Antwerp

AKA Antwerpen, AKA Anvers...I didn't know anything about this city before coming here, so didn't really have any expectations. But even if I did, I think Antwerp would have wildly exceeded them. Twenty years ago, my friend E was an exchange student here, and when I was planning my trip she connected me with her Flemish Belgian host family--parents and eight (now adult) kids strong. SR and I stayed with N, one of the siblings, and were treated like family by all of the five siblings who still live in the city plus their feisty mother. They took turns showing us around on bikes that they loaned us, had us over for backyard barbeques, and in general just spoiled us rotten and made our visit unforgettable.

One night in N's backyard...

...we had a traditional Flemish meat stew and potato dishes.

SR learned a regionally popular game called korfbal, which is sort of like basketball, and even got to go to a lesson with N one morning.

We saw the Plantin-Moretus Museum, which memorializes a very important Dutch printing company, centuries old.

And in the square outside the museum, a weekly estate auction was quite the morning's entertainment.

We got to see (and ride) the original wood escalator (dating back to the 1930s) that leads to a tunnel crossing under the river on the west side of the city.

Then, walking north along the river...

...we made it to a recently revitalized area of the city, where the MAS museum allows beautiful views over the city.

SO many interesting old buildings, such as this one, which used to be a waterfront warehouse and now is a wedding venue that also houses the city's archives.

N's neighborhood is gloriously diverse, with one of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities outside of Israel...

...plus lots of Moroccans, West and Central Africans, Eastern Europeans. Really refreshing.

And then, the chocolate. Twice, N took me to a chocolate shop that specializes in hot chocolate and every other chocolate-y thing you can think of. Oh. My. Gosh.

The city also has this fantastic little pretend-beach area for the summer ("Summer Bar") where they bring in sand and boardwalks and set up lawn chairs and food and drink stands.

Plus we happened to be in town the weekend when there was a World Food Market. All of the family ladies and friends got together to gorge ourselves on specialites from Turkey, Indonesia, and everywhere in between.

Hard to tear ourselves away from such a fabulous experience in Antwerp, but Brussels (and more amazing hosts--we are TOO LUCKY) awaits...