"great pubs make for less sleep" Gent Favorite Tip by richiecdisc

Favorite thing: Great pubs make Ghent even more attractive.

Fondest memory: VTer Sabsi picked us up at the Dusseldorf airport and we headed down to Im Fuschen, a local brewpub for a beery breakfast before heading to Belgium. It was pouring the whole way there and Doreen and I slept most of the way, having gotten little of it on our flight over from Florida. Once in Ghent, our drivers headed to a pub to meet up with another VTer Caro and we walked over to our Bed & Breakfast to drop off our backpacks and change our clothes. We met up the others and rather than having a beer of all things I of all people suggested we do some sightseeing before it got dark. Well, it was winter and it was already after 3 PM so I was being nice since my wife had never seen the Ghent, the Gothic capital. It had cleared enough for a few photos and we enjoyed our scenic if brief tour of the sights. We decided to grab some food and Sabsi and Thomas went to Bruges to get their room after one beer. After dinner, Caro, Doreen and I set off on a pub crawl that only I could organize and only Caro could navigate! The Hop Duvel is way off the beaten path but Caro found it easily despite the dark and dreary weather. It was unfortunately not as good as my first pass through town five years ago so we headed to new gem The Trappisten Huis and found it charming and well stocked with excellent beers. We finished up The Trollekelder which was fairly close to our B & B where Caro had wisely parked. She dropped us off as any great guide at an all too late hour since she planned on picking us up early the next morning for a day excursion to Bruges to meet back up with our other VT mates. Some 15 Belgian beers since our arrival along with a comfy B & B and sound sleep however short lived would be upon us soon.