Brugge to Ghent by Bike

Ahhh, the luxury of a hotel night. A bathroom only a few steps away from the bed and a large breakfast just a short elevator ride from the room door. We woke feeling pretty exhausted to be honest, but the gentle start, a splendid shower and big feed soon got us back on track.

We checked out of Martin Hotel, exited through a fine archway and headed out of town..

A big river/canal connects Brugge to Ghent (also spelt Gent), and the F6 cycle route led us directly there in a very uncomplicated fashion.

The trail was easy to follow and busy at times, but generally, it was nice riding alongside the river. In some ways it was the least ‘interesting’ of the days so far as we didn’t go through any other towns or villages, but we were happy to be just turning the peddles through a pleasantly warm summers day.

We stopped for lunch in a field full of sweetcorn. It was tempting to take one for dinner tonight, but it didn’t feel right to!

Finally, way up ahead, the spires and towers of Ghent city centre came into view and we knew we were getting close.

It was actually a bit of a shock arriving into the bustle of a big city in a Saturday afternoon! So many people! And bikes! And trams! And buses! Chaos! We pulled over at a little coffee shop and took a seat to catch our breath and take it all in!

We had to push our bikes through the central square as there was so much to see – and even more to avoid! Buses, trams, mopeds, pedestrians, taxis and cyclists all jostled for position on and off the road…

Luckily for us, our AirBnB host had said we could check in at 15:00, so we headed straight to the apartment. It’s on the edge of the centre and just off a busy road. The owner had said we were fine to keep our bikes inside, but the hall way was only just wide enough to squeeze in!

We’ve decided to stay here for a couple of nights so that we can have a full day off the bikes tomorrow, have a bit of a rest from peddling and also to explore a bit of the city without having to worry about the bikes. After a shower and a change of clothes, we walked out to have a drink in the evening sun outside the very modern looking library.