Going to the Gravensteen

Gravensteen in Ghent

Gravensteen in Ghent

Not knowing about a destination can be quite frustrating. It used to be that we would have a map whenever we go to a new place but we didn’t manage to find a tourist center at the train station so we were basically wandering around the city center rather aimlessly. The river is actually a good way to explore the city. A lot of the historic buildings are found near the river and I think it is a picturesque area. On my mobile phone, I brought up Google Maps and one of the landmarks which it showed me was something called Gravensteen. I wasn’t sure what it was, I have been trying to limit the use of the mobile phone here since we need it to navigate. I didn’t have a batter pack with me so it was best to be prudent with the use of the phone.

A Look at the Gravensteen in Ghent

A Look at the Gravensteen in Ghent

Turns out we were not too far from the Gravensteen, it is also near the water but we needed to cross a bridge to get there. I was then surprised to know that the Gravensteen is a castle. This castle is probably our first since coming to Belgium. It wasn’t very tall but it looked very old. True enough, it was built in the year 1180, that’s almost a thousand years old. Somehow through maintenance, the castle is still holding up quite well. We tried to enter the castle but we only go just past the main entrance. There is an entrance fee here but it seemed to be more like a kids place to play knights and such things. This a museum here as well but I didn’t go in anymore. Besides, it was still raining.

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