Our current trip began with a return visit on the ship to Antwerp, Belgium, following up on our first visit with the ship in 2015. [See our previous blog posts on the city, beginning with “Antwerp, Belgium”, posted on May 28, 2015.]. We were fortunate, again, to dock in the city center at the Cruise Terminal, built as an annex to Het Steen (Steen Castle), a medieval fortress dating back to the 13th century on the banks of the Schelde River. Situated in the north of Belgium, Antwerp lies in the Dutch-speaking region of the country – one of three regions of the country — and is regarded as the unofficial capital of Flanders (the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium). “Antwerp (Antwerpen/Anvers in Dutch/French) is Belgium’s second city, biggest port and capital of cool. It has long been a powerful magnet for everyone from fashion moguls and club queens to art lovers and diamond dealers. In the mid-16th century, it was one of Europe’s most important cities and home to baroque superstar painter Pieter Paul Rubens – as many a museum will regularly remind you. Despite many historical travails thereafter, and severe WWII bombing, Antwerp retains an intriguing medieval heart with plenty of café-filled cobbled lanes, a riverside fortress, and a truly impressive cathedral. Today, however, Antwerp’s top drawcards are its vibrant fashion and entertainment scene, along with its startling architectural and cultural contrasts.” – www.LonelyPlanet.com
While not pictured here, one of the fun things we did with our 10-year-old grandson was to visit Chocolate Nation, the largest Belgian Chocolate Museum in the world. Located near the Central Station (railway station), it’s about a 25-minute walk through the city from the Cruise Terminal. The first Belgian chocolate factory opened in Antwerp in 1831 and there are now several leading manufacturers in the city. We also learned that Belgium now produces about 10% of the world’s chocolates annually. The museum is very interactive and brings the history and manufacture of chocolate to life through interactive exhibits, ending with a taste of 10 different liquid chocolates – ranging from white chocolate to milk chocolate, the newly developed ruby chocolate, and then dark chocolates, our favorites being the blends from Madagascar and Brazil (we bought chocolate bars in the shop to enjoy on our sailing).
The legend of Silvisu Brabo, founder of Antwerp, and the hero whose statue is in the Brabo Fountain in front of City Hall and the Grote Markt: “Silvius Brabo is an Antwerp folklore figure. According to the legend, he would have been a Roman soldier who killed the giant Druon Antigoon, chopped off his hand, and threw it into the Scheldt. According to that same legend, Antwerp was in past centuries terrorized by the giant named Druon Antigoon, which forced all navigators to pay tolls before they were allowed to go over the Scheldt River. If they refused Antigoon cut their hands off and threw them in the river.
“The Roman legionnaire Silvius Brabo came over one day and rebelled against the giant. He fought with Antigoon, killed him, then cut off his hand and threw the body into the river. By “throwing the hand” Antwerp would have come to her name. Throwing means Werpen in Flemish and Ant could refer to Antigoon or to the dialect word of Hand. Also, a 15th-century chronicle claimed that the province of Brabant would also owe its name to Brabo.
“[T]he most famous image of Brabo is the Brabo Fountain on Antwerp’s Grote Markt in front of the town hall. It depicts Brabo on top of a fountain while disposing of Antigoons’s hand. The headless corpse of Antigoon is also seen pictured underneath the platform. The statue was designed by Jef Lambeaux in 1887 and has since become the official symbol of the city of Antwerp.” — www.amazingbelgium.be/2015/09/silvius-brabo-founder-of-antwerp.html
“Antwerp has long been at the centre of things. Belgium’s handsome northern city grew wealthy on the profits of its port, trading since the 16th century in glittering diamonds, priceless works of art and the spices and spoils of assorted empires. The Port of Antwerp remains extraordinary: a Blade Runner-esque noirscape of industrial architecture, where the rusted hulks of old trade ships sit side-by-side with space-age modern buildings, presided over by a steel canopy of creaking girders and looming cranes…
“Today, most visitors arrive in Antwerp by train, with the city’s heritage on show in the cavernous marble hallways of Antwerpen-Centraal railway station, a masterwork of art nouveau architecture. This style crops up throughout the city, most notably in the fashionable district of Zurenborg, where eye-catching houses are testament to a boom during the late 1800s. Antwerp is no stranger to fortune, of course; before that, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was famed for the riches of its citizens. A wealth of grand Flemish buildings survives from this era, including the home of Peter Paul Rubens, the masterly painter whose work remains the pride of Antwerp…
“The character of the city also reveals itself through food: even with a galaxy of Michelin stars, the favoured local dish remains, reassuringly, a steaming pot of moules with a bucket of frites. This unpretentious spirit pervades the city, whether you’re dining by lamplight in the rarefied surrounds of the historic stock exchange or rubbing shoulders with the bright young things of Belgium’s most vibrant nightlife scene.
“Antwerp’s broad, leafy boulevards and outdoor cafes might evoke those of Paris, but in the cobbled, 16th-century alleyways, Flemish townhouses and sprawling, retrofuturist port, Antwerp shows its true face: one which is all its own.” — https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2022/09/a-guide-to-antwerp-belgiums-striking-second-city
“Local legends are there to be cherished, whether they are strictly true or not. So, did an Antwerp Cathedral priest really patrol the neighbourhood in a red hat? Or does Grand Café De Rooden Hoed actually owe its name to the striking red roof tiles…? It is certainly true that the painter Quinten Matsijs (1466-1530) lived in the building; the ironwork above the well in front of the cathedral was wrought by him. And we also know that as far back as 1750 the oldest hostelry in Antwerp was used as a coaching inn. Today you can still order a soep van de koetsier (a coach driver’s soup), a reminder of the days when carriages stopped off at the inn, the drivers almost becoming part of the family. If you are a born Antwerpenaar, the name of this establishment will bring visions of mussels and fries served on a red-and-white checked tablecloth to your mind.
“But times have changed. This brasserie has been owned since May 2013 by Hans Lachi and Cas Goossens, who quickly put their own stamp on the business. Hans manages the kitchen and is responsible for the commercial side, whereas Cas keeps an eye on the guests, showing his public what good service really means. Whether it’s pouring out two bottles of beer at the same time or whisking up a sabayon with Liefmans Fruitesse at the table, it’s all in a day’s work for this dyed-in-the-wool waiter. There’s plenty of room. The indoor area seats 130 customers, the terrace adds a further 30 seats, and that’s before you consider the historic vaulted basement, where large groups are regularly hosted and parties go off with a bang. The atmosphere is different wherever you go in the building. If you are seated at the back you enjoy a view of the picturesque Handschoenmarkt and the splendid cathedral entrance. At the front, you overlook the bustling car-free Oude Koornmarkt, where you will never be short of a place to eat or drink. You’ll also find an oyster bar and an upstairs room in De Rooden Hoed.” — www.beertourism.com/blogs/news/behind-the-scenes-at-grand-cafe-de-rooden-hoed
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