Gosh. Has it been 2 years already since I visited Antwerp in northern Belgium?  I had such a good time there, I want to go back.  Great shopping, great chocolate, fascinating architecture (more than 100 Art Nouveau buildings.)  But therein lies the problem of living in Europe, if you can call it a problem.  There are so many wonderful cities to visit, that I rarely go back to my favourite ones coz I’m too busy visiting other cities!  For example, I’d like to return to Amsterdam where I went in December 2014, and I hear The Hague is even nicer.

Cities on my wish list for 2016 include Stockholm, Lisbon and Porto, back to Florence over Christmas, London of course for my annual summer visit….and I’m already booked for New York early April.

I’m reposting below my trip to Antwerp in December 2013.  I highly recommend Belgium as a tourist destination (Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp.)  Then a quick train trip over the border into Holland for Amsterdam, The Hague and other cities.  And then why not continue heading north-east?  Heck, if I had my druthers, I’d just keep going. Onwards to Lübeck, Germany (marzipan and Thomas Mann), then up to Copenhagen then over to Sweden by boat.  And since you’re up there, why not visit the European Capital of Culture, Tallinn in Estonia?   Then down to beautiful Riga in Latvia where my grandfather is from? 

Oh dear, I can feel it coming on.  I’ve got the travel bug.  It’s like the flu, but worse.  All I want is to be free to travel.  That’s all I’ve ever wanted.

Freshly returned from Belgium (3 days, 3 nights) and my sentiment remains the same: I really like this country. Every time I go, I have a marvellous time. Antwerp: a compact, cosmopolitan city inhabited by friendly, low-key citizens. I do not speak a single word of Flemish (Belgian Dutch), however I did study German for a year in Grade 10 which helped me recognize some words. (Flemish is a Germanic language.) But everyone speaks English or French, so communicating with Antwerpians (??) is not a problem.

Arriving at the magnificent train station (above), I picked up a city map from the information desk, walked in a straight line to the Old Town and got hopelessly lost. I must have walked round and round the cathedral at least three times, dragging my small suitcase over the cobblestoned streets. The layout makes no sense at all in the Old Town. It took me an hour to find the square where my rental accommodation was located. Here’s the square below:

Karin, the bubbly young woman who services the flats (and who resembles a young Charlotte Rampling), greeted me and showed me around the place. I had rented a small furnished flat which turned out to be super-cozy, warm and quiet. And perfectly located. Most of what you want to visit is in the Old Town. I will return to that flat on my next trip to Antwerp because it was comfortable and because there’s an ILLY espresso machine in the small kitchen. There’s also a beautiful all-marble bathroom.

On that first day I ended up tossing the map and got lost instead. I never did get the hang of the confusing network of winding, maze-like streets. By sheer chance, I stumbled across a recommended bistro that I was actually looking for called Chez Fred, located at number 83 Kloosterstraat. Taking refuge from a sudden downpour, I stepped inside its dim interior and enjoyed an early dinner of Belgian beef stew accompanied by a bowl of fries and washed down with a dark Leffe beer. As I ate the fries, I thought that maybe a side of mashed potatoes would have been preferable so as to soak up the delicious gravy from the stew. Small buns and slices of dark rye bread were distributed to each diner in a little paper bag.

Observation: it seems to me that the Flemish like dimly-lit interiors. Everywhere I went (including my rental apartment) I thought that another lamp was needed. After dinner I scurried back to my lodgings and helped myself to the DVD collection there. I chose The Children’s Hour with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine (1961). Stretched luxuriously across the bed in the dim, quiet bedroom, I ended my first day in Antwerp warm, fed and happy.

The next day I hit the boutiques and found this one at number 46 Steenhouwersvest:

Rundholz is a German label. The saleswoman was so engaging that I ended up in the store for two hours, talking with her and trying on clothes. In all my years in Paris I have never encountered a super-friendly, warm and helpful saleswoman.

I ended up buying this coat that Anneke is modelling (below) along with a dress and a scarf, all at a 30% pre-Christmas discount. At a nearby store I purchased a pair of ankle-length, flat boots to go with my new outfit. This is the style that many women in Antwerp are wearing: mid-calf asymmetrical skirt, layered clothing on top, flat short boots and leather handbag resting on hip, strap worn diagonally across the chest. Stylish yet comfortable.

The clothes of Carsten and Lenka Rundholz are described as follows: unconventional cuts, whimsical details and a sculptural quality to make garments that are intelligently stylish and a pleasure to wear. For women who are confident and individualistic in their choice of style.  Yup, that’s me…confident and individualistic.

Back to the flat, which was 5 minutes away. I passed the Gunther Watté Chocolate Café at number 30 Steenhouwersvest.

I went inside and ordered a divine cup of hot chocolate for 3 euros 50. You have a choice of dark, milk or white chocolate. I chose dark. Don’t you love these large, white porcelain cups?

I have more photos and tales to tell and even a short video to post (I have a new video feature now), but it’ll have to wait until this weekend. My friend, Rosemary from London, is arriving today and we’re going out.

Afscheid! (that’s au revoir in Dutch….I think.)

Here’s the post that follows:

Au revoir, Antwerp