GHENT & HEIDELBERG

Hi Everybody,

Our adventure continues in Ghent, including the interesting Psychiatry Museum which we now learn is still a working mental hospital. There were plenty of worrying exhibits including treatments of (I hope) a previous age and, as one might expect some fairly scary paintings and sculptures completed by the patients. There was also a strange cubicle which I could not resist. I answered a series of questions and performed various tasks as requested. At the end the very least I expected was some fairground printout saying I was bonkers but instead the screen simply said "your data has been recorded. If you are concerned please consult a doctor." If I wasn't concerned then....
Otherwise Ghent was a delightful city with plenty of historic sites and interesting bars with beers seldom seen outside the country. As Andy pointed out in his comment it is not just in Belgium where changes of usage exist but at least here we had plenty here to choose from.
A last view of Ghent:

before making the longish motorway journey into Germany and down to Heidelberg. We had been here 24 years ago in our rather basic motorhome on our 88/89 sabbatical. We will have to look back at our old photos to see what might have changed. Some things remembered, others not but we both seem to recall bad weather last time we went whereas this last few days has allowed us to see the city at its best.

We stayed on the banks of the Neckar  which was only a 5km cycle ride into town and a slow 15 minute walk up to the castle.

Considering the amount of travelling we do, my grasp of German is pretty shoddy, i understand about 50 words excluding numbers and greetings. This is however 48 words more than my knowledge of Flemish. The two words I retain for future use are for shop (winkel) and chicken (kip). Should there be a sudden explosion of the number of chicken shops in Belgium I will have no problem identifying them. Otherwise, I will continue to speak loudly in English.
Our cycle route back from Heidelberg took in a pretty riverside 'biergarten' where we quenched our thirst with the local Heidelberger Weisebier:

 before going home for a well earned soak.

I'll have to trim my beard again!
Next post will see us in Regensberg before heading south into Austria.
Toodle Pip.
J&P