When we were planning our trip to Ghent, I had thought that a day trip to Dinant would be fabulous, but closer examination of the logistics showed that it would involve nearly seven hours of travel, which cuts into the day a little. A bit of quick research and we settled on Antwerp, and we have no regrets!
We took the train and were rather pleased with the train station. I do love a beautiful train station!
This sculpture caught my eye. This should be the world’s mantra – “Peace through Prosperity”!
The minute we began walking we didn’t know where to look. So many beautiful buildings, and I did a very poor job of taking photos because I was too busy gawking. This is a classic view that unfolded during a walk.
We wandered down to the Grote Markt, which is an historic triangular square in the old town center surrounded by 16th century Renaissance architecture and these ornate and very beautiful guildhalls. I believe that the tallest building is crowned by a statue of St George slaying the dragon.
Brabo Fountain is a focal point of the Grote Markt and is quite interesting. It stands in front of the City Hall, and I struggled to make sense of it.
It’s not the most beautiful fountain I’ve ever seen, but I was quite intrigued by the severed hand which was spurting water. I googled it and it is depicting the Roman soldier Silvius Brabo casting the severed hand of the giant Druoon Antigoon into the Scheldt River.
We walked to the river and stood on a bridge looking back at the city. Is this not the most beautiful sight?
Our youngest son sends us maps with the best coffee shops and bakeries, and with the sights we should visit. This saves me a lot of research and he finds things that I think I would miss. Case in point is the wooden escalator We have seen the one in Macy’s in New York, but this one is a whole other level. It’s housed in a most unprepossessing building, and, although the map delivered us there, we were hesitant to go in. However, there was not one, but two escalators, going down to a tunnel which runs under the river, connecting the left and right banks of the river. They are very steep, and they are beautifully made. Wood, with brass edges on the steps. The sides are copper, and the handrails are wood.
I am so pleased we didn’t miss this.
Also on his list was Het Steen, which means “The Stone” in Dutch and is Antwerp’s oldest building, being a medieval fortress located on the banks of the Scheldt River. It’s had a few purposes: prison, an alderman’s residence, a court of justice, and a maritime museum, but is now a visitor’s centre.
This statue is of Lange Wapper and I had no idea about what it depicted. A bit of reading showed that he is a giant and a trickster and the centre of a lot of folkloric stories.
There’s a wine bar inside the castle and it’s quite lovely.
I confess that I don’t remember where this photo was taken, although my phone tells me that it’s still at Het Steen, which doesn’t make sense to me, unless it’s in the area. I took the photo because I loved the grouping of the buildings.
We walked back down to the town centre and came across this little alleyway. It was only afterwards that we realised it was on “the list” from our son.
It’s Vlaaikensgang, a hidden 16th-century medieval alley and courtyard. So much beauty in this little alley, and I was especially taken with the vine with the bumpy stem. Sadly, it is a invasive species in Australia, so we will not be acquiring one. I read that it was slated for demolition but was saved, and thank goodness too!
Next on his list was MAS – Museum aan de Stroom. This is Antwerp’s largest museum which is a 60-metre tall postmodern tower built with red Indian sandstone and curved glass panels. Entry to the building is free and we took escalators up to the roof.
This is a collection of the photos we took at various points during our visit.
This one made my stomach churn, these two figures are standing right on the edge many floors up.
These were taken from the roof. It was lovely to see people setting out picnics up there. There are 360° views from the roof.
Whilst the roof had flat glass, all the other floors had curved glass. This floor had a couple of these “day beds” for reflection and writing.
This is to show a rather lovely view and also the way the curved glass worked.
His map also sent us to Parkbrug, which was a bit of a pain to get to, and when we got there we were unsure about why we were there. However, we climbed the stairs up to this quite lovely bridge. It’s so good to see something as pedestrian (no pun intended) as a bridge can be designed so beautifully.
My phone ran out of battery at this point, so no more photos, but we had a lovely walk back to the train station, and a very smooth ride back to Ghent.
Antwerp was beautiful and I’m so glad we went.
