(DAY 7)

We had three goals to accomplish before leaving Ghent on Monday:

1. see Jan van Eyke’s Adoration of the Mystic Lamb at Saint Bavo’s Cathedral
2. visit Belfort, the Ghent Belfry
3. eat at a vegetarian restaurant listed on the veggie map

Everything about Saint Bavo’s was incredible. First, I spent half an hour listening to an audio guide about the altarpiece (a few panels of which we’d seen in restoration at the Museum of Fine Arts, a five year project that began this October). I cut it short only because we did need to catch a train some time that day.

Not only are the altarpiece and the cathedral building itself awe-inspiring, so are the wall paintings, the windows, the organ, the oak and marble pulpit, the illuminated manuscripts, and the 12th century frescoes in the crypt…

Despite all the “no camera” signage, I snuck one photo of some newer stained glass:

See more photos of Saint Bavo’s using Google Images.