Antwerpen
Day 6 (September 19, 2013) [continued]: We left Utrecht, Netherlands and headed to Antwerpen, Belgium. We stayed at another airbnb apartment in Antwerpen on Keizerstraat. Worst airbnb experience ever! The apartment was clean and deceivingly cute, but we had so many issues during our short stay there. When we got there, the place was freezing because the heat had been turned off. Unfortunately, the heating system was not self-explanatory and, in fact, hidden behind a panel in the wall behind the toilet in the bathroom (say what?). Also, the apartment layout was so poorly planned that there were doors, cupboards, etc. that literally could not open because something was built in the way. Totally drove Rob and I crazy given our somewhat OCD/perfectionist tendencies. We also tried to do laundry (which we had successfully done in the past), but the washer would not drain any water — it would just fill with water and then water would cascade down the front of the machine like a decorative waterfall disguised as a washing machine. Last, but not least, there was one very pesky mosquito in the bedroom, which was not fun when it came time for sleeping! Once we were sufficiently settled in, we headed out to explore. First on the itinerary was Grote Markt (“Great Market Square”) situated in the heart of the old city quarter of Antwerpen. Here is a picture of city hall on one side of the square.
As you can see, we didn’t have ideal weather, but it was beautiful all the same. Also, there was some random performance by a Japanese star — thus the chairs to the right. We also enjoyed the view of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (“Cathedral of our Lady), the ornate gothic cathedral also located at the square.
After exploring around the square, we headed to Paeters Vaetje, a timber-lined pub just below the cathedral with more than 100 beers to choose from. We had a bite to eat and a few rounds of brews (I had a Troubadour blond and a Grimbergen).
Day 7 (September 20, 2013): After a lot of back and forth with the host, we were able to get the heat working in the morning, which meant we could finally take luke-warm showers. Yay? In need of morale improvement, we headed out for a renowned Belgian breakfast (/dessert)– belgian waffles! We ate at Queen of Waffles and were not disappointed. YUM.
After breakfast, we stopped by a Belgian chocolate shop (more yum, to-go) we re-visited the Grote Markt, enjoying much better weather than the evening before.
Then we headed back to pack up the apartment. Can’t say we were sad to leave that place.
Next stop, Ghent!
