Antwerp

The kids really wanted to visit one more country before we return to the US, so on our second try, there was no strike in Belgium and we made it to Antwerp. As a bonus, our good friends were able to meet us there and spend a fun day there with us. The connection there is not direct, we had to take three trains, but it was still under two hours, so doable as a day trip.

We had mixed feelings about Antwerp. It has some great old and new features, but somehow it  did not feel to us as seamless as in some of the other towns we visited. Maybe it had something to do with the massive construction going on everywhere, but it just did not completely mashed for us. Nevertheless, we had an amazing time and enjoyed a lot of what this great city has to offer.

The train station itself is a great tourist attraction, as it preserved the historical building and built around and under to expand. The platforms are stacked on top of each other in the modern part of it, while the main hall showcases the original architecture.

Antwerp is a home to another famous painter, Paul Rubens, and we were able to visit his house. The house and the gardens are beautiful, but to our disappointment featured very few paintings of the painter himself. There were many paintings by other masters though as well as some beautiful original furnishing, and we enjoyed learning about the life during his time. For example we learned that the bed was so short, because people slept in semi-seated position, to promote digestion after big meals:-)

After that we wandered around town to see some of the more famous sights, like the townhouse with all the flags nd tasted some Belgian chocolate from the street. It was delicious. We also enjoyed listening to a band perform at the square, had some ice-cream (kids and moms) and beer (dads).

Our next stop was the impressive Cathedral of Our Lady, which begun construction in 14th century, but took two more centuries to complete, like many other buildings at that time. There is an exhibit inside about the construction. The cathedral is one of the biggest in Europe and showcases magnificent attention to detail in all its decorations, including the many side chapels. The kids were excited to visit the catacombs under the cathedral, although disappointed it was empty.

After that we headed to the water, past the Steen Castle  and on the promenade with a view of parts of the port.

Our last stop was the Port Authority Museum, we did not have time for the actual museum, but we rode the escalators to the top of the building to enjoy the views through the women glass along the way, as it wraps around the building. From the roof  we had an unrestricted view of all the places we visited and more. The kids had fun climbing the play boat structure at the bottom.

Overall we rode six trains that day, walked over nine miles and had a lot of fun exploring Antwerp while spending time with friends. It was another successful trip on our adventures.

Crete

I am finally updating with our Crete trip, I will mostly let the pictures speak to make it easier to catch up.

Crete was amazing: the sea, the mountains, the Creta Maris Resort, the food, the people and so much more. You can tell the island was affected by the economic downturn though, as you drive through, you see many abandoned buildings, including large number of construction sites at various stages of completion left to deteriorate. Hopefully it will turn around again soon, the island deserves to thrive.

We went there to accompany Karel at a conference, since we were already in Europe, it was much easier and we jumped at the opportunity. The engineers certainly know how to pick a conference venue! The resort was beautiful and large enough,  with its sandy and rocky beaches, many pools, multiple restaurants and bars, so you would not need to take a step outside, but we did anyway, because there is a lot more to see. But when Karel was working, it was easy to keep ourselves busy too. Here are some pictures from the resort.

The weather was nice and were lucky to enjoy some quiet sea for snorkeling, as well as some waves for jumping in them or facing them on floaties, and of course some beach time.

Karel kept telling the kids the ocean is the best and biggest pool, but we could not deny them the smaller ones completely, especially since there were water slides. We mostly went to the pools when Karel was attending the conference. Sylvia even made a little friend there who spoke english, we have not meet many of those in Europe, so she was thrilled.

To see more than just the resort, we went on a guided trip, that started with visit to the Knossos Archeological Site, where remains of the magnificent Knossos Palace have been unearthed and partially restored. The palace was build 3,700 years ago and there is evidence that it sits on two layers of older buildings, the oldest one dating to neolithic era, 6,000 BC. In Greece, the history is intertwined with the myths and legends and the Knossos Palace is at the center of both. It was home to king Minos, and maybe the legendary minotaurs (we were disappointed we did not get to see him:-). Phillip was especially excited to visit , as he has been studying the ancient Greek civilization, but it was a magnificent experience for all of us.

After the palace tour, the bus took us to the mountains, the drive itself was great for the spectacular views. We stopped at a 600-years-old monastery, turned convent of Kera Kardiotissa Convent (Our Lady of the Heart). It is a home of seven nuns, who maintain the old church and surrounding buildings. It is not allowed to take pictures inside, but the church is beautiful and so are the partially preserved frescos. The courtyard had beautiful flowers and you can admire the view.

After that we were almost at the entrance to the Lassithi Plato, which surrounded by mountains in the elevation of 2,750 feet undeserved as refuge in different times. It is unique because it has fertile ground at such hight. You can find small white windmills, local invention, that were used for pumping water from under the surface.

On the other side is entrance to the Diction Cave, which according to legend, is the birth place of Zeus himself. To enter the cave, you have o climb an elevation of one 100 meters and the locals offer a donkey taxi to take you there. The kids, especially Sylvia, really wanted to ride the donkey, so we hired one and they took turns on it. The walk was nice though and offered more of the beautiful views. The cave itself is very nice, with stalagmites and stalactites and to see it all you need to descend 200 steps, which you also have to climb back. No wonder my phone was showing we climbed 37 floors that day.

We really loved Crete and would like to come back. The people are friendly and wenxperinced a lot, but there is so much more we did not get to see and do. And the food and wine was pretty good too!

The Canals of ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Hieronymus Bosch

I am finally getting to part two of our trip the ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a historical City with modern vibe that we fell in love with.  Part one ended with lunch, so after lunch we headed back to the boat dock for the canal tour. The boats are small, and only seat about 16 people, and there is a good reason for it. The canals lead under buildings in long stretches and are very narrow in places and ceilings are low enough to touch.  It was a serene experience, compared to the busy canals of Amsterdam, at ‘s-Hertogenbosch is completely different – peaceful, quiet and mostly removed from the hustle and bustle of the lively City. The canals are actually restored old sewers and you can still see the inlets from the buildings. Only about 3.5km of the original 20km remains, and only one company is licensed to use it commercially.

Part of the tour takes you under the City walls, which were fortified defenses for the City, once you emerge from the tunnel in the river, all the sudden you are in  a countryside, looking at a big wall and can imagine how intimidating it would have been to any would be conquerors. After that you head back into the narrow canals under the City. The tour takes about 50 minutes and is definitely worth the time and trouble.  The only downside is that the tours are offered in Dutch only, they give you an english summer to read, but we could tell the guide was telling a lot of stories and provided details we did not get to enjoy:-)

We could not leave ‘s-Hertogenbosch, without visiting the Hieronymus Bosch Art Center, dedicated to it’s most famous citizen. Hieronymus Bosh was born  Jheronimus van Aken, but was signing his work Bosh (meaning forest), the City’s commonly used nickname. Reminders of his artwork are everywhere in the City, and there is a statue of him on the main square, but the Art Center has a comprehensive collection about his work, his influence and a little about his life, even though not much is known.

The reproductions are full size, colored and high quality and you can see the amazing details of his work. Moreover, many sculptures are scattered through the building, which bring his fantastical creatures to life.

The building itself is beautiful too, it is a former church and you can visit the tower to see the city from above. In the basement is a stylized worksop with the painter himself as he would work there.

After that we were pretty tired, so we had some gelato and headed home, for some dinner and beer in a pub just a block away from our house. It was a great trip,  there are so many small historical cities with so much to offer, but don’t get mentioned as prominently as the big ones. Maybe it is better, so you have look harder to be rewarded and it limits the number of tourists to put up with:-)