Spent the previous two days visiting Ghent, Belgium. Managed to rent a superb apartment on the fringes of the city center. The owner, Serge, had bought an old warehouse which he has converted into a large living space for himself and his wife Gina, as well as a conference facility, and a one bedroom apartment which we had. Industrial chic is the best way to describe it. Some of the old walls and beams have been retained, around which he has constructed an apartment which is both modern and comfortable. It was so nice we were tempted to forgo any sightseeing and just lounge around the apartment.

But sightseeing we were here to do, so sightseeing we went. The first thing we noticed was the amount of rubbish piled in the streets. It really did detract from the overall feel of the city (Serge later told us that the city refuse workers had been on strike and they were still catching up). The area we were in seems to have been the focal point of new immigrants from eastern Europe, notably Bulgarians, Turks and Romanians. Consequently, it appears to be a suburb in transition - lots of shopfronts being converted into residences, a variety of ethnic cafes open. It would be interesting to come back in a few years to see how things have turned out.

The city tram system was quite simple to navigate so we were able to make our way into the city center fairly easily. Here too there appears to be a transitional thing going on - lots of new buildings interspersed amongst the old. Centuries old churches beside new office blocks, old cobbled streets criss-crossed with tramlines, Macdonalds and Starbucks co-existing with traditional patisseries, cafes, and restaurants. And bicycles. Thousands of bikes weaving there way in and out of buses and trams.

Paid a visit to the Ghent City Museum, or Stadsmuseum GentStadsmuseum. It's centered around a 14th-century abbey, and a 17th-century monastery. The exhibits were fairly interesting, and it gives you a chronological history of the development of the city. However, the guide pamphlets were haphazard in the way they presented the info about each exhibit so the insights we were hoping to gain were limited. Even so, we were able to glean enough to realise that Ghent has a long history of being an important city religiously, politically and economically.