The timber roof over the St. Joseph Hospital

Today was the last day of the congress. Most of the day was free to try the carillons, visit the museums, take a walking tour of the city and pack. The one scheduled concert at 3pm was to be a Tango concert with two portable carillons and dancers. That was rained out, unfortunately.

I took time to visit the Groeninge Museum

and saw wonderful Flemish Primitive paintings and other gems of Belgian art. This afternoon I visited the Saint Joseph Hospital, an 800 year old building that that was once the city's largest institution for the sick and needy. The museum has masterpieces by Hans Memling, one of the most famous of the Flemish Primitive painters.

The clock play drum. Only 30,500 holes to program the tunes

I also took time to visit the tower to try the bells. The drum that runs the automatic player is impressive. It's been marking the 1/8 hours everyday since 1748.(Yes! every 7.5 minutes)

After a closing reception with more free beer and little sandwiches in the old Provincial Government Hall, I took the evening to join a few people for more beer and dinner at a restaurant cafe on the Grote Markt overlooking the bell tower. The rain had cleared and the sun was shining again.

Now it's time to pack and get ready for a morning flight from Brussels.