Everytime I thought about Antwerp, my imagination would go wild. I imagined it as a stylish and cosmopolitan place, but at the same time keeping the essence of tradition. I imagined it beautiful and majestic. And I wasn’t wrong. As soon as I got to Antwerp I knew I was in a special place: the train station is magnificient, absolutely beautiful. Actually, one of the most beautiful buildings I saw in Antwerp.
However, once I got from the station I faced the same problems I had faced in Ghent: construction works in several streets and gloomy, really dark weather. In my 4 days trip I was in general really lucky with the weather. But that day was a black Friday. As usual, I let myself being influenced by the weather and I was myself feeling a bit moody. The beauty of the train station cheered me up a bit, but when I got to the main street and all I could see was construction works, I fell again in mild depression.
I went to find my hostel, left my luggage there, and decided there was no space to feel down. I was in Antwerp, one of the cities that I’ve been wanting to visit for years. I needed to find my way. And I did. I found the Grote Markt, again, another beautiful plaza. I rested for a while in that classy and majestic place. Took my pictures and then decided to go for a big walk along the river.
However, it wasn’t definitely my lucky day. Again, due to construction works, the sidewalk was closed and I was obliged to walk in the same lane dedicated to cyclists. The risk of being ran over by a bike was really high, but the worse thing was I couldn’t find a way out. I kept walking and walking, starting to feel really tired and again depressed. Then I realised I haven’t eaten anything for hours, and I didn’t have any snacks with me.
When I finally found a way out, I just decided to give up. My plan was to walk all the way until the building designed by Hadid, but I just couldn’t. Not only because I was feeling weak and starved, but mostly because there wasn’t any safe way to actually go as a pedestrian. At least, I was constantly feeling the threat of being hit by a bike.
Another thing that sort of put me off was that I found people in Antwerp quite arrogant and hostile towards foreigners. There was this particular episode when I went to a coffee shop, and I was looking to the pastries. The waitress said something to me in Dutch. Obviously I didn’t get a single word. I said “english, please?” and she just repeated herself in Dutch. My expression was probably a question mark, because then she finally said “do you need anything?”, but with a rather annoyed look.
Not everybody was like this though. The receptionists in the hostel were the nicests I found in my trip. Also, people in the museums I visited were incredible helpful and warm. It was mainly in coffee shops and restaurants that I felt I wasn’t welcome.
You can feel that Antwerp breathes style. Everybody is so well put together. Antwerp being Belgian capital of Fashion is obviously a strong influential factor. And I do love Fashion, as I love Art. And that’s another thing I loved about Antwerp. The small little galleries spread all around.
Anyway, Antwerp smiled me back the next day, when the sun came out and I woke up early and could enjoy empty streets. I went to Momu museum and Rubens House, and visited the marvelous shopping centre when nobody was there. Then, I sadly left Antwerp. There was still one last stop before going back home.
Hope you enjoyed my photos from Antwerp. Have you been there? How was your experience?
Love,
Nic
Fantastic photos!! Check out my blog to follow our adventures 🙂
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Thaaanks xx
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