The Hidden Street in Antwerp!

August 23.

During my day alone in Antwerp, I spent most my time wandering around. It was later in the day when I decided to accept the challenge of finding the hidden street in the city center. Wikitravel had said it was found only by walking through medieval buildings…

I had a handy map and searched a 2-3 block radius for about half an hour before finally discovering the entrance. It was a door to a medieval house indeed.

SEE! NOW YOU CAN FIND IT TOO! It was kind of rewarding to finally find it.

Through the entrance and corridor, it opened into a small courtyard. Looking up – building is from 1591?

Further down the “street.”

Seriously, this is the street. There were a few restaurants. Empty, probably because no one can find them haha.

The street continued into mini courtyards.

This reminded me of the courtyard at the Boston Public Library. Renaissance-esque atmosphere in the center of the city to take refuge from the hustle and bustle.

There was an art gallery or museum of sorts in one of the corners of this building passageway.

I really liked this path, as you can see. :P

A restaurant employee on a smoke break.

The courtyard! That door there is the other entrance/exit to the hidden street.

I sat and just enjoyed being there. :)

A Day Alone in Antwerp!

August 23.

Ah, work. Harriet and her roommate had this problem. Harriet left me her set of keys and I went wandering after they departed.

Night shops were convenience stores open only after 17:00(?) to supply your vices. :P

I really liked Antwerp and thought maybe I could live here. The weather was gorgeous!

Walking by Caffe Nation, where we had been yesterday.

I liked the second floor windows.

Walking by one art gallery. I didn’t go inside.

Because I was hungry and on a mission for Belgian waffles! ;D Harriet said whenever her sister visited, they always went to this one.

I sat outside.

Yum!

And then I proceeded to get lost.

On Wikitravel, which I use for a free travel resource, said to stop by the basement of one of the central shopping areas.

It looked deli-ish.

The food was cheap!

It didn’t seem strange at first that there was an American flag in that muffin. And then I was confused. :P

Like!

I’m not sure what this blue sign means, but I’ve seen it since. Does it just signify residential area? :?

Looking back. I was looking for the underground tunnel to the Left Bank.

Artsy shot.

I found myself by the graffiti square that Harriet had taken me by on her tour of Antwerp.

Belgian buildings.

There were regular nights where they screened movies for free by the river. Antwerp had so many activities going on! :)

I asked for directions to the underground tunnel. While I was inside, I looked out and thought this passingby truck was amusing.

The escalator down was interesting. It was historic, wide, and people brought bikes on it without blinking an eye.

There was a small photoshoot down there.

I want a bike too!

Wide teeth!

When I got to the bank, I peered into my lunch bag and was surprised at the sheer mass of it. I had ordered a chicken sandwich, which apparently meant chicken salad. There was a whole lot of mayo. :/

THE VIEWWWW! <3

I may have proceeded to take a nap in the park. What a lazy day. :P

Back at the underground tunnel, I saw massive doors for the lift and decided to wait for it. A bunch of bicyclists waited as well. Someone said to me, “Tour de France!” and I responded, “No, they’re not!” before my brain realized that I wouldn’t have had a clue whether or not they were haha.

Art deco!

The bottom floor was -31. Not sure why.

Unofficially lost. Not sure what I wanted to do with myself.

Back to City Hall area.

Loved the buildings!

There was a cultural festival going on with lots of free events on Sunday. Maybe I’d come back.

What were all these flags?

I was aimlessly walking around and admiring the buildings.

1500!

There was a horse carriage!

Hidden away near the tourist information center.

In the central square, there were people playing bocce with shoes?

I was trying to look for a particular hidden street that I had read about on Wikitravel. Of course, it probably would not be on this sign but I thought I’d check anyway haha.

Does anyone else enjoy looking at buildings too? Haha.

Example of streets.

Horses.

 

Logo for a bank.

Walking back to Harriet’s.

Harriet’s apartment number. <3

Liquid Hugs, Chocolate, Home, and Art in Antwerp!

August 22.

When we woke up, Harriet and I went to check out Caffe Nation, a neat corner coffee shop a few blocks away.

The open-air seats on the second floor were great for people watching. I was loving European cafe culture!

There is a bike on the wall.

Harriet ordered a chai latte and was trouble having expressing what it tasted like. I tried it and immediately said, “Liquid hugs! :D” which she really liked. She said Americans were so good at wordplay. Modesty may have won.

She told me to check out the back rooms. It felt like a movie set.

Next on the Antwerp tour, we went into a cathedral. I remember being surprised she just entered so easily into these houses of worship.

My first cathedral in a few years. Amazing.

Love the vaulted ceilings!

Outside the weather was pleasant.

Harriet wanted to show me all the cool/special cafes/restaurants/places she knew of. This was one bakery that sold a particular pastry she liked.

Yummy looking!

I wasn’t hungry or thirsty enough to stay.

Harriet’s father had shown her a hidden-away church on one of the main streets a few months earlier. She never knew it had existed and she’d lived in Antwerp all her life.

The entire thing was made of pastry.

At another storefront.

Inside a cute restaurant we popped in. We asked if we could take a picture and the girl behind the counter went into hiding haha.

Wall art.

Each branch was a poem of sorts. Harriet translated some of them for me. It was really cool.

There was this fabulous chocolate shop called the Chocolate Line.

It smelled like heaven!

Huge paintings on the wall. It felt posh. :P

So many cool flavors!

Inside the “Chocolate Kitchen,” you could see them make chocolate.

Apparently an advertisement for a cooking TV show?

Fun! ;)

A full sized gown made of chocolate.

I thought it was beautifully done.

“Chocolate pills” haha.

Harriet purchased a handful for us to try. BELGIAN CHOCOLATE! YUM!

Walking around, we came across a skateboarding competition.

I think they were practicing. The good stuff was going to be on later in the evening.

Maybe we’ll be back for it.

Community gardens.

Harriet’s house was an example of a traditional Belgian home, she said.

She said she enjoyed living in the city moreso.

I thought it was lovely inside!

The backyard garden had statues that I think her mother had made?

Quaint! :)

The old-fashioned room.

The updated living room. I told Harriet I liked her mother’s taste.

Lunch.

We went to the FotoMuseum afterwards, which was surprisingly cheap (1 Euro for students!) and really interesting. I try to see the opera houses and photography museums of cities I visit.

I recognized this photo from the spectactular World Press 2013 exhibit in Tokyo’s Metropolitan Museum of Photography. The top floor had exhibitions dedicated to concerts, music albums, and candid portraitures of musicians.

We went to the cafe to relax after a day of walking around.

While we were waiting to be served, I took a picture of us using the mirror behind me. She didn’t know HAHA. No one approached us and we ended up leaving.

In Harriet’s car, there was a bobblehead cat haha.

Tonight’s entertainment was relaxing at her boyfriend’s penthouse terrace with curry Belgian fries and two of her good friends. Fun! :)

 *Found on Facebook (shared by Blake!)

I sent this to some friends because I thought it was funny. No wonder they think I party all the time haha.

Anyway, I love Harriet!! :D She said it was really fun being a tourist in her own city. Cafes, hugs, liquid hugs, art, music art, photography, yummy food, Belgian chocolate, fries, and beer! Probably my favorite day in Belgium haha.

First Day in Antwerp!

August 20.

After arriving in the Netherlands and dropping off my belongings, I took a train the following morning to Antwerp, Belgium, where my friend Harriet lives. We had met back in late February in Chiang Mai, Thailand, at our hostel. I had accompanied her with two other traveling Americans to get her first tattoo in Northern Thailand. She said she would never forget us haha.

I’m told Antwerp is ranked by one of the most beautiful train stations in the world, maybe third place? I believed it.

At one point, I had to change trains, and the sign said it was headed towards Anvers… I eventually realized it was French for Antwerp.

We met at the entrance to the zoo, which was nearby. She found me first and gave me a tremendous smile and hug, which I really appreciated. It has not been very common to have someone waiting for me at the other end of a transit and it was really heartwarming. :D

We walked around the Old Town. This was… City Hall, I think haha.

One of the main squares.

Beautiful! :D Probably my first Old Town since Stockholm, like five years ago.

The statue depicts a potential story of how Antwerpen got its name. I don’t remember specifics but it involved a supernatural being’s hand being chopped off and tossed into the river. :P

We found a Belgian beer shop. So many kinds!

Jung, the guy working there, was friendly. He told us there would be a beer tasting in an hour, woohoo!

We wandered around some more. Harriet pointed out cute restaurants, cafes, and shops.

There was one store that had matching nail polish to go with the hues of the shoes.

And accessories as well. There were heels hanging from the ceiling. I thought it was interesting. :P

A mural near the graffiti park.

Back to the Old Town.

I loved the medieval streets!

We returned after I picked up some Antwerp-specialty hand-shaped chocolate. Apparently there’s a special training/license in order to make/sell these.

Back inside the beer shop!

Oh yes, there were those waffle things she said were delicious as well. I got a light and dark beer sample. :P

YAYYYY! Loved seeing Harriet again! <3 Belgian beer, waffle, and chocolate, we were doing quite well! ;D We also talked about how Americans love hugs HAHA.

Jung had let us try this Advocaat thing, which Harriet had told me about. Add it to ice cream! she suggested.

She also took me to the rooftop of one particular museum to get a view of the city.

Antwerp’s skyline.

There were some cool buildings in the city. This was where the city archives were. I thought it would make a great photoshoot place.

There were cookies as a snack at some point. Look at the ingredients! I actually knew what was in my cookie.

One of the grocery stores’ mascots was a hamster.

SO CUTE. :D I almost would make it my primary grocery store just for the orange and hamsters everywhere haha.

We relaxed at Harriet’s place after a full day’s walking around and hung out with her roommate. She enjoyed being a tourist in her own city haha. I had such a great day that thought I could live in Antwerp. There were so many cultural events/festivals/opportunities available to keep me occupied all year. :D

The next day, Harriet had to work, and volunteered her good ol’ buddy dad to take me to Ghent. I didn’t know anything about Ghent but, Woohoo!