Belgium: Antwerp

The next day we ventured to Antwerp. The train station here is a pretty remarkable building, inside and out. The trains arrive on four different levels and the escalator turns into both stairs and a moving platform.

Antwerp Central Station

Entrance to the station

We headed to the local markets which was absolutely packed. It was a bit of a foodies market so we bought some local cheeses. We matched our pesto and cheddar cheeses with a classy bottle of two euro wine and had a lovely pre-dinner cheese platter. 

It was so lovely to see the sun, and flowers, and people sitting outside! It had been so cold yesterday! 

Spring has almost arrived!

Much of the city was destroyed during WW2 so we weren't too sure what to expect architecturally. We'd read that the city had been rebuilt with more modern, practical buildings. It was a bit of a mix though. The shopping district felt more modern as well as many of the apartment buildings. Closer to the main square the buildings seemed more traditional. Antwerp had more of a big city feel than Bruges or Ghent. 

We went on the hunt for hot chips. Chipperies are everywhere and a Belgium 'thing' apparently. I personally think the chips are much of a muchness and was more impressed by the selection of sauces you can choose from - one place had 32 different sauces!!! The favourite here is andalouse sauce which is a marvelous combination of mayonnaise, tomato paste and capsicum - as pictured below.

Drinking beer from a can - who would have thought...

We carried onto the main square (Grote Markt) after lunch.  Antwerp has about three different stories as to the origin of its name. My favourite is the folklore story involving an evil giant that would cut off the hands of those who dared not pay their toll to cross the river. The giant would then toss their severed hand into the river. He was eventaully defeated and his own hand was cut off and thrown in the river. It's thought that Antwerp means hand throw. There are however some much more credible theories as to the name of the city, but they're boring.

In the centre of the square is a statue of the young hero who cut off the giants hand and threw it into the river

These more traditional buildings are very typical of Belgium. For the remainder of the day we walked around the city and down to the river.

Grote Markt

Cathedral of Our Lady

Her Steen: A medieval fortress - Complete with a strange monument of the giant about to sit on some tiny people

After a lovely day in Antwerp we went home ready to explore Ghent the next day.

- Kate