Archives for “Art & culture” tag

There’s only one good reason to defy the crowds on The Meir on a Saturday. It’s this guy.

His music is pretty enchanting so there’s alway a bunch of people standing around and he absolutely deserves his public. Follow your ears and allow yourself a break from all the busy shopping. You’ll thank me later.

Go, watch, be amazed… and drop a coin in his hat if you liked it.

The tricky thing however, is that he is not always there. And there’s no way of predicting if he will be. He has a Facebook page, where you can find some more pictures and comments, but he doesn’t post whether he will be playing or not. So you have to be kind of ‘lucky’ to encounter him on your shopping trip.

So ehm… Good luck .

Ask any Antwerp local to name some typical things from the city of Antwerp and there will always be “De Koninck” in the answer. Brewery The Koninck was founded in 1827 and has been making great beer ever since. You know we Belgians know how to make beer… well our Antwerp beer is a great one! If you enter any pub and ask for “A Bolleke” you will get a “De Koninck”.

So if you like the beer then you should visit the brewery as well. They’ll guide you through its rich history and brewery secrets. It’s worth a visit!

When you are wandering through Antwerp you’ll notice that there is wide variety of architecture and styles. You can find old and authentic houses next to the most modern structure imaginable. But… there is one neighbourhood and especially one street where almost all old houses are in their original form or restored in the original form.

On a beautiful day it is interesting to walk from the train station in Berchem (outer city) towards the Draakplaats, a square with several restaurants and cafés. The development of this neighbourhood coincided with the peak of Art Nouveau popularity and has some other influences as Gothic Revival, Neo-Renaissance, Greek Revival, Neoclassical, and the “cottage style” that coincided with British Tudorbethan architecture…

Anyway… despite all this culturally loaded architectural info… it’s just a nice walk with great bombastic houses from another era. Wander around in the nearby streets as well… and take your time to absorb the details of these magnificent buildings. Even I still find new things every time I pass there. And you can end with a nice breakfast or lunch at café Wattman.

In one of my latest walks I ended up in the beguine convent of Antwerp. I noticed the outside walls several times before, while I was walking through the nearby streets, but that there was a small village behind those walls never crossed my mind.

If you want an hour or two to escape from the city madness, take a book and place yourself on a bench somewhere in this little park.

Particularly charming is the little chapel in the back near the church, where people placed thank you signs to God for their prayers being heard. Whether you are a believer or not, the thought alone makes me smile. Some signs go back to the end of the 1800s.

Near “Het Eilandje” life is changing, this used to be a forgotten neighborhood, but recently activity is increasing. Business – Leisure – Living – Culture, all these aspects live peacefully next to each other.

Centre piece is the MAS, Museum aan de Stroom (Riverside Museum). Planning was scheduled to be finished in 2010, but it was completed in May 2011, typical Belgian planning style! This is a centre for art and expositions, … Check them out on the website.

Also the surroundings of the MAS are very nice to walk around in, with a lot of bars and restaurants. Just looking at this strange but impressive building and it’s reflection is worthwhile.