Antwerp

Friday, 8 July

C slow to get up so we couldn’t leave in time to get to Brugge in Belgium. Instead, K offered to take us to Antwerp. We eventually left about 11.30 am. It rained and was a pretty miserable day. It was a difficult city find our way around in. Roadworks made parts of the city resemble a war zone or some neglected area in Eastern Europe – very dismal looking. However, once we did find our way to the old part (thanks to some friendly locals directing us), it was much nicer. Charming church bells sounded as we explored the cobbled streets. Lots of orthodox Jews around (Antwerp, of course, being a diamond city – think the movie ‘Snatch’). We made our way to the river and looked at the oldest building, the Steen, which is a castle dating from 1200 and is now a maritime museum.

Buildings looking from the Steen

We walked around in the cold and wet, feeling sorry for horses (attached to carriages) stood in the rain at the Grote Markt. We had some chips and beer then plodded our way back through the ‘war zone’ to the car and returned to Aachen.

In the evening we went to a friend of K’s for drinks and snacks, getting back about 11pm. Sank into bed, exhausted.