Antwerpen

I was with great difficulty that Dana and I arrived in the last city of our Big Trip. The train ride from Brugge should have been an easy one, but somewhere a train was out of service and we had to connect through Brussels. The 70 minute trip took 200 minutes. Still, the trains were clean, if ill-directed, and arriving at Antwerpen Central Station was an excellent introduction to the city. The massive glass structure makes me think of what Penn Station in New York looked like before it was destroyed to make room for Madison Square Garden. Antwerpen-Centraal, designed by Louis Delacenserie, was completed in 1905, and nearly destroyed 10 years ago. Thankfully, the citizens argues for its restoration instead.

We walked along the main shopping street, Meir, to our lunch destination: Grand Cafe Horta. This restaurant was built in the style of the famous Belgian, art nouveau architect Victor Horta. The structure is from a building built by Horta and rescued from demolition in Brussels. It's worth a stop for both the food and atmosphere.

Our hotel was easy to find, directly across the street from the Cathedral of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) in the Grote Markt. The room was noteworthy for two other features: no door to the bathroom and a tiny photo of a baby taped to the wall. These bizarre details are consistent with many of the bizarre details of the city itself. A few examples:

• Small buildings have been built onto the side of the cathedral. Look at the McDonald's here.
• The city's name comes from the Dutch for "hand thrown" because the town's hero, Silvius Brabo, cut the hand off the giant Antigoon and threw it into the Scheldt River.
• Brabo is memorialized in several parts of the city, most notably Brabo Statue in front of City Hall. The statue is a fountain and water spews from the severed hand as well as the arm of the vanquished giant. (The water was turned off when we were there.)

Antwerp is also home to several interesting watering holes:

• De Vagant is a cafe that serves hundreds of varieties of jenever, a juniper-flavored liquor that is the predecessor to gin. Dana and I both enjoyed what we tried, and the staff was very helpful. A very interesting spot and a perfect refuge from the pouring rain.
• 't Miniatuurke is the smallest and most friendly bar I have even been in. It's two stories, and each level could hold about eight people. We chatted with the regulars for a long time before one them directed us to an ATM and a good spot to get mussels. One wall was lined with caricatures of younger versions of the locals we were speaking with.
• As I sat in Oud Arsenaal, and the locals went in or out, it felt like I was watching a play. The bar was a perfect set, with it's tiled floors and antique beer signs and jar of boiled eggs. On top of the interesting character, the place has an exceptional beer list.

During our last full day in Belgium, we visited the home of Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp. Raised in Antwerpen from when he was 12, he traveled to Italy to study and returned with first-hand knowledge of what the Italian masters were doing. His home, now the Rubenshuis museum, contains much of his artwork (or replicas), and an audio guide explains his life, his artwork and the building itself. As impressive as the paintings and sculptures are, the architecture of his home and the garden in the back are equally so. After he purchased the house, he built a new building, connected to the old by a gate and hallway, in the modern fashion - baroque. Standing in the courtyard, visitors can look to one side to see the original 16th century residence, then to the other to see Rubens's addition, which he used as a studio. The result is fantastic. The garden is spotted with sculptures and interesting plants. A must visit if you are in Anterpen.

The last gallery of photos from the Big Trip.