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Belgium
We arrived in Belgium and more rainy
drizzly weather greeted us on the first day. We enjoyed some great food, friends and adventures in
Belgium. It was our first country
during the voyage where we encountered a different language from our own. The first thing we did was go to the nearest waffle shop and get some waffles after lunch. After that we went and got some frites (french fries) with daddy. They have dozens of sauces to pick from to go with the fries, most are mayonnaise based!
Next we went to the Cathedral of our Lady, it was right next to the ship. Surprisingly, the girls loved seeing inside the Cathedral. Usually buildings are boring for them, but it was so grand inside they liked it! I think the cathedral felt so expansive inside because the streets are tall, dark and narrow outside. It was amazing that they built such a large ornate church 500 years ago. The ceilings seemed to up forever. Riley figured out on her own, that the stars on the ceiling and the picture were meant to be heaven! They each chose a rosary at the end of our visit.
We saw a double decker horse and carriage and both girls asked for a ride. We climbed aboard for a short tour of the city. They loved it, and we got to see some of the city while giving our feet a rest. Rachael asked the names of the horses and got to pet them too. The tour ended at the fountain, and we got to learn a bit about the history of Antwerp, and some Greek mythology. The buildings surrounding it are all government offices.
We spent alot of time wandering the maze like streets of Antwerp and seeing what we find along the way. We discovered that the arts are very important in this city and there were many installations and performers in the streets. We also found a street auction. It was like a flea market or swap meet, but in auction format instead. The stuff wasn't really of any quality, bidding usually started at ten cents! They would hold up an item and bidding would start, usually no one would bid! We were not allowed to look at the stuff closely on the tables before bidding so you did not know what you were really getting. Riley got a stuffed dog for 50 cents in Euro, and Rachael opted for nothing!
We spent a day at the Antwerp zoo. We had a friend from Amsterdam join us for the rest of our stay in Antwerp. He took us to the zoo. It is the oldest in Europe, a little over 150 years old! It is a great zoo, and we were there on a Thursday, so we had the enitre park almost to ourselves! There was a great variety of animals. All the big cats from Asia and Africa, Safari animals, gorillas, many kinds of monkeys...we were there from opening to closing! They appreciated having a kids day, and doing what they liked.
There was an underground tunnel right next to the ship, and we went to explore that too. There was a complex a playgrounds on the other side, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. We also found some school children painting out on the street, and the girls wanted to join them. So our flemish speaking friend from Amsterdam asked them, and they said the girls could paint too. Everyone was very shy at first because the language difference, but they found a way to communicate in the end. When it was time to go, we left the artwork there to pick up the next day when dry. The next day Riley and I returned to pick-up the artwork, and we remembered it was Saturday, no school! The ship was leaving that evening at 8pm, so we had to leave the art there, which was hard for Riley. But we took pictures to remember:)
Riley wanted to go to a park that had bunnies and sketch, but Daddy and Rachael did not have any interest in that, so Riley and I spent the day together drawing in the park. We brought some food for picnic, and it was nice to get some green in with all the city surrounding us. At the end of the day, we were returning to the ship for dinner, and buying our Belgium chocolate to take with us. Riley suggested we buy some chocolate for the person living under the stairs by the ship. So I let her pick some for him, and she made a card that said "that's right love will change the world" from her sketch paper and made a gift. We had been in Belgium for 6 days and never once saw who lived under the stairs though we looked every time we left and returned to the ship. We talked about what it means to be homeless, and not to necessarily pity them, but to show them compassion and love. As Riley and I were walking to the ship and up the stairs we looked under and there was a person there! Riley was ready to leave her gift on his mattress, but was shocked when there was an actual person there. She turned to me and clammed up! I came forward and said we noticed your home here and your sign, and my daughter wanted to give you this. Riley introduced herself, and told him we were leaving tonight, which he already knew. He did not give his name, but shook both our hands and said thank you, and that he would watch our ship go and wave bye.
That was a great way to end our time in Belgium.
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| The ship arriving in Antwerp, Belgium |
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| The view that greeted us as soon as we stopped off the ship |
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| Our first stop was a 5 minute walk from the ship, waffles Belgium style with lots of real whip cream, chocolate and fruit. |
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| Right around the corner was some real Belgium frites (french fries). |
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| Rachael enjoying some open space to run in a cobblestone square. |
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| We found some narrow 500 year old streets. The girls found it hard to believe that people really lived there! |
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| The Cathedral from the 1600's that was in the center of town, and right next to the ship. |
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| The girls each lit a candle and said a silent prayer. |
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| Inside the Cathedral was huge, Riley said the angels must have helped make it way back in the olden days! |
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| The Cathedral was lit up beautifully as night fell. |
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| Rachael watching with longing...a ride on the carriage in coming soon. |
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The driver let us pet the horses after the ride, and he took our picture.
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| The fountain of Antwerp in the downtown city square |
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| Here is an explanation on the symbolism of the fountain |
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| The girls especially noticed the giants hand and head were chopped off and gushing! |
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| Enjoying a lunch upstairs in one of the 500 year old buildings! |
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| we were walking when the girls were stopped by music in the middle of the street... |
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| We found an outdoor street auction on our explorations. |
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| A silly band was playing some fun music in the streets. |
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| Riley stopped to watch some dancing, martial art style. |
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| this was our favorite waffle shop, we visited 3 times! |
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| as soon as we entered the zoo the giant puppet grabbed the girls before they could run away! |
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| the tigers across the way could not compete with baby ducklings! |
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| this bird allowed us to get right up to him |
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| Rachael sharing her lunch with some of the wildlife at the zoo |
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| Riley hanging like a monkey at the zoo |
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| Each square rand a bell when you stepped on it, the girls loved it. |
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| the girls were watching the baby meercats, while he was standing guard |
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| we took an old wooden escalator to get to the tunnel under the river |
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| there were two escalators, and the second was the longest we had ever seen |
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| The tunnel under the river, it was 500 meters long! |
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| there was a huge playground on the other side of the tunnel! |
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| working together on a project to make a sand dinner |
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| we met some school kids during our wanderings about the city |
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| they made a sign that says "buy waffles" |
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| we went to the "bunny" park to sketch but only found one bunny and lots of birds |
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| here is one of Riley's many sketches she made that day at the park |
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| going back the next day to get our paintings at the school, Riley ringing the bell. |
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| It was saturday, school was closed we could see the art through the window |
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| The art stays, but at least we can take a picture of the school. |
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| the girls found a homeless camp right under the stairs to the ship terminal |
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| Riley wanted this picture too, it inspired her. |
