip ?
for sure! The shop rented me a lock as well :)
Ah, you should have carried on for your second full day to Oudenaarde and ridden some of the classics cobbled climbs and Tour of Flanders routes. I don't think there's many more iconic routes in the world. Also, beer. You didn't mention the beer!
The beer was incredible! Some more on that in the next video :) Oudenaarde is on my list for when I can make it back!
what gear came with the bike? can you choose flats or clipless?
I rented the helmet, clipless pedals, bike bag and lock from Steershop, they made is all really easy :)
Subscribed to see if you went to Wallonia and survived . Flanders are flat and very easy.
Sadly I didn't have time on this trip! Just Antwerp and then I headed over to England to visit some friends. Though I definitely want to ride in Wallonia when I can make it back, I'm by no means a high level cyclist but I do like to climb.
@@bike.breath England is awesome! I moved for work from Canada to Belgium in 2023. Staying in Wallonia. It is hardcore terrain. Flat roads are only among rivers. Bike needs lower than 1:1 gear ratio to be able to climb on "regular" roads :)
Very cool video! When you were on foot, how did you secure your bike?
The shop rented me a lock as well! It was such a nice setup, bike, helmet, bag and lock so that I didn't have to lug everything around with me on the other parts of my trip!
Loved this video! Thank you for sharing. Question, what app did you use for navigation? Thanks!
Thanks for watching! I ended up just using google maps, The route was pretty straightforward so I screenshotted directions in case I lost service, but I ended up having service the whole time which was nice :)
Ok so I really should be studying for my exams but here's my two cents:
I'm from Belgium, and I'm currently attending the Ghent University (and living in Ghent part time now).
I've only been to Bruges once with school, we didn't really get to explore it properly, so I feel like I should go back sometime. From what I've seen though, it's not as amazing as people seem to think.
4:54 Can confirm, I'm always surprised when people are so obsessed with our waffles. I do like them, but from our perspective, fries, beer and maybe chocolade are much more Belgian than waffles. Also, most of them are not that good. Liege waffles are godly though.
5:47 As far as I know that's pretty friggin illegal???
5:53 Yup that's Belgian weather for you. You're lucky it didn't rain with little clouds: that seemed like a great day!
6:29 Reading the text, my suspicions were quickly confirmed: war. It reads: "forge war into eternal peace. Memorial of 50 years of the battle of Moerbrugge." So that should mean that in 1944, a mostly Canadian group of the allied army fought a pretty bloody battle against the Nazis. Belgian has been the focal point of both world wars, so you find these things everywhere. Belgium was founded because no one could decide who this piece of land should belong to, so they decided no one could have it. Resulting it a pretty big division in Belgium, between the french and dutch speaking parts. You have only seen the nice parts, when you go have a look around Brussels or further south, you have a very different image.
7:03 Nope, those cows are fed all sorts of stuff to be as bulky as possible. They don't produce milk, they are killed when they are big enough, to eat. That's where steak comes from. ;)
7:29 To be honest, I've never seen such good roads in Belgium. Our roads are notoriously bad so you were lucky.
8:01 Often, when I feel like it, I go for a walk at like 11 pm, though the historic centre. It really is a beautiful place. I've been there so many times and still I can't stop looking around there. I'm surprised you didn't mention the medieval castle you see in the distance. It's called the "Gravensteen", or Counts stone or something like that. If you were to ask me, it's so much more interesting than the painting (really don't understand the hype). Certainly for americans that don't often get to see such historical buildings. You really missed something there! Also, you probably missed half of Ghent's historical centre, from what I can see.
9:25 The actual name is "Het lam Gods", "God's lamb", which sounds a bit underwhelming in comparison lol.
9:38 I did not know the Nazi story. What I do know is that the lower right panel "de rechtvaardige rechters" or "the just judges" is a fake. It was stolen and never found. Don't know when exactly though, I think it was quite a while ago.
I never actually saw the painting. You have to pay to get to see it, and we went there with school so no chance they would let us see that thing with that many people. We did wander around the cathedral though and as it turns out, about seven copies of the painting hang aroud there. Really quite funny.
11:14 You have no idea how many times I have thundered down there on my crappy bike at 7 pm in the dark to catch my train to go home, back when I was stil going back and forth with the train to take my classes.
11:29 I don't think anyone actually uses it though. It's very new and in my experience, quite useless. You never know where exactly the train is going to stop, so you kind of have to guess. As for the occupancy rate, it's wildly inaccurate and probably useless as well: when you have to take the train at a certain time, you take it no matter what.
12:17 Agreed, absolute crime
12:46 Yeah should have looked that up :) It's expensive as well, it's like 4 or 7 euros I believe.
14:31 What an absolute dick.
Anyway, nice video! I really should go back to studying now, I've spent waaaay too long on this
Glad I could help you escape studying for a moment, lol! The Ghent city centre must be very cool at night, whenever I can make it back I'm going to stay there so I can take in more of it! The castle looked really interesting as well but I spent a long time with the painting because I'm just a big Art nerd, so I didn't end up having time. All the more reason to visit the city again! Thanks for watching and for all the insights :)
Oh hell yeah!
The Canadian flag on the monument was probably a commemorative monument for the Canadian troops that helped liberate Belgium during WW2.
Ghent is a super amazing city, the arts and music scene is awesome. Sorry about the rude guy at the end, just your typical disgruntled Flemish male probably. Oh, and Liege waffles are the best in the world, definitely not a tourist thing at all!
If you guys ever come back to Belgium hit me up, I live on the east side next to the German border by the highest point of Belgium called the Haute Fagnes. Our area is incredible for riding and we literally have hundreds of forests with the funnest trails, you guys would have a blast here!
Super excited to see the Antwerp episode, we lived there for 6 years before relocating to the countryside.
Thanks for the info! Your area is amazing and we need to go back as the two of us! Brendan needs to ride here too. I keep saying we should move to Antwerp! Loved it so much. Thanks for watching!
I’m assuming you locked your bike up when you went to the cathedral right ? Was that an easy process ? Finding a place to lock it up ? Did the bike shop instruct you on things like that ? Always lock the bike up everywhere or take the bike with you everywhere when you aren’t riding it ?
Yep exactly! I rented a lock from the shop as well. There were bike racks sprinkled around the city centre in Ghent so I could easily lock up about half a block away!
@ That’s good to know, I was wondering myself as I’ve considered traveling to either Belgium, Netherlands or Luxembourg and was curious about these small details. It was always nice to see you can rent a proper gravel bike.
You don't know why there is a Canadian Flag? World War 1 ... a huge amount of Canadians died in Flanders Fields. They are remembered daily since in Ypres with the Last Post.
Great Voice . So the important stuff . How's the beer ? Chocolate Swiss or Belgium ? Croissants or Pastry ? Put Slovenia on your list
Slovenia is definitely on my list! Beer was 11/10- belgian chocolate all the way, I did stop over in Paris on my way to Belgium and the pain au chocolate was worth the stop :)
12:20: like, .... for real tho!!! dang
There's a reason you have to pay for a toilet in a train station.
some people don't have a lot of respect for public places. I don't mind paying for a toilet if they are well maintained.
Next time go to a café, have a drink, use the toilet there.
at 1:50 you entered a one direction street, full of tourists all the time not knowing where to walk. :D
But glad you liked my hometown and the bikeshop where I go to all the time.
Steer is such a nice shop!
You missed out the belgian/dutch border ☹️
I know! Hoping to go back sometime soon and explore further :)
first 10 seconds and you already violated a one way street in Bruges ;) but great video
Haha I think I was distracted by all the scenery!