From Comics to Ghent

Comics to Ghent

The first thing I did this morning was return to the Comic Strip museum.  I went and enjoyed it a great deal.  It was primarily European comic strip artists such as Herge (maker of Tintin) and Peyo (maker of Smurfs), though there were others mentioned as well.  It was fun.  Afterwards I had considered leaving the country, and possibly taking a train to Luxembourg or Paris, but the cheapest trains were 200 euros or more.  So instead, I went to Ghent.  Ghent is a city I knew nothing about, except that there was a treaty signed here (ended the War of 1812).  It was a very beautiful place, and a lot of fun, also a very friendly town.  It took almost an hour to walk from the train station to the center of town (took the tram back when leaving), but once there it was nice.  I climbed the Bell Tower, went to the gorgeous cathedral, then to Gravensteen Castle.  I grabbed some take-away, then took the train back for a slightly early and more relaxed evening.  Tomorrow is my final day in Europe, as I fly back to the States on Thursday.  I have mixed feelings about the end of this amazing adventure, both very sad (that it's all ending far too soon) and very happy (to be going back to Rachel and my family).