Yesterday I was facing the reality that I've only got a limited number of Sunday's left before heading home at the start of July. Fortunately though Sunday is also one of the days that the law library is shut (it's shut more often than it's open), and with the books I need being 'NOT FOR LOAN' there's little I can do. So yesterday I decided to make the most of my externally-imposed work prohibition, by going back to Belgium to try and solve the mystery once and for all. So at 07:17 I boarded a train to visit Antwerp and Ghent in Flanders, or northern Belgium.
Unfortunately things did not start out well and the morning mist that I hoped would lift only got denser the closer we got to the border. Until we crossed the border, when, I kid you not, quite literally vanished. Of the two trains in the Netherlands that are practically guaranteed to be late one is the international train to Belgium (the other being the train to Schipol), so I was amazed to pull into Antwerp ahead of schedule to a lovely sunny day.
Things were looking up, and Antwerp did not disappoint. I know two people who have been, and both remarked that they didn't like the town. I don't know what they were talking about. Sure it doesn't have that homely feel of Brugges, but it doesn't have that nasty city feeling that Brussels does either.
Unfortunately, yesterday was a koopzondag in the Netherlands, meaning that the shops were open, but this was not the case in Belgium where everything remained resolutely shut. But I did notice an odd number of pizza restaurants (by far the majority of eateries) all offering a 20% student discount - competition or cartel? I'll let you decide. Anyway, the fact that places were shut was offset nicely be the fact that there were markets just about everywhere they'd fit, and not just any markets, but the most eclectic markets I've come across. Including one sprawling example that sold everything from toys, to music, to gadgets, to food, to chickens. But not dead ones, no, this one had live ones. Right next to the geese and rabbits.
As for Antwerp itself, I'm sure that visiting on a relatively quiet and sunny day helped my perceptions, but it's a thoroughly calming place. It's located on a river and the architecture of the buildings, both ordinary houses and administrative buildings, is fantastic, especially around the main square, where the more impressive buildings fitted right in with the rest.
Of course, that's not to say that all the more imposing buildings fitted in, with some dominating the skyline in a rather grandiose way, especially the rather petite castle that someone had stuck on the riverside.
On the whole, the architecture is more ornate than the Dutch attempts, but it's quite similar in style nonetheless. Antwerp was exceedingly easy to wonder around, had a number of residential streets that seemed so tranquil and removed from the hustle of the town itself.
I also discovered a tranquil tunnel under the river to the other side which provided one of the those "Does this thing ever end?!" moments.
Perhaps more surprisingly though was the fact that you had to use a wooden escalator to get down there. I don't think I've ever seen one before, and after the Kings Cross fire I'm surprised any still exist - especially in a part of the world where smoking is practically obligatory.
Eventually the clouds returned, which was nice, as I was beginning to feel that if it got any hotter I'd have spontaneously combusted. At the same time I boarded what was probably the least aerodynamic train I've ever seen, to Ghent. I only know one person who's been to Ghent, and she lives there, so she's biased, but I'd heard it recommended as a less touristy-Brugges, and that was good enough for me to want to take a peek.
Oddly, it took longer for me to appreciate Ghent than it did Antwerp. The fact that the train station is about 3 miles from the centre, and that the main road between the two was just that. But when I reached the centre of town I practically forgot about Antwerp. I get the feeling that I'm gushing, but Ghent is beautiful. Really. I'll let some photos do the talking here.
It's one of those towns that just feels old. There were plenty of people walking around in period dress, and horse drawn carts etc, but it didn't feel out of place at all - as if people were putting on a show (which of course they were, but it didn't seem false).
One would imagine that in a place as small as Ghent, or in any other place for that matter, that one or two spires would be enough. But not for Ghent, which lays claim to officially three (right in the centre of town) but many more than that in reality. Of course, I had to climb one.
Of course, you can't go to Belgium without sampling a Belgian waffle, and I found a place that proclaimed itself to make "Probably the best waffle since 1950". I was impressed by its modesty, but was left wondering what was so good about that 1950s waffle I'd never get to sample. Nonetheless, their effort was very good.
Ghent also has a proper university quarter, which I strolled around to find people talking to other people in other buildings simply by shouting out of windows to the other party. There were also people playing what I can only term 'urban' golf in the streets and on the numerous squares.
So, where does all of that leave my feelings towards Belgium? Confused, that's where. As I walking around I was aware that everything felt 'softer' than the Netherlands, but I don't quite know what I mean by that. Perhaps the fact that there's more than one language, with French and German also being spoken, breaks things up a bit and makes everything feel more inclusive. Perhaps it's just because the last time I was in Belgium I couldn't really speak any of the languages, but now I can by with a little Dutch/Flemish. But whatever it was, I really enjoyed the day just strolling around and taking in the sights, and I felt supremely comfortable doing so, which I didn't the last time I was there. The architecture is fantastic as well. There are plenty of examples of good Dutch architecture along the canals in Amsterdam for instance, but it's all a little samey after a while. That's not the case in Antwerp or Ghent, where every little house seemed to have a distinctive style all to itself regardless of its size or stature. Have Ghent and Antwerp tipped the balance that Brussels and Liege did so well in upsetting? I'll reserve judgement, but I will say that from what I've seen, Flanders is a lovely area - that fact that it's basically an extension of the southern-Netherlands, an area that I find equally nice, might well have something to do with that.
Wonder what next Sunday will bring?
PS: If anyone's lost a bike to the water in a river or the sea, then it might have turned up beached in Antwerp.
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