by Roy -

This article is written by Rupali Dean. Rupali is a noted travel & food writer based in Toronto, Canada

Central Station in Antwerp

Chocolate, beer and waffles will do me no harm’. With this thought in mind, I planned a trip to Antwerp, Belgium. The first impression on arrival at the grand Central Station in Antwerp was that the place is majestic. This impressive building has an old-Europe feel that is balanced by an Art Deco-style letter ‘A’ — for Antwerp — recurring throughout the station. It is made from Lego blocks. Obviously, the tourism department is innovative with its choice of logo! After checking into the hotel, hunger pangs struck.

I sat down at a famed tea-room, Del Rey, for waffles. Belgians eat waffles as an afternoon snack — either warm with fruit, cold, plain or dipped in chocolate. Also on offer was a selection of pastries, biscuits and of course, loads of chocolates.

Steeped in history

Uptil the 17th century, Antwerp was often spelt as Hantwerpen. The city can truly pride itself on a rich past, and the museums and churches here are treasuries of it.

De Kathedraal, a wonderful Gothic-style cathedral, has several Peter Paul Rubens panels — for example, The Raising of the Cross (1609), The Resurrection of Christ (1612) and The Descent from the Cross (1612). There are also nine confessionals, made of beautiful oak paneling that was moved to Antwerp after the French Revolution. The paintings, and the cathedral, are stunning.

City life

My first stop the next morning was the Theaterplein, where markets sell olives, breads, fresh meat, seafood and flowers in the traditional Belgian style.

Olives at the Theaterplein Market

There was even a standing champagne-and-oysters bar.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves even at 10 am. Later in the day, I visited the Diamond Museum. For those who don’t know, Antwerp is the diamond capital of Europe and has the world’s biggest diamond museum. After a day spent shopping, eating chocolate and seeing a magnificent diamond jewellery collection, what more could a woman want?

The Diamond Museum, Antwerp

Rupali Dean

17 Feb 2010

http://travel.hindustantimes.com/travel-stories/antwerp.php

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 151 user reviews.

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by Roy -

The writer of the this article is Rishad Saam Mehta, an avid traveler, writer and photographer who writes for the Mumbai Mirror among many other dailies and magazines including international ones.

The aroma came wafting on a stray draft of wind. It told of a rich vanilla and indulgent caramel which combined to create what can very well be described as an agent of salivation. I stopped dead in my tracks much to the displeasure of a pizza delivery girl. She was also on the same track on a scooter and had to stand on her brakes and come to a stop, skidding sideways, to avoid a collision with me. She pulled off her helmet, her mind already forming a rude remark for me, when the same aroma wafted up her nose too. We seemed to have become two hunting dogs testily sniffing the air to locate the source. All around us on this crowded street in Bruges, people were giving in to the same delightful draft. On the corner of the street, the little cafe had just prepared a fresh batch of waffles and put them out on display. It was the fragrant bouquet of those hot Belgian waffles that had brought this busy street to a momentary standstill.

A few months ago, when I was in Brussels, I had the opportunity to drive the new Skoda Yeti for a few days. I’d driven straight to Nijmegen, 200 km away in Netherlands where my friends Peter and Elisabet lived. The forecast over the next few days for Western Europe, which means Belgium and the upper regions of France, was blue skies and summery temperatures. As I had to drive the car around, these two factors combined to form the ideal reason to go camping.

So in went the tents and sleeping bags, food hampers and beer cases, pots and pans and all other camping paraphernalia such as a portable barbecue, a sturdy stove and a refrigerator that could run when plugged into the 12v DC outlet of the car.

Nijmegen is a pretty little Dutch university town located close to the German border, and is not too far from the Belgian border either. We started by heading south on road A2 towards the Belgian Ardennes and a town within it called Houffalize. Belgium is broadly divided into three regions: the Flemish Region, the Brussels Capital Region and the Walloon Region. The latter – also called Walloonia – is where the Belgian Ardennes are.

The beautiful town of Houffalize

The town of Houffalize lies within a national park called Parc Naturel des Duex Ourthes. It covers an area of 75, 998 hectares and is the largest among the nine National Parks of Walloonia. As the Ardennes with its fantastic forests and parks are so ideal for camping, there are plenty of campsites. Some of them are cloistered with motorhomes and tents in close proximity. They feel more like a city block than campsites. If you look around a bit, you’ll be rewarded just as we were when we found one at 8 km on road N860 from Houffalize to La Roche. It was supremely rustic with a large forest area and a grassy knoll by a merrily gurgling stream.

Easier said than done Camping requires a certain amount of enthusiasm and energy. Once out of the car, you need to unpack and put up the tents. That done, we filled up the inflatable mattresses. While sleeping bags are invaluable as space and weight savers, I prefer a mattress and a quilt when I have the luxury of a car as these are more comfortable and not restrictive like sleeping bags.

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 232 user reviews.

[ | | | | ]

by Roy -

The writer of the this article is Rishad Saam Mehta, an avid traveler, writer and photographer who writes for the Mumbai Mirror among many other dailies and magazines including international ones.

Ghent Canal is a busy evening hang-out place

Travel practicality suggests that you should try to arrive at a city during daylight hours so that you get a feel of the city and set your bearings. Ghent, which has always been a contemporary city, would encourage you to arrive after the sun sets. Because it’s citizens know that should you arrive during that lovely twilight hour when the sun has just dipped below the horizon and the sky yet tells of its presence a few minutes ago, there is no way that you could not at once fall in love with Ghent.

This city with the lovely waterways that so gorgeously reflect its history and it articulate architecture remains my favourite city in Flanders, and I might also say in all of Belgium.

We arrived just before sunset into this city of students, tourists and businessmen alike and checked into the Hotel Harmony, which is a fantastic four-star boutique hotel situated in the heart of the city in an old neighbourhood called Patershol. Some of the cosy rooms look out over the historical city centre of Ghent.

We spent some time sighing over the views and then left for dinner which was at Brasserie Bord’eau, a short walk away. This restaurant is situated right on the canals edge and housed in an old Fish Market. The food was delectable and the views were stunning since as the light faded, the famous lights of Ghent went on.

Ghent doesn’t have streetlights, instead all its lights are pointed at its gorgeous architecture and these come on every night and light up the city in a unique and pretty way. In fact a night walk of Ghent is a must-do for every visitor.

So we set off after our dinner and eventually arrived at the promenade in front of the Ghent Marriott Hotel. Buzzing is the word that comes to mind when I cast my mind back to that place at that time.

Students and tourists and locals alike were hanging out by the canals edge. Some of them had spread picnic mats and were having dinner there, others were swigging Belgians national beverage — beer. Oh, but stop me before I start off about the beer. Belgian beer is one of the pleasures you will discover in this little country where this beverage is brewed with passionate enthusiasm and stubborn traditionalism.

Belgique Beer

But back to the canal’s edge and its students, Ghent has always been a city of people who are notorious for their dislike of authority. The history of the city has been interspersed with revolt. In May 1540, Charles V, the emperor, of the time humiliated protesting subjects by forcing them to wear nooses around their necks and beg for mercy. The people of Ghent still wear those nooses as a matter of pride at the city’s festival parade and Ghent people are still nicknamed “noose-wearers” by fellow Belgians. In fact should you take canal boat cruise from opposite the Marriott — a very nice thing to do since they serve you champagne and tapas on the boat — the boat will go past a statue of a man wearing a noose.

Even today should someone whom the students don’t approve of be hired for a post in the university, the students will rise in protest until he or she is removed.

We continued our walk through the pretty city through narrow alleyways canals that once housed drinking houses and brothels when Ghent was a very important trading post, but today in these very locations stand boutiques, chocolatiers and lovely restaurants. Another one that you should absolutely eat at is the Belga Queen. But be warned that their delicious roast knuckle of ham is a meal big enough for three. Besides that, the building and the interiors are absolutely charming.

The next day we spent the morning walking around the city taking in the 12th-Century Castle Of The Counts, which was built not to defend against invading foreigners but to protect the city chiefs from the civilians, and the St. Bavo’s Cathedral which houses an impressive number of art treasures. If you are strong of thigh then you can climb the 444 steps of the tower and take in fantastic views of the city with its red roofs and Gothic architecture.

Ghent is a little-known city and most tourists skip it. But visit it and you’ll be at once charmed by one of Flanders best kept secrets.

Rishad Saam Mehta

14 Oct 2011

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/article2537546.ece

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 158 user reviews.

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by Roy -

For two years I lived in Antwerp, a city known for its diamonds, its beer and it’s snacks, its waffle and frituurs. It is also a place that averages a mere 1320 hours of sunlight a year, which translates into slightly over 4 months. The brief summer, with 16 hours of sunlight sports the greenest of grasses and a variety of flowers that are a riot of colours. It is the second largest city in Belgium after Brussels. An hour and a half away, is where Napoleon met his Waterloo. When I reached Belgium, the only thing I was familiar with was the detective with the odd moustache, and the egg-shaped face – Hercule Poirot.

Extremely cold during the long winters months, it is balmy in the short summer. The summer is equivalent to the spring that Delhi experiences in February and March. Temperature of 30 degrees Celsius brings the entire city outdoors. There are essentially only two seasons in Antwerp – summer and winter. The summer days are long with daylight upto 16 hours. The rains are perennial, raining even on bright, sunny days when the skies had been a striking blue, just before the downpour.

The people are friendly as long as you do not hope to share their umbrella during an unexpected downpour. They do not shy from eye contact with strangers and always have a ready smile, initially almost disconcerting. Barring the elderly, who on occasion wistfully complain of loneliness, beyond the smile, Belgians are not keen on a casual conversation.

The language spoken is Flemish, a Belgian variant of Dutch. However, as it is a cosmopolitan city with people from several races, English is widely understood. It was a comfort not to be compelled to learn the local language, albeit at risk of never knowing what your colleagues said about you.

Coming from India, the contrast in behaviour on the roads is noticeable. Belgians are sticklers for rules. There is strict demarcation on all public roads for bicycles, pedestrians and vehicular traffic. Traffic signals are honoured like the commandments from the Holy Book. They also abhor noise and horns. Loudspeakers are unheard off. All sounds are muted. In fact, neighbours have been known to complain at the use of a flush at an unearthly hour!

A small city, there are several historic walkabouts past buildings that have retained their original character despite the passage of time. Particularly notable is the Cathedral, built 1000 years back. A few main thoroughfares still have centuries-old cobbled road surfaces to convey a sense of history. There is a shopping mall some 2 km long that boasts the best known brands of the retailing industry. Many shops offer glasses of wine and cheese to make shopping more pleasurable.

Flanking the city, the river Schelde flows to the North Sea, making Antwerp one of the busiest ports of Europe. From the tourist perspective, Antwerp is strategically located with the capitals of UK and France easily accessible and Netherlands barely an hour’s drive away.

There are numerous pubs, particularly inviting in summer, when chairs and tables are arranged outdoors. These cafes are a major attraction and because of the long summer days, with daylight up to 10 pm, lingering contentedly over glasses of beer becomes a pastime in itself. Volumes have been written about the Belgian beer, all of them well-merited. Equally delightful are the frituurs or French fries and waffles, which taste best with dollops of cream on them. The Belgian chocolates are famous. Arguably the best are those that melt without your having to bite or crunch into them. And the memories remain, long after Antwerp is left behind.

Sunil Damodar

2010

http://www.indiatravelogue.com/trav/impr39.html

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 274 user reviews.

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