Antwerp - Antwerpen, Bruges



Apt Hotel St Jacob - Antwerp Contact Paul Tabe We took a day trip by train from Paris to Antwerp, Belgium to visit one of Gail's friends from her college days. Paul Tabe is in the diamond business and has lived in this city that is known as the world's center of polished diamonds for several years. Antwerp is a very charming town with many restaurants and shops that are compacted together. Modern buildings stand side-by-side with those dating from medieval times. It is in the Northeastern part of Belgium, near the Dutch and German borders. Unlike French-speaking Brussels, the prevalent languages are Flemish and English. Most all of the people in Antwerp seemed to speak English, and Paul says he conducts all his business in English. Flemish, which is a dialect of Dutch, also seems similar to English. I was inside a department store looking at some sokken, which is the Flemish word for "socks". The center of town was bustling with people and activity when we visited on a Saturday. The main street was closed off to pedestrians only. When we took photos of each other, Belgian people passing by would say,"Chee--se", to us. This happened several times. They may have picked up the custom from American tourists. Antwerp has been recently designated as the "Cultural Capital of Europe". In order to claim this illustrious title, a city must demonstrate that they foster artistic, musical, and theatrical exhibits and events throughout the year. Bruges / Brugge - Click on an image for a larger picture Gail and her friend Ginny visited Bruges on a prior trip. Bruges is a very quaint and picturesque city. It's filled with canals, a lot of cobblestone roads and beautiful architecture. The people there were friendly, although we didn't understand Flemish. We also got a sneak preview of the Octoberfest costumes that were very elaborate. Although the Octoberfest is in Germany, people from every country participate. Although we traveled throughout Europe on Eurail, we rented bicycles in Bruges and had a great time bicycling through the city. Gail and her friend Ginny were in a pub. The tables were placed very close to each other. Ginny got up and accidentally knocked over a fellow's beer on the next table. The fellow tried to steal a kiss from her as she was apologizing to him. Ginny desperately tried to get away from him and take refuge in the restroom. Then, a Belgium lady spoke to Ginny in rapid Flemish. Ginny didn't understand a word and proceeded to go to the restroom. When she went in, she understood what the Belgium lady was trying to tell her. Ginny had walked into the men's restroom.