Galloping in Ghent

Walking in the outskirts of Ghent on our way from the Museum of Art to the centre one Sunday we approached a square where suddenly the sight of  a gathering of horses galloping in all directions surounded us.  Most pulling carriages but also

just trotting along.  We wondered if it was a gymkhana or a gala but no

the notice by the sand covered square explained it all with the help of my trusty Dutch dictionary. Draught Horse (Trekpaard) Promotion (promotie)  Flanders (Vlaanderen).  It is interesting that the derivation of the word Draught is the Old English 'dragen' to draw or haul which is similar to the Dutch 'dragen' to carry -  but wait I'm getting off the point here.  We usually call them Heavy Horses, the gentle giants. Near where I live in Cumbria there is a Heavy Horse centre where you can ride over the fells or gallop along the beaches on Clydesdales and Shire Horses.

But here in Ghent the farmlands had come to the town.  The light chestnut ones like this (and the first photo) with their white tail and main are the Brabant breed or the Belgium Draft Horse.  The American spelling may be the clue that it is the most popular breed of Heavy Horse in the USA.  They are good-looking horses

as are the white ones here taking a genteel turn around the square

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a ride through the alphabet

ABC Wednesday - Trams

Tramline 7 Mortsel - St Pietersvliet, Antwerp

Tram wires can be a pesky nuisance when taking pictures of buildings but lets go with the flow and celebrate their purpose with  a tram on the newly extended  line 7 in Antwerp as it crosses a wide intersection

and goes down narrow street as it crosses the city.

Time to get on board and take a trip. Just seen above the boarding passengers is the electronic sign which shows where the next tram is an how many minutes it is away on this 7.7 km route.  The Antwerp tram system was electrified in 1902

a year later in 1903 so too was this line in Ghent.  The large building it is passing used to be the post office, located in the historic centre of Ghent. In the 1960s the tram system was in decline but in the 1990s it started to expand again and this tram is heading to the Flanders Expo, a place where Tina Turner has sung 12 times.  Both this tram

 Tram Route 4 Moscou, (Ghent)

and this are the most modern, purchased in 2005 they are low floored and double ended.  This bidirectional transport makes it easy to shorten routes when major festivals take over the centre of Ghent.  

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey from A to Z where we are now at the stop for T