Tyler really wanted to see another country on our trip, in spite of the fact that those European Union countries don't stamp passports anymore. So Belgium it was, specifically Antwerp. Sadly, our trip to Antwert was punctuated by things that didn't go right, but we still had a pretty good day. To start, I had miscalculated the time difference and set my cell phone alarm wrong (it was still on Utah time). It went off at 3am and I didn't reset it so we overslept and got started late. Then we got to the train station and poor David couldn't get our tickets because the system kept crashing, so we missed the train and had to wait an hour. Then they announced that the ticket system had crashed nationwide, so we were lucky to have gotten our tickets at all!
The train ride to Antwerp took about 2 hours, and was pleasant, passing through countryside: fields of onions and broccoli, lots of cows. The central Antwerp station was the biggest we'd been in. Three stories underground, but the entrance was a stunning collection of towers, marble, glass, and gold. In our daze at the building's construction we exited out the wrong side of the building and walked around Chinatown for 20 minutes before we discovered the right direction to get to the historic district.
First we saw the Cathedral, built between the 1200s and 1600s. It was the biggest one we'd seen yet, with an enormous tower, flying buttresses, and four paintings by Reubens. It always strikes me as odd to see these amazing masterworks just sitting on the wall of a church, not protected by bullet-proof Plexiglas, not monitored by cameras. It was the first cathedral I'd seen with painted columns, moldings, and walls, although most of the paint had been worn away or covered with whitewash. The carved screens were so elaborate, and it had beautiful stained glass. They're big on statues commemorating old legends--usually involving giants and someone a little bit drunk.
After the church we saw the stadhuis (statehouse) flying modern flags of various countries, although we did not see the U.S. one--guess we're not all that popular these days, anyway. In the courtyard sits a large fountain depicting the legend of how the city was founded. Apparently linguistically, Antwerp could mean "Hand werpen" (throwing the hand). So there's this giant, and someone (likely a teensy bit drunk) kills him and cuts off his hand. The giant-slayer then tosses the hand and its landing spot is the place the city began. There are various hand statues around town, but this one showed the giant killer tossing the severed hand, while the stump of the arm spouts water. Charming.
We also saw a castle with its military fortifications, the meat hall, built of red and white bricks, designed to look like a slab of bacon, and an alley from medieval times. Today is just a cute little alley weaving among shops and restaurants, but we overheard a guide explaining that on those original paving stones would be crowds of unwashed inhabitants and their animals, all wallowing together in whatever murky liquids ran through those lovely cobblestones.Despite the enjoyable meanderings through random streets (note to self: next time, get a map!)
we tried heading back to the station to find Reuben's home, but arrived right after closing. Next we tried returning to the medieval part of town to see a printing museum, but got there as it was closing its doors. So back to the station again, consoling ourselves with Belgian chocolates, and Belgian waffles dripping with carmelized sugar. Why don't we have tasty street food in the U.S.?We laughed at a couple of street performers--the ones who look like a statue but then move. One was pouring a jar of water into a pool, and I was convinced it was a fountain. When she moved, it scared me to death. Once we arrived back in Leiden we got our daily dose of frites and a falafel and rushed home to get warm. It was the first dry day but the wind at night was icy!
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