We both really enjoyed Antwerp. As a city, it appealed to us both. Even though it doesn't have the history of a place like Bruges, because of the wars, it had its own charms. The day was overcast and likely to rain, but we were ready.
Our walking tour here started at the train station, and we made our way across the city. We had lunch in a wonderful little place, the Grand Café Horta, which took much of the materials from Victor Horta's Art Nouveau building, the Maison de Peuple in Brussels, when it was torn down. It's lovely, and the food matched.
Our walk somehow was quite long this day, and we very nearly missed the one place that Greg most wanted to visit: the Museum Plantin-Moretus, which is housed in the 16th century home of Christopher Plantin. Antwerp was once one of the centers of printing, and this museum holds not only Plantin's library and machinery/type materials, but also an original Gutenberg Bible, woodcuts, presses, etc. It really was quite spectacular, even if we had to breeze through it (relatively speaking for us, anyway).
Two of these presses are among the oldest known.
The sky cleared on our way back, so we stopped in the Grote Markt for a drink. Actually we spent quite some time here, just marveling again at the town squares. It's wonderfully introspective to be in a place where people have gathered and wandered and conducted business for centuries. (I get this thought often in Native communities too.) I not only find it very comforting, but also rather inspiring.
Neither of us was particularly keen on this sculpture. Silvius Brabo is reported to be the nephew of Julius Caesar, and here he is throwing the hand of the giant Antigonius into the River Scheldt. Water spouts from the severed hand, and from the neck. Sadly, unless he's planning a shotput-type throw, he's facing the wrong way for the river. What we did enjoy, however, were the old guild buildings. We were fascinated by this block of five across the way. The two on the left both seem to be of stone, and so are likely contemporaries; likewise the three on the right, made of brick. However, look at their windows and the levels between them. Clearly there were no guidelines or regulations about floor heights, as none of these seem to match.
The train station, Centraal Station, in Antwerp is quite lovely. These two images try to show it off. The first is the main clock in the center of the building, while the second is a platform. I'm afraid what I best captured, however, is a metaphor. There is something about this part of the world--perhaps owing to Swiss chronometry--but all the clocks, no matter how old the cathedral or the building, not only work, but work beautifully. It never ceased to amaze.
One of our parting notes in Belgium related to escalators. We have lots of them in DC, but the ones in Belgium only move when you do--yes, they start up as you approach, and otherwise remain dormant. Quite the idea! I wonder if that makes them more or less prone to breakdown though. In any case, we had a last day in Brussels to finish our sightseeing and shopping (yes, family, there are gifts from Belgium en route) before we parted ways for the rest of our European adventures.
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