Chapter Six – Gotta Hand It To Antwerp
December 6, 2024
Chapter Eight: Looking Carefully In Both Directions In Paris
December 30, 2024Mai Tai Tom Stays On Track Through Belgium, Paris and Strasbourg
Chapter Seven: No Resting In Antwerp
Day Seven: Tallest In Belgium, Lots Of Rubens, A Boy and His Dog, ManSpreading At The Castle, “It’s Closed Today”, Who The **** Is Thierry Jaspart, Come Back In 2030, Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This, Make Sure To Read The Fine Print, The Stolen Caravaggio?, Waffling and Second To Nun
After making our own pancakes (I’ll work for food) and enjoying some fresh-squeezed orange juice plus croissants at Hotel Rubens, we were on our way on our last day in Antwerp.
You can’t stray far from chocolate in Belgium, and the colorful displays made it even more tempting to stop in. Thankfully for my blood sugar, the store had yet to open.
I was hoping these guys would offer us a laurel … and hardy handshake (see Blazing Saddles).
Walking toward the Onze Lieve Vrouwkathedraal (Cathedral of Our Lady), we passed a famous well built by Quinten Matsijs, a blacksmith and painter, who was a founder of the Antwerp School at the turn of the 16th-century. Legend says he had fallen in love with a woman, but her dad, who was also a blacksmith, didn’t think another blacksmith was good enough for his daughter, so Matsijs became an accomplished painter instead. After he succeeded, the father gave his blessing for the marriage. The well is inscribed: “The ironwork for this well was forged by Quinten Matsijs. Love makes the blacksmith a painter.” On the façade of the cathedral we located Quinten’s memorial tombstone, alongside a memorial for soldiers of the British Empire who perished during World War I.
The original church began construction in the 4th century, but has gone through many iterations since. It is one of the tallest in the Low Countries, the largest Gothic church in Belgium (404 feet) and recognized as a World Heritage Site. It has been deemed, “a masterpiece of Gothic architecture.” And who were we to argue?
The first thing we noticed was the stained glass window of Saint Ursula and Saint Gaspar.
We walked toward the Chapel of Mary …
… who is the patron saint of Antwerp.
There are four Rubens’ paintings in the church, including his Raising of the Cross.
The side chapels are exquisite like the Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul on the left and the Chapel of Saint Joseph.
I have to confess, this was a gorgeous church.
We suspected this guy was important, so after a little digging (not literally) we learned it’s the tomb of the seventh Bishop of Antwerp, Marius Ambrosius Capello. It’s fortunate he’s even here, because it was the only statue not obliterated by French revolutionaries.
One of the many side chapels include a painting of Virgin Mary & Child and The adoration of the Magi
I think this is the Chapel of St. John Berchmans.
Next up was the Chapel of the Lamentation of Christ, which has a crown of thorns made of Murano glass.
We went down to see some ruins, but seeing Tracy’s face (the only ruin she likes is me … usually), we scurried back up.
Another Rubens’ masterpiece is Descent From The Cross, which Rubens painted for this cathedral.
Way up high in the center of the dome is The Assumption of the Virgin Mary painted by Cornelis Schut.
There are eight white marble columns leading to the altar.
Under the high altar is another Rubens, this one also called The Assumption of the Virgin. Rubens’ painting is the more famous of the two, I assumed.
Walking through this cathedral sometimes feels like you’re visiting an art gallery.
The oak pulpit supported by two large trees dates to 1713. Birds surround it, including a heron, which is the abbey’s symbol.
A late 19th-century organ with Baroque sculptures contains nearly 5,800 pipes. We were told the acoustics inside the cathedral are amazing.
Please don’t try this at home. It gives an entirely different meaning to Palm Sunday.
One last thing to see was The Chapel of the Holy Sacrament whose altarpiece is named The Supper at Emmaus.
It was time to depart.
We gazed back toward the cathedral after exiting, and saw something protruding from the paving stones. It was a statue of a boy sleeping with his dog. Turns out there’s more to the story. The statute was based on the novella A Dog of Flanders written in 1872. The story is about Nello, an orphan boy, who aspired to be a painter, and his trusty dog, Patrasche.
Although the statue looks very peaceful, the story is rather tragic and contains many references to the cathedral (and Rubens’ paintings). 
Interestingly, this novella was mostly unknown in Belgium, but became all the rage in Japan and was even made into several films, including most recently in 1999.
This was the last bicycle I enjoyed seeing for the next week or so.
On an overcast afternoon, we made a quick stop at the 13th-century medieval fortress, Het Steen, a few steps from the Scheldt river. Had we been so inclined, we could have gone inside to visit the Nationaal Scheepvaartmuseum (National Maritime Museum). Since I didn’t want to have to spell it more than once, we didn’t go inside.
Although it looked like someone man spreading, this sculpture is of Flemish folklore character Lange Wapper (a good rap group name). He was known as “a towering giant terrorizing townsfolk.” People would hang effigies of the Virgin Mary at their houses, because Lange hated the Virgin Mary, hoping her image would keep him away. We steered clear of this dude and moved on.
Speaking of churches, we stopped by Sint-Pauluskerk (St. Paul’s Church). The sign said it was open (foreshadowing alert), but alas it was not. We had wanted to see something about a “stolen” Caravaggio painting.
After chatting with a woman who was pulling out of an adjacent building, she told us the church would not open on this day. All we found was this little shrine.
Splitting up to explore more of Antwerp …
… Tracy and I happened by this sign. We didn’t know who Thierry Jaspart was, but it didn’t seem he was too popular. Turns out Jaspart has put stickers up all over Antwerp with these words. That’s one way to promote yourself.
Damn, I have to get a Belgian waffle before we leave town.
Sint-Pauluskerk to Rubenshuse (Rubens’ House) is only about a 20-minute walk. It’s where the renowned painter lived for three decades. Sadly, we learned we wouldn’t be able to tour the interior, since it is under renovation until 2030, when I’ll be lucky to get around my own house. However there are gardens, which are planted to resemble what they looked like in the 17th century, so we took a little stroll.
Willem and Jasper (Rubens’ gardeners) made sure this was a peaceful spot for him (and others) to enjoy.
Walking through the garden, there were enough flowers for Tracy to admire.
Although we couldn’t go inside, we were allowed to scope out the interior courtyard.
The two Roman Gods prominently displayed on the portico are Mercury (representing painting) and Minerva, the Goddess of Wisdom.
I think these guys were here to make sure we didn’t enter.
All in all, a minimally worthwhile visit.
Before you could say “lunch,” we ran into what looked like a palace selling chocolate. Well, in reality, the Chocolate Line is located in a palace’s former kitchen, salon, bedroom and dining room, which was used by Napoleon’s grand marshal.
The Paleis op de Meir (Koninklijk Paleis) has quite the history. It was built in the mid-1700s and purchased by the aforementioned Napoleon in 1812 (must have made quite the overture), but he never lived here. It housed the first Belgian head of state after the Belgian Uprising of 1830, and then became the Royal Palace for King Leopold I. Visitors over the years included Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill and a myriad of other notable guests. It was restored in the 21st century and is, I think, open for guided tours on Sunday. One problem, this was Monday.
Speaking of the kitchen, after walking around the courtyard, we stopped in, what we were told, one of the city’s premiere chocolate establishments …
… and certainly its most opulent, with quite the interesting array of chocolate characters.
We bought a little chocolate, which we went (well, you know)
If you go, tell them a little birdy sent you.
As we passed near the Cathedral again, we spied a monument to the architect of the cathedral, Pieter Applemans, and all the people who worked on its construction.
In front of City Hall of Grote Markt is the Brabotontein (Brabo Fountain). It tells the story of the legendary founder of Antwerp, Silvio Brabo, severing the hand of … well, here’s the rest of the story.
According to my best friends at Wikipedia, “The legend tells of a giant called Antigoon who was said to have lived near the Scheldt and extracted a toll from passing boatmen who moored in the area. He severed the hand of anyone who did not pay, and threw it in the river. Eventually, the giant was challenged and killed by a young captain of the Roman army named Brabo, who imitating what he had done, cut off the giant’s own hand and flung it into the river. The fountain reflects the moment when Brabo throws the giant’s hand into the river.” I’d like to say we both gave the fountain’s creator a hand, but I didn’t want to tempt fate.
Still full from our fairly large breakfast, we decided to grab a small lunch. After deliberating for about two seconds we decided to return to our delicious dining spot from the previous evening, Restaurant ‘t Hofke. Down the famous alley we walked.
The host today was the sister, and she was just as nice as the rest of the family. We sat on the patio under the large fig tree. They must know my propensity for being cold, because they even had blankets hanging on the back of the chairs.
We started with drinks, and I ordered an excellent beef carpaccio with arugula, balsamic, capers and Parmesan. Tracy enjoyed her soup of the day, leek with spinach, plus a really delicious seeded bread. Once again,’t Hofke delivered.
I told Tracy that I thought the woman we had talked to at Sint-Pauluskerk was incorrect, and that the church was open on Mondays, so I wanted to go back and check. We passed some street art along the route.
We got there and found out the reason it wasn’t open earlier. I had failed to read the fine print that stated that it didn’t open until 2.
I cannot shed any light of the meaning of “The Solar Child.”
We entered The Way of the Cross Chapel.
The confessional included wood carvings from the 17th-century.
The 1670 marble portico, former high altar cost about 3.8 million euros in today’s money. It features Rubens’ Vision of Saint Dominic (geez, this guy was busy).
The Chapel of the Holy Sacrament has yet another Rubens, The Disputation of the Holy Sacrament.
One last chapel before …
… we stepped outside to The Mountain of Calvary, referring to the 63 sculptures that are interspersed throughout the garden.
There are four paths; the garden of the prophets, the garden of the evangelists, the angel path and the Calvary.
A docent led us back inside to hear about “The Stolen Caravaggio,” the Madonna of the Rosary. It was donated to the church in the 1620s, but in the 1870s Emperor Joseph II of Austria took it to add to his art collection. A few years later, a replica was painted by Andreas Bernardus de Quertenmont, a director of the Antwerp Academy, to replace the original. (FYI: the original resides at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.)
We quickly checked out the treasury, and that was it for Antwerp’s main attractions.
However, there was one thing I had missed on the trip … a waffle. Tracy went back to hotel for a little shut-eye (I wear people out on our trips … in more ways than one). Nearby the Grote Markt was Philip’s Biscuits. Biscuits AND homemade waffles, what’s not to like?
I waited around for the waffle to be made, and the very nice women, knowing they had a sucker for all things unhealthy, gave me a couple of cookie samples.
So I left with a waffle (it was near dinnertime so no toppings), and a little box of delicious cookies that I would bring back to Tracy to share. Unfortunately by the time I returned to the hotel, only two remained.
For dinner, we had reservations at our hotel-recommended Elfde Gebod, which describes itself as “the beer restaurant with the most unique interior in the world.” Because Kim and Mary had missed the last church, I thought they’d admire “the unique church-inspired decor and vibrant atmosphere.” However, when we walked inside, it looked like we were visiting my late mom’s retirement home.
Once again we had goofed .., we were in the wrong Elfde Gebod. We’d walked into the Riverside location, while we had made reservations at the nearby Elfe Gebod Cathedral Restaurant (Torfbrug 10).
It’s located in a building dating back to 1425, whose top floors proved to be great locations to defend against invaders, and was once the property of the cathedral known as Het Paradijs (The Paradise). I dubbed the fun interior of the restaurant, “Religious Kitsch.”
They have live music (it was excellent by the way) and a cool bar.
Fortunately for us oldsters, they put us in a small corner room off the main area so we were able to talk AND hear the music. It was no less kitschy however.
Our hostess told us the restaurant was established in the 1870s, and it served as a nunnery for, as she said, “only lovely women.” It made me think of Zoot (“Naughty Zoot”) from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Kim and Mary had some strict dining partners behind them. Kim looked a little uneasy with them looking over his shoulder.
Dinner was served on unique placemats.
Speaking of unique, the dishes had some interesting names, like Cheesus, Adam’s Rib, Ave Maria Salade, and for dessert Holy Grail, Forbidden Fruit and White Nun. Mary dined on the Apostle’s Fish Stew, which was much better than my Babel’s Burger.
Tracy loved her vol-au-vent.
Although disappointed with my dish, the Elfde Gedod was a fun dining establishment, with good service and, mostly, good dishes.
We’d taken so long for dinner that we missed the Blue Hour, but it was still fun to take one last walk through the Grote Markt in the dark.
Nello and Patrasche were still in deep repose.
City Hall was quite a sight at night, flags waving in a slight breeze.
It was a pleasant way to spend our final evening in Antwerp.
One last look, and our time in Antwerp (and Belgium) was complete. We absolutely loved Belgium.
From Brussels to Bruges …
…. to Ghent and finally Antwerp, the sights were marvelous and the people very friendly and helpful. We’d have loved to spend more time there.
Tomorrow, we would head south to one of our favorite cities in the world.
We were very excited to return to Paris, and we did have some exciting moments while there, but unfortunately not always in a positive way.
Next: Chapter Eight: Looking Both Ways In Paris
Day Eight: “Forever”, Mixed (Train) Signals, “That’s Not Our Hotel”, Hell On Wheels, Navigating Navigo, Red Lights Are Only A Suggestion, Trucker’s Route For Dinner, “Um, We’re Still Here” and Saved By Natalie Wood (or was it Katherine Ross?)
