Is there a better way to spend a wet Sunday than finding a museum with an excellent collection of Old Masters? Yes, Ella, says there are countless ways, few of them ending upstairs avoiding the grasp of a red-walled exhibition. But to be in Antwerp and miss out on, say, Jean Fouquet’s “Madonna”? Sacrilege! There she…
In full bloom
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.
Street mural, Antwerp
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…
Boogie at the Exchange
Walking in the rain this morning, a light sprinkle, was pleasant. Not so much traffic. Less people on the street. Belle Époque buildings. Market squares. And Handelsbeurs Antwerpen, one of the earliest of the world’s stock exchanges going back to the 16th century. Entrance to Handelsbeurs Antwerpen We ducked inside to take a look. They were setting…
Rooftop Refresher
If I’m all agog about Belgian rooftops it’s because Albuquerque’s skyline seems so flat. Looking down at the city from the La Luz Trail it seems like the roofing has been given a crewcut which makes sense considering how much of the city’s economy is dependent on the military. Outside of the high rises downtown…
A comfy sofa is exciting
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….
Most beautiful train station?
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….
Street art or ?
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…
It’s a Parade!
“No it’s not,” Ella is vehement. “It’s a march.” Whatever it was, we ran into it after the bus that was meant to deliver us to some flower festival by the university came to an abrupt stop behind a line of stalled buses. It was May 1st, a Belgian holiday, and over breakfast coffee we had…
Food and canal watching
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…
Power to the people
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…
Memling Before 5!
Yesterday I figured we’d hit the Hans Memling exhibit at St. John’s Hospital on the way to the train station. So after lunch on the main square we set our Google Maps in the direction of the Janshospitaal Museum and after missing the understated entrance about four times, I realized that we only had a…
Ghent chocolates
The Adornes Domain
Central Bruges is another medieval movie set surrounding a large square in the shadow of a famous thirteenth century belfry tower. I half expected to discover a dead body at the foot of the tower below the balcony. If you’ve seen Martin McDonagh’s hilarious film “In Bruges” you’ll know what I’m talking about. And for all…
Belgian trains do work after all
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…