Antwerp
Our first weekend away since moving to the Netherlands!
Days at a Glance
| Date | Day at a Glance |
|---|---|
| Sat, 24Jun23 | Giving Thomas a tour of Den Bosch, exploring Antwerp, The War on Drugs |
| Sun, 25Jun23 | Walking tour, Belgian chocolates, train home |
High-Low-Hero-Chow/Ciao*
| Ben | Maggie | Thomas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | War on Drugs | War on Drugs | River beach club darty |
| Low | Line to go through tunnel to get back to east side of river | Mojito desperados | Kebab with American cheese |
| Hero | Thomas | Rick Steves | Dutch border control ** |
| Chow/Ciao | Desperados | The Chocolate Line | Bosschebollen |
*A game I learned from Ben, who uses it with friends as a fun way to reflect on an experience
**for accepting WI drivers license instead of US passport (which he left in Delft as only traveling within the Schengen zone)
Journal
Saturday 24Jun23
Our friend Thomas, who we met at UW, is currently obtaining a PhD in coastal engineering in North Carolina. He was visiting Delft for a conference, given the Netherlands' prowess in coastal engineering, and he made time over a weekend to come and visit us! Ben got us tickets to see one of his favorite bands, the War on Drugs, playing at the festival "Live /s Live" in Antwerp. Thomas came from Delft on Saturday morning and we showed him around Den Bosch, making sure he had a bosschebol, before heading to the train station.
On the train to Antwerp, Thomas was surprised to learn we had never heard of Desperados, a "tequila-flavored beer." An elderly man sitting near us, who had been silent for the entire ride up until this point, felt the need to weigh in and encourage us to try them. As soon as we arrived, Thomas made sure to stop in a convenience store so we could lose our desperado-virginities on our walk to the AirBNB. While not tasting like either tequila or beer, it was admittedly refreshing.
We dropped Maisy off at our AirBNB and had a little giggle at the video store visible from our window, called "Coc_Nuts for Sex," eerily missing it's second "o." We headed to Bocadero, a bar on the waterfront that was trying to feel like a beach resort. We enjoyed some Belgian beers before leaving to grab doner on our walk to the festival. Thomas made sure we kept up our alcohol consumption by stopping at supermarket to grab drinks for the walk. I opted for the "mojito" flavored Desperado, which turned out to be so bad it was almost undrinkable (although Thomas had no problem finishing it for me). Why did I think a mint-flavored beer would be good?
The War on Drugs were the closing act of the festival, so we arrived just in time to secure good spots for their ~2 hour set. It was a really great show, and we could actually dance a bit as it was finally starting to cool off.
We walked home in a slighlty different route and, when we were 1 block from our place, suddenly realized we were in the middle of Antwerp's red light district. It was a bit disorienting but did better explain the Coconuts video store. Thomas wanted one last bite of food so stopped into a doner place, (with other ravenous loitering men...), where he made the mistake of saying "yes cheese." At our AirBNB he found out this meant one slice of Kraft American cheese, not feta, a complaint he made well known to me and Ben.
Sunday 25Jun23
After a nice night of sleep, we headed to Bakkerij Dina for breakfast. While the waitress was bringing out my Belgian waffle, she accidentally stepped on Maisy who had been hiding under Ben's chair. Maisy, like a true drama queen, yelped like she had been fatally wounded, scaring the waitress so badly that the plate wobbled and the belgian waffle slid right off into the street. Everyone was embarassed, but it was resolved with another fresh waffle and some sliced chicken for Maisy.
We had pirated Rick Steve's Belgium book on our phones so Ben could lead us through sections of the Antwerp walking tour. We enojoyed the sights of the stadhuis, cathedral, Grote Markt, and even went to the top of the MAS Museum for a view of the whole city. A favorite stop was the Stock Exchange, a beautiful building that felt very quiet and tucked away. We made sure to try some Belgian chocolate at the "Chocolate Line," and were really impressed with the ganache, espresso, and raspberry flavors.
We took the 15:45 train home, getting back to Den Bosch around 17:00. We liked Antwerp; it was larger than I was expecting and didn't feel touristy once you got away from the train station. Ben and I really enjoyed traveling with Thomas. It was nice to see a friend from home, and we were grateful he was willing to go to a festival for a band he'd never heard of. He also brought an element of fun and party that Ben and I sometimes (often) lack.
This was our first weekend away since we moved to the Netherlands, and we reflected on the experience on our train ride home. These were some of our takeaways.
- Maisy was great on the train, but limited our flexibility and made certain spots on the walking tour difficult.
- Hotels might be preferable to AirBNBs for quick turnaround weekends so you have a place to leave your bags during Sunday exploring.
- Ben started to flag on Sunday during the walking tour, tired from the sun/navigating/Maisy/bags/etc. He perked up after some rest in the shade, but it felt reminiscent of a Sunday in Milwaukee or Chicago, where after a Saturday of fun, you want to go home on Sunday. It was cognitive dissonance to feel that way in Antwerp, but Sundays are Sundays, regardless of where you live. Both Ben and Maisy passed out as soon as we got home.
- While tired, we both appreciated the crazy feeling that this is our life now!!
For the Record
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Arrival | NS Train, Saturday 24Jun23, 1PM |
| Departure | NS Train, Sunday 25Jun23, 4PM CPH |
| Accomodation | AirBNB, Oudeleeuwenrui |
| River Front "beach resort" Bar | Bocadero |
| Sunday Morning Breakfast | Bakkerij Dina |
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