Antwerp

I’m a bit behind with my posts! I’ve suffered a knee injury – now whilst trying to rehabilitate my knee I have developed a severe case of hermititus (so called hermit syndrome) which leaves my creativity rather non-existent! Today I finally completed the post, so sorry for the late update!

Last Sunday we took a 20 minute train ride from Brussels to go to Antwerp, the largest city in Flanders and also known as the fashion capital of Belgium (not that I really know why, everybody looked fashionably normal to me!). Thanks to the city’s port, it became the hub of the European cloth industry. The city is well known for its artistic-orientated nature, it is, after all, here that Pieter Paul Rubens lived and created beautiful masterpieces (more about him available on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Paul_Rubens).

The main sights of the city are easily accessible on foot, but trams and busses are widely spread across the city. As most cities here in Belgium, most of the main attractions are situated around the Grote Markt.

Well, with the icy cold creeping in through even my thick winter coat and my phone in hand (I forgot my camera at home!), we began exploring - beginning at the Centraal Station (Central Station). The station itself is very impressive and very beautiful. Not only does it boast an interesting glass roof, its Neo-Classical style is worth the idle walk around the station just to admire it. Around the station is the so called Jewish neighbourhood where a lot of diamond shops are situated. Yet this part of the city is rather unglamorous compared to the impressive station and the idea that actual diamonds are sold here (I recently learnt that around 80% of the world’s entire rough diamond trade is carried out in Antwerp, more specifically, in this neighbourhood).

Antwerp Station 

From there on we walked along a broad shopping street. All the shops were closed, despite it being after 10 o’clock already! At least here, unlike in Bruges, a lot of people were in the churches (probably asking forgiveness for their sins of the night before, and like the rest of the city, sitting out some serious hangover headaches! *jokes jokes* But everywhere in the souvenir shops you see shirts such as: “Bad girls go to Antwerp” etc, and on the streets you see hordes of Scouts (known for their heavy partying) running and playing around in their uniforms and then noticing that most of the shops only open after 12:00, you rather get the impression that the city probably has a thriving Saturday night life!). But, because of sermons being conducted in the churches, we weren't able to go inside.

Beginning of the Shopping Street District

From the shopping street we went to the Reubenshuis, which we wanted to visit after our tour, but completely forgot about afterwards! Here Pieter Paul Rubens lived and created his beautiful artwork. We passed the St Jacobskerk (St Jacob’s church), which is where Rubens was buried. Despite its size, the church is rather hidden around houses and buildings, giving a rather odd impression that it’s much smaller than it really is.

St Jacobskerk

We eventually made it to the Grote Markt. The walk to the Grote Markt is really impressive, with beautiful old buildings and restaurant patios lining the streets. All the street names reflect the specialist markets that used to be around the cathedral (street names such as Lijnwaadmarkt (Linen Market) or Wolstraat (Wool street) and Kaasstraat (Cheese street).

Street leading up to the Grote Markt

Grote Markt - The Brabo Fountain in front of the Stadhuis (town hall)

Finally we arrived at the city’s main square (although it isn’t completely laid out in a square form such as Brussels’). The Grote Markt is really beautiful - The Notre Dame (or Our Lady) Cathedral’s tower soars above the Markt. Right across the cathedral is the nicest souvenir shop called Chocoholic, selling very original chocolate and Tin Tin inspired souvenirs (check out the Chocoholic website here: http://www.chocoholic.be). The cathedral itself is situated between Groenplaats Markt (Green Square) and the Grote Markt – you can get excellent photo opportunities of the cathedral’s spire from these two squares. It is a very beautiful cathedral which took almost two centuries to build and it is also the largest Gothic Cathedral in Belgium. Some of Reuben’s works are also portrayed in the cathedral. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take photographs or tour around the cathedral because of the service being held.

Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kathedraal

View of the Cathedral's spire from the Groenplaats

The Groenplaats is a very picturesque square lined with trees, restaurants and bars. From there we headed to the River Scheldt.  There are a few cafes and food trucks along the river, but we opted for some frite (fries) – mine with pickless sauce (which I’m sure meant to be “pickles”!) and Armand’s with traditional mayo. Finally! A chance to rest while watching the boats pass by on the river in front of us!

Boat on the River Scheldt

After a delicious meal/snack (and the leftovers being fed to the seagulls and doves) we headed East in Jordaenskaai (a street) to see the Vleeshuis (Meat house) – an interesting building which housed the Butcher’s Guild for three centuries and which is now a music museum. The red brick and white stone layers of the building looks like streaky bacon, living up to its name! The area around the Vleeshuis used to be the most populated area in Antwerp – when walking around the cobblestoned streets and seeing the tiny houses along the streets, you can imagine the sordid life that used to be lived in a place like this. Armand also mentioned that it almost reminds him of scenes in the movie Sweeny Todd. I couldn’t agree more.

With aching feet and looming dark clouds ahead, we decided to first go to a part of the harbour and gradually head back to the station.

Vleeshuis

Overall, Antwerp is a city that I would definitely like to visit again. I do think it is worth a two day trip where one should take the time to visit the art museums, the Reuben’s Huis and also see for yourself if you think the city deserves the name of the “fashionable capital” of Belgium (when you’re not sitting in front of the haute-couture catwalks).

Have you ever been to Antwerp? What is your impression of it?