Blogs from Antwerp, Antwerp Province, Belgium, Europe - page 14

Daniel and I took a trip to Antwerp today. Antwerp is a short train ride from Gent, and one of the largest oil refining areas in the world, next to Houston, TX (of course). I'm not going to write a whole lot about it because I've been on the computer for two hours now, and because I'm writing this about three weeks after we went. Also, it was REALLY cold that day so our walking tour of Antwerp was somewhat accelerated, and I don't remember a lot of the details. What I do remember is that Antwerp is a really cool city, and definitely one that I will have to visit again.... read more

The Antwerp train station is amazing. All the platforms are in a massive glass-canopied structure, and the glasswork and architecture of the central station were almost catherdral quality. Good stuff. I wandered around forever trying to find the visitor's information center only to learn that all the signs pointing me around were obsolete, as the center had been relocated into the central station lobby. There's 1.5 hours of my life I'll never get back! I took in the massive Catherdral of Our Lady and the 4 gigantic Ruben's works inside, toured the Steen Castle and the naval museum therein, and also wandered around the huge shopping district, including all the diamond stores. All the while, music from the movie Snatch kept playing in my head and I had to chuckle. ... read more

It's ball time in Antwerp. Many, many university students have dressed up for the occasion. With some exceptions, e.g. the freak who thinks that wearing a pink t-shirt with a tie is rebelish. Hilton Hotel in Antwerp is a very nice venue. The ball room holds millions of people, this evening a rough equal mix of ladies and gentlemen. Beer is good. Atmosphere is good. Company is good. The band is not bad. They should have continued all night. The DJ(s) must be drunk. Their idea of a great mix of ball music is rather peculiar and confusing. The songs chosen are not the problem. The mix of them becomes a problem, leaving tons of people standing in their fancy clothes confused to their bones. The intro to "Eye of the tiger", continued with some Aerosmith, ... read more

30 DE OCTUBRE DE 1989 Era una habitación preciosa. Bueno, después de noches de vela en mesas de restaurantes carreteros, parecía el palacio de la bella durmiente: tenía luz, lavabo, ventanas, armario, cobijas, ¡incluso había unos catres doblados! La felicidad, por suerte, no nos quitó la prudencia: cuidándonos de no tocar nada, sacamos nuestro pan, más el queso y el jamón amablemente obsequiados por una tienda holandesa, preparamos unos sandwichitos, extendimos los sacos de dormir... Y nos propusimos levantarnos a las seis, para evitar problemas. Cuatro horas bien dormidas parecían un gran regalo. Dieron las seis. Miré el reloj. Tenía mucho sueño. Muuucho. Pensé en cerrar los ojos cinco minutos más, sólo cinco. Comencé a analizar los pros y los contras, pero mis párpados tomaron la decisión por sí solos. Cinco minutos nada más. Mucho después, ... read more