We had a short cruise this morning after breakfast. Marylou, Jerry, and Ross were ready to get on with the ride. It was only 21 miles because we had lunch back on the barge and then a walking tour in Ghent. The wind today, however, was 18-19 mph out of the SSW and that’s the direction we rode.

Our boat dropped us off then headed on down the river.

We saw many nice brick houses throughout the countryside and this one had interesting shutters and a small turret.

We had a couple of small ferry crossings to make this morning. At Appels ferry we waited for the captain to leave his house to take our group across a small canal. We were getting closer to that part of Belgium where Flander’s Field is located. Nice poppies were here along the road.

Ross took another poppy photo with Tom and me stopped on the road.

We had our usual van stop about halfway through the ride for snacks and water.  This was one unusual sight along the ride. We’re not sure why it was there; Ross thought it came in pretty low.

Then we stopped at the Den Barbier Melle. This was primarily a barber shop.

This shop also sold Delirium beer which is well known in Belgium because of the pink elephant on the label and is made in Melle.

There were also lots of newspaper, etc., clippings on the wall about the proprietor’s activities, his travels to other countries, and special guests.

He also had a gourmet coffee shop area and sold souvenirs.

So it was a multi-faceted barber shop. Felix did get a minimal trim while we were there.

We met up with Vesna on the outskirts of Ghent. She led us the last three miles through town to our boat which was just arriving.

It was nearly 1 pm which gave us just enough time to shower before lunch onboard. The highlight was dessert;  a wonderful pancake with ice cream and almonds.

Then we were off with Vesna on foot into Ghent for a boat ride through the canals.

It was raining on us a bit but the water in the canal from past rain was so high that the boats could not fit under bridges with a protective awning overhead.

Lots of beautiful buildings.

This one was a library made to look like a stack of books.

There was a feeling of Venice here.

We also went by the old city wall and the back of Gravenstein Castle, a medieval castle dating back to 1180 which was the residence of the Counts of Flanders. It’s now a museum.

Graceful weeping willows on the bank.

Another photo looking down the canal.

What we really wanted to see here, however, was inside the St. Bavo Cathedral.

Construction on the Cathedral began in the late 13th century and was considered complete in 1569. The naves are built of marble and stone and the Cathredral contains several works of art including a painting by Peter Paul Rubens.

We came to see the famous Ghent Altarpiece which was done by brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck during the 1420s and 1430s. It’s in a separate room and we were not allowed to take photos but we got to walk by both the front and back of the Altarpiece.

It contains multiple panels including panels on the back which show when the Altarpiece is closed up. Two of the panels were stolen in 1934. One was returned but the other is still missing.

The missing panel is the one in the lower left corner of the photo and titled, “The Just Judges.” Of course, Ross and Tom spent the rest of the trip thinking about where the missing panel might be.

During World War II,  the Altarpiece was taken by Hitler and kept in a salt mine through much of the war. Allied forces recovered it in 1945 and the story of the recovery is shown in the 2014 film, The Monuments Men.

After leaving the Cathedral, we take another photo from down the street.

Dinner is at a local restaurant recommended by our guides. We end up having steak and the ubiquitous French fries even though lots of chickens are on display in a cooler behind Jerry.  Then we go back to the boat for the night.