Day 5: Antwerp

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

From Maastricht, we headed to Antwerp. Our day in Antwerp would be short, as we would leave port at 12:45 in the afternoon on our way to Ypres. (Click on map to enlarge.)

Antwerp City Hall

Antwerp is the second-largest port in Europe, surpassed only by Rotterdam. The first building we saw as we exited the bus was the Het Steen (stone castle), which was built in the fifth century. (Pictures in the gallery below.) It is the oldest building along the Scheldt in Antwerp. Most buildings at that time were built with wood. Het Steen was one of the first built with stone, hence the name. (More about Het Steen.)

Next to the castle is the Maritime Park, a long, open-sided wrought-iron shed displaying a historic barge collection. I loved the pattern of the wrought iron and wished I could take a piece of it home to use as a stencil.

Next on our walk came the Museum Vleeshuis, which was originally a guildhall for meat cutters. Now it has been repurposed as a museum of the history of music and dance in the area. Oh, to have been able to spend several hours here. The facade is constructed of red brick with layers of white sandstone. This construction technique is known locally as “bacon layers.” The beauty of this style delighted me. (More about Museum Vleeshuis)

What a stunning Grote Markt! Standing in the center is Brabo Fountain. Surrounding the square are incredibly beautiful and architecturally stunning buildings. The clock tower you see in some photos belongs to the Cathedral of Our Lady. And in front of Our Lady is one of my most favorite sculptures of the entire trip—the sculpture of Nello and Pastrache. I was not familiar with the story, but I loved the boy and his dog under the brick blanket. So creative!

As we were standing on the south-southwest side of the square, ready to leave that location and discover more about Antwerp, the proprietor of the bakery/sweet shop in front of which we were standing walked out with a tray full of cookies for us to sample. Delish! Well, Marilyn and I couldn’t stand for the proprietor to waste all those cookies without seeing a return on her investment. So we snuck quickly inside to support the local economy. When we got our cookies and left the shop, our group was nowhere to be seen. Oops. We walked quickly to the next side street where we thought they had gone. But they were already out of sight there. We looked on all corners of the square and just couldn’t find them. We turned our phones on and, sure enough, Mike called in a few minutes to ask where we were. He and Jas left the group and came back to find us. They weren’t terribly amused, but at least the guided tour was almost finished. So we walked around the Groenplaats, one of the most prominent squares in Antwerp, and settled on Brasserie de Kleine Post for a cup of coffee and an incredible chocolate and cinnamon pastry.

At the previously agreed-upon time, we reconnected with our guide and walked back to the coach, which took us to the ship. Shortly after we sat down to lunch, the crew cast off and we were on our way through an arm of the North Sea, then south along the Scheldt.

The afternoon was ours to relax on board while the captain took us through locks and down busy canals.

I don’t know if all the Avalon ships offer bistro dinners, but the Luminary did, and it was a real treat. Bistro dinners are served in the lounge to a small group of passengers, about 20 . The portions are small and the dishes are very special. It’s the opportunity to taste items one wouldn’t otherwise experience. The bistro dinners are scheduled on several consecutive nights so all diners who wish can participate.

The menu was creative and featured local favorites (some pictures and identifications are at the end of the gallery below). Here is the text of the dinner menu.

After dinner, a trio of two violins and guitar, “La Strada,” performed for us in the lounge. Their repertoire included light classical music and show tunes. They were excellent musicians, and their program was designed to appeal to the entire audience. This trio travels around performing on river cruise ships. They have a friend who drives them and their equipment to a specified lock where they wait for the ship to arrive. As the boat moors in the lock, the three step onto the deck with their equipment. The friend then drives fifty or so miles away and waits at another lock. Two or three hours later, the ship pulls into the other lock and the musicians get off and are driven back to their homes. What a unique way to make a living!

A recent traveler uploaded two videos to YouTube. Here are “Moon River”, from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and “Amami, Alfredo,” from La Traviata

When they were done, Valentin and I played a few songs, and my musical day was complete.