Author: Ella

Yesterday (Sunday), we visited the M HKA (Museum for Contemporary Art) in Antwerp. If you’ve read our blogs over the years, you know we try to take in some contemporary art wherever we go. There is often a lot we can learn about culture from these exhibitions, although sometimes they are…er…not so intriguing. The M…

Here are some photos from today’s ramble.

From the old stock exchange, we wandered the wet streets in the rain to the KMSKA (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp). What an eclectic mix. Old masters, modern masters, a Dali triptych thrown into the mix and an exhibition called “In Full Bloom” where those displays were mixed in with everything else.

Today was a rainy day. Our good weather karma has come to a halt but I can’t complain. Since we landed in Belgium almost 2 weeks ago, we’ve had nothing but glorious blue skies, temps in the 60s, creeping up to the low 70s. But today, I had to dig my rain jacket out of…

As mentioned, we’ve arrived in Antwerp.  I was here in 2016 on my own and stayed a week. Back then, I stayed in the Jewish quarter, mostly Hasidic. This time we have a spacious apartment in what’s known as the theater area.  Our apartments in Brussels and Ghent were fine but both lacked comfortable seating….

We’ve moved to Antwerp. Just an hour by train from Ghent but a different world. Antwerp is particularly noted for its diamond district. At one time the vaults were considered so safe, no one carried insurance on their diamonds. Anyone watched a diamond heist movie lately? Arriving at Antwerp Centraal station is a unique experience….

I stumbled across this street art mural in Ghent and realized it portrayed parts of panels from the famous van Eyck altar piece we’d seen a couple days ago. I mentioned in that post about the multi-paneled painting’s tumultuous history of being sold, looted, some panels stolen and restored (all except one panel which remains…

I neglected to mention, yesterday in Bruges we had, according to the waiter, the most traditional, local dish you can have: Flemish beef stew in beer sauce served with fries and a small salad. Sorry, the only thing I took a picture of was… Today, after all the protest excitement, we were walking along a…

May Day! Here it is like our Labor Day. We knew there would be parades and festivities in the afternoon. We tried to figure out the parade route but weren’t successful. So, we thought, there is some great street art down by the Botanical gardens. Let’s go see that and by the time we get…

If you read my post about our crazy train experience the day we took a little excursion to Mechelen, well,  I’m here to tell you that we’ve had some much smoother journeys since then. From Brussels to Ghent a few days ago and yesterday to and from Bruges, smooth as silk. Was that Smurf in the…

I mentioned in a post a couple days ago that we’d stopped in at the Museum of Fine Arts (. ) in Ghent. I am not one who seeks out old masters. Sure, I can admire the technical prowess and the part played in the evolution of painting – use of perspective and sometimes painstaking…

We spent the day in Bruges. A 30 minute train ride from Ghent. Of course, the tram from our apartment to the train station took another 30 minutes. If you are into medieval towns or if you saw the movie “In Bruges” and now think Bruges is a romantic and exciting place to be, join…

First thing this morning (10am ), Grubb had tickets for us to visit the famous Ghent altar piece, a triptych called The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Hubert and Jan van Eyke at St. Bavo’s cathedral. Grubb will wax eloquent but I wanted to praise the technology.  Before being allowed to view the painting, we…

I had waterzooi with chicken along with a Gin fizz.  Grubb had some sort of pork tenderloin with potato croquettes.  “Waterzooi” comes from Dutch “water to boil” or “watery mess” Waterzooi is a stew-soup chock full of vegetables. Traditionally potatoes, carrots, leeks and celery. The broth is enriched with a little cream and egg yolks….