We were only in Antwerp for a day so this should be relatively short.
Dan and I left the comfort of Leiden in Peter's early-1990s BMW 5 series, which he had graciously lent us, and for which we are eternally grateful. After a few minutes I got used to driving it, though even at the end of the trip, after over 3000 km, I still find it a bit nervewracking to drive in Europe. Oh well. I dealt, since Dan rarely drives (and has only driven on the left) and Birgit is about the only European I know who regularly drives an automatic car (her mother's) and was a bit nervous about a stick-shift. I was too, but when needs must!
Normally the trip to Antwerp is about two hours from Leiden, tops. I had Birgit's address right in the center of Antwerp, and had printed out directions from Mappy (which I like better than GoogleMaps for European destinations, since it even gives you pictures of what the signs you're following will look like!) I had also printed a map of Antwerp, and had a European road atlas.
Unfortunately there was road work on the route we had planned inside the city, and we had to turn off and got completely turned around. The map in the atlas and the Antwerp map I'd printed didn't help much, because the scales were too large and too small. I knew to just head towards the Scheldt River, as Birgit had said, but we ended up driving around for over an hour. Dan's Blackberry had GPS on it, but it was nearly out of battery and locked in the trunk anyway. Antwerp has a statue of an artist on just about every major corner, so you can't navigate by those unless you have X-ray vision. :-) In the end, I recognized a street around the corner from Birgit's and found it! Luckily it was summer and so bright light outside, despite being after 9 pm when we arrived.
It was a Saturday night, and Birgit was ready to take us on a pub crawl. If you know me and Dan, you know she had to twist our arms for that one! Since her place was so central, everything was within a ten-minute walk for us. First we refueled with food at Wok-Wok, then headed to 't Paters Vaetje , a nice place with a tavern just under the Antwerp bell tower. I know we went to three or four other places that night, but I don't know the names of all of them. I do know that I just took advantage of all the cheap Belgian beer. My MO was to look at the menu, pick something I'd never had before or that I couldn't get in Austin, and say, “I want that one,” in my best Little Britain voice (well, I would then actually order it in Dutch :-) ) It was Pride week, so Antwerp was having a big NaviGAYtion celebration, so the sailor theme was abound, especially at the Popi Café, where we ended the evening.
The next day started in the late morning, but it started well with brunch at 't Suut Bekske. Birgit then took us on a walking tour of Antwerp, which is always a treat since she is the consummate tourist/tour guide. We walked along the riverfront, saw a drawbridge open, went down the shopping street, randomly met some of Birgit's friends there (good quote from Bi here that I won't mention in public!), and just had a good wander. Bi took us by her dad's old office, which was empty since he'd retired shortly before. She has since remodeled the place and moved in.
Birgit told of some of the legends of Antwerp, including the Lange Wapper, who was a giant who terrorized the city, and who has a rather disturbing statue with children on the waterfront. She also told us a different story about another giant, who was defeated, and the hero cut off his hand and threw it into the river. This is supposedly where Antwerp got its name: Antwerpen=Hand werpen=hand throwing.
Dinner was lovely at Zuidcafé, and then we returned to Bi's so she could pack. Next stop, Bonn!
More photos here.
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