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.