This weekend I visited the Belgian city of Antwerp. Over 500,000 people live in this city, the largest city in Flanders, the Dutch speaking northern half of Belgium. I've only stopped here at the train station twice, both times in 2002, and a lot has changed since then.
The first thing you see when you arrive in Antwerp is of course the train station. The station itself is in a beautiful building, built between 1895 and 1905. There is a huge dome at the entrance of the building, and the station itself is covered by a glass and metal vaulted ceiling. The building is made of stone and marble, and every single inch is decorated. Its quite amazing. In the last 5 years though, much has changed. It used to be a station that was not a thru - station, meaning you enter on your track and then it goes in the opposite direction to continue on to the next station. In the last five years, they have undergone a huge reformation, and there are 3 levels of tracks, four tracks are at the lowest level, some 60 feet below ground level, however the center of the station is all open and you can see the top level from the bottom. Its quite amazing and quite modern, even though the entrance/building itself is 100 years old. These lower tracks, and the tunnels that these tracks travel through were built to of course help the flow of train traffic through the city and speed up the travel time. Antwerp is on the main line from Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris. Now this station can be a thru-station, and the traffic continues on below the city. In fact, these tracks just opened for travel less than a month ago. I was really really impressed. This is the best train station I've ever been to.
Outside of the station is a large open square. Cafes line one side, and the Diamond museum and the entrance to the Zoo are on the other side. The main site in Antwerp is the Grote Markt, the town square, with beautiful houses/buildings from the 19th century in Flemish Renaissance style. Town squares and buildings are much more ornately decorated and exquisite than in the Netherlands. They are decorated with gold painted statues and statues of the Virgin Mary are often found on many buildings throughout the city. Town squares are much more 'simple' in the Netherlands. In Belgium, you get the feeling you are more in Paris, with metal works and more gold and more color.
The cathedral dominates the 'skyline' of Antwerp. And I was always pleasantly surprised that it seems after every few 'blocks', you enter into smaller 'squares/plazas' with cafes...it was very nice. There are many different churches to visit in Antwerp, although we only went inside two. Below is a picture of the inside of Onze Lieve Vrouw (Our Lady) Cathedral.
Fashion is also a part of Antwerp. You can see that people here, young and old, dress a bit more fashionable, and that they at least took time to put their outfits together. Not as much punk as the Netherlands (I contribute that punk look to H&M's inexpensive definition and selection of fashion). A store called the "Fashion Palace" is shown below.
We stayed in a B&B, which was very nice, but still seemed they were working on fixing up the place. I had the feeling that I was in some WWI era romance story, with a breakfast/dining room decorated by stained glass and a skylight over the table also in stained glass. The building was 3 stories high, we had to walk up steep narrow steps to the top. The floors were wooden boards (untreated), and the ceiling was also like a wooden attic. There was an Art Nouveau feeling to the place. Actually, I think most of Antwerp and Belgium is a center of Art Nouveau. Maybe that's why I like it so much! :) I really like that style in art and architecture. Below is the Breakfast Room of Casa Luca, where we stayed (www.casaluca.be). The floors in the eating area, kitchen, and entrance hall were all mosaic floors.
We walked around quite a bit, did a bit of shopping, and went to three museums on Sunday - Ruben's House, The Photography Museum, and the main big Art Museum. We were lucky enough to be visiting Antwerp during a wonderful weekend- all the museums were free entrance on Sunday! There was also the 2007 Antwerp Marathon on Sunday as well. We also rode the trams quite a bit. The public transport there is great, and very affordable. The weather was perfect too. It was a very enjoyable weekend.
The first thing you see when you arrive in Antwerp is of course the train station. The station itself is in a beautiful building, built between 1895 and 1905. There is a huge dome at the entrance of the building, and the station itself is covered by a glass and metal vaulted ceiling. The building is made of stone and marble, and every single inch is decorated. Its quite amazing. In the last 5 years though, much has changed. It used to be a station that was not a thru - station, meaning you enter on your track and then it goes in the opposite direction to continue on to the next station. In the last five years, they have undergone a huge reformation, and there are 3 levels of tracks, four tracks are at the lowest level, some 60 feet below ground level, however the center of the station is all open and you can see the top level from the bottom. Its quite amazing and quite modern, even though the entrance/building itself is 100 years old. These lower tracks, and the tunnels that these tracks travel through were built to of course help the flow of train traffic through the city and speed up the travel time. Antwerp is on the main line from Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris. Now this station can be a thru-station, and the traffic continues on below the city. In fact, these tracks just opened for travel less than a month ago. I was really really impressed. This is the best train station I've ever been to.
Outside of the station is a large open square. Cafes line one side, and the Diamond museum and the entrance to the Zoo are on the other side. The main site in Antwerp is the Grote Markt, the town square, with beautiful houses/buildings from the 19th century in Flemish Renaissance style. Town squares and buildings are much more ornately decorated and exquisite than in the Netherlands. They are decorated with gold painted statues and statues of the Virgin Mary are often found on many buildings throughout the city. Town squares are much more 'simple' in the Netherlands. In Belgium, you get the feeling you are more in Paris, with metal works and more gold and more color.
The cathedral dominates the 'skyline' of Antwerp. And I was always pleasantly surprised that it seems after every few 'blocks', you enter into smaller 'squares/plazas' with cafes...it was very nice. There are many different churches to visit in Antwerp, although we only went inside two. Below is a picture of the inside of Onze Lieve Vrouw (Our Lady) Cathedral.
Fashion is also a part of Antwerp. You can see that people here, young and old, dress a bit more fashionable, and that they at least took time to put their outfits together. Not as much punk as the Netherlands (I contribute that punk look to H&M's inexpensive definition and selection of fashion). A store called the "Fashion Palace" is shown below.
We stayed in a B&B, which was very nice, but still seemed they were working on fixing up the place. I had the feeling that I was in some WWI era romance story, with a breakfast/dining room decorated by stained glass and a skylight over the table also in stained glass. The building was 3 stories high, we had to walk up steep narrow steps to the top. The floors were wooden boards (untreated), and the ceiling was also like a wooden attic. There was an Art Nouveau feeling to the place. Actually, I think most of Antwerp and Belgium is a center of Art Nouveau. Maybe that's why I like it so much! :) I really like that style in art and architecture. Below is the Breakfast Room of Casa Luca, where we stayed (www.casaluca.be). The floors in the eating area, kitchen, and entrance hall were all mosaic floors.
We walked around quite a bit, did a bit of shopping, and went to three museums on Sunday - Ruben's House, The Photography Museum, and the main big Art Museum. We were lucky enough to be visiting Antwerp during a wonderful weekend- all the museums were free entrance on Sunday! There was also the 2007 Antwerp Marathon on Sunday as well. We also rode the trams quite a bit. The public transport there is great, and very affordable. The weather was perfect too. It was a very enjoyable weekend.
Also not to be forgotten -- is the food! The highlight for me is the usual stereotypical foods- frites, waffles, and beer! But its all true- and its all good. I had of course some wonderful Kriek (cherry) beer, and seriously the best chocolate covered Belgian waffle! Yum!
I think we will make this 'girls weekend' an annual event. Funny how M is in Wisconsin with my parents this weekend, and I'm here with his. I did learn some interesting stories/tidbits from his youth from his mom and sister. That's always a fun bonus! :-) M returns back to Holland tomorrow morning, and I'm looking forward to it. I've kept quite busy this last week and I've actually not been lonely or upset. But I look forward to his return, of course! I know he has a lot of nice pictures of San Francisco to share, and some exciting stories. I am already aware of one interesting story, but it will have to wait til tomorrow to share with you all!
I think we will make this 'girls weekend' an annual event. Funny how M is in Wisconsin with my parents this weekend, and I'm here with his. I did learn some interesting stories/tidbits from his youth from his mom and sister. That's always a fun bonus! :-) M returns back to Holland tomorrow morning, and I'm looking forward to it. I've kept quite busy this last week and I've actually not been lonely or upset. But I look forward to his return, of course! I know he has a lot of nice pictures of San Francisco to share, and some exciting stories. I am already aware of one interesting story, but it will have to wait til tomorrow to share with you all!
1 comment:
Hey, Christy! I'm glad I found your blog just by clicking "next blog" on top of my screen. I'm planning a trip solo to the BeNeLux area this summer and I really appreciate the information you provide here. Thanks.
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