Lumaj wandelt

Intro:

At last a varied and captivating hike on the GR 128 West trail.
After the boring 60 km. between Roeselare and Drongen, we discovered a picturesque part of the river Leie at Afsnee. Along that same river we penetrated into the heart of the city of Gent, just to leave it again via the Grand Beguinage at Sint-Amandsberg.
Having reached the castle village Destelbergen the urban territory has been replaced again by the parceled out rural Flanders.

An original hike during which the city never disappointed us.

Back and forth:

Drongen is easy to reach from the train station Gent Sint-Pieters. We boarded an L-train going to Brugge. Five minutes later we reached Drongen. You could also take a bus from Gent.

From Destelbergen there's regular busses going to Gent-Dampoort and Gent Sint-Pieters stations. Lines 34, 35 and 36 offer several connections per hour.

The hike:

Last time we ended our hike at the train station of Drongen. That means we've arrived on the territory of the city of Gent, since Drongen is part of Gent.
The link with Gent is rather recent. Historically the village developed around the abbey that still determines the overall looks of the place. Up until the 17th century it was an isolated area that first belonged to Aalst and later on to Kortrijk. It was only in 1823 that a road was constructed linking Drongen to Gent.
Today the village is clasped between that road, the circular canal around Gent and the railway line. It's still a special corner that has kept its authenticity, thanks to the abbey and an old arm of the river Leie. The typical churchtower is nicknamed the 'Spice mill' because of the shape of it.

Click the picture for more on Picasa (bad mobile phone quality)

From the village the hike follows the old river arm to a hamlet called 'The Three Leies'. Here we get to see the main river. Where that third river in the name comes from, that's something we're still trying to find out, because we can only distinguish two waterways. The river meanders through a moist area which is probably the reason why there's not too many houses around. Moreover they tend to be a lot older and smaller than what we saw in the region around Sint-Martens-Latem. It all looks a lot cosier and the picturesque sights along the river still exist. The small village center of Afsnee looks nice from the other side of the river. It has rightly been protected as an authentic village view.

Past Afsnee we (temporarily) say goodbye to the river and start heading for the city of Gent. First we cross the canal around the city via an impressive railroad bridge and a bit further we suddenly find ourselves in the well known sports and recreation center De Blaarmeersen. This is a good place for a break and for enjoying the comforting sunshine of spring.

The trail signs lead us back to the river and we won't leave it before we're really in the heart of the city. We don't come here very often, but we always liked the place. Gent is an interesting and lively city and the many waterways have created lots of cozy spots. The last decade a lot of effort has been put in renovation projects that offer a successful mix of old and new.
Having the GR 128 trail pass right through Gent was a première for the GR organisation in Flanders. Until then urban centers had always been avoided. Gent was the first important Flemish city where that tradition was broken. We can only say that the experiment has well succeeded. Since that time other cities have followed (Aalst, Lier, Brussel, Leuven, ...). Let's hope Antwerpen will follow too!

The trail shows you a lot of famous places and monuments in Gent. Too much to list here. For those interested, a lot of information can be found on the internet (and even in the topoguide).
Let's immediately jump to the train station of Gent-Dampoort where the trail again leaves the city center.
In the township of Sint-Amandsberg you'll find another gem of the city: the Grand Beguinage. It's a pity they still allow cars to drive around here. Yet, shortly before arriving there we saw a few streets where the locals have proven that it's also possible to do without King Car ...

Another few kilometers of urban quarters and then we're heading for Destelbergen. This village was completely unknown to us. We were surprised by the many castles and countryhouses that were built here over the previous centuries as 'recreational retreats' by the rich city's families. We also noticed the pilgrimage place Bergenkruis situated at the start of a nice country lane. The contrast with the city couldn't be bigger.

We ended this GR 128 trail hike in the center of Destelbergen at the townhall and the statue of Reinaert the Fox and Brown the Bear. Research has situated the story of Reinaert in the region between Hulst and Gent, especially in the Waasland area. One researcher however links an important part of the story to Destelbergen, more precisely to a wide curb in the river Schelde, a few kilometers south of the place whe're standing at now. Brown the Bear was one of Reinaert's victims when he got stuck in a tree trunk from which he was eagerly eating honey. The fox had treacherously knocked out the pegs keeping the trunk open ...

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