Internationaal Zeemanshuis Antwerp

... taxi driver drove off, I thought..yikes..what have I let myself in for! I looked up along the ship and say 2 sailors chatting, one (very handsome one, I might add) caught my eye, came running down 4 stories of steps, grunted, grabbed my bags and darted back up with them. I followed suit hoping he wasnīt doing running off with all my worldly possessions... and didnīt notice of the hght that I was climbing until I got to the top..yikes! I was met by ...

... I do, I do ! Mr. and Mrs. Uebber, driving off. To the church. Coming out of the beautiful church, under a sky of flowers. Do not worry, security is keeping an eye on them! Sooooooooooooooooooo pretty, my little Springmuis. I am a married man! The family posing in front of the palace. Which palace? Have a look: http://www.huisvandijck.be/en/index.htm click on 'EN ...

... with several other children and was left to fend for himself without any degree of medical care. Doctors in Romania also began seeing the first cases of AIDS in babies but were forced to conceal them. But with the poor hygiene conditions and the many that were infected, it was only a matter of time before countless more contracted AIDS. I think the name of the exhibit was "Awakening". Maybe you can find it on the internet somewhere - it's ...

... Markt where we saw the Stadhuis (town hall) and the fountain of Silvius Brabo. This fountain in of particular importance because the tale behind it is the story of how Antwerp got its name...let me tell you: According to legends there was a giant at the port of Antwerp that cut off the hands of all boatmen on the Scheldt river who refused to pay the toll when they passed the castle (Steen). The Roman, Silvius Brabo killed the ...

... intro of town. We then looked around the piazza near the iceskating and drank some mulled (hot spiced) wine from the markets and went off on a difficult search for a pub to sample some local beer. The next day we went back into town to have a look around at the markets and shops which were unfortunately not opening till lunchtime because it was a Sunday so we ...

... a city of more than 50,000 inhabitants without adequate mapping and directions, muppets. Day 6, 12 June 2006, Beersel - Brussels - f***in Utrecht Woke up in a more positive frame of mind, determined that we would not be defeated by the big fish in a seriously small pond that is Brussels. Drove into town and parked with no bother then set off on foot. Brussels was quite nice, with a very impressive central square, but again felt a bit sterile. Maybe that ...

We visited Antwerp Belgium for our first trip as European residents. We left Amsterdam on Friday July 22nd and returned Sunday July 24th. Antwerp is just a little over 2hrs by train so I worked a full Friday and we were in Antwerp by 8pm. Quite a fun little city with good beer, food, chocolate, waffles and shopping. We met some natives who were kind enough to give us an impromptu bar tour Friday evening. All in all a good time !!

It's twenty-four hours back to Brussels, train passing nameless cities through the night. At some early point the Euro police come on and check us out, but after that it’s just cruise and snooze. Finally we get in to Brussels, from which I’ll catch a cheap bus north across the sea, but that’s tomorrow. I go check out the biggest Muslim area ...

... we took a canal tour of Brugge (very relaxing, but not nearly as interesting as the Amsterdam tours), bought more chocolates, and then left Stephan and Julie on their own in Brugge while we drove to the teeny tiny town of Esen. The De Dolle Brouwers, makers of Oerbier, is in Esen. It is a teeny tiny brewery owned and run by two brothers - a doctor and a dentist - who used to be home brewers and decided to expand. They only brew on weekends and they ...