Antwerp

[amboseli]

Today I met an American friend and showed her around in 'my' city. Here are a few pictures.

Central Station, a.k.a. as the Railway Cathedral





Our Lady's Cathedral

































The narrowest street in the City: Vlaeykensgang







Misc.

[lagatta]

Lovely! I was through Antwerp far too quickly - not my choice. Perhaps if I spend some time in Ghent/Gent/Gand where friends have returned to after their sunnier retirement spot proved too costly (and other things) that will give me more time.

[bixaorellana]

Ahhh ~ wonderful to see this great city in winter after having so recently enjoyed it in the summertime, Amboseli.

Your cathedral shots are beautiful. I absolutely love the one of the saint with the tower & am gratified to see that we zeroed in on some of the same things.

[mossie]

I suppose the architectural style of the station is. ‘High Victorian Gothic’, it is nice to see a more ornamental style than the modern crap. And I translate the name of the narrow street as “they know where they are going”, now tell us what it really means.

[bjd]

Thanks for these pictures, Amboseli. I too have been to Antwerp and really liked it even though we didn't spend enough time there. I don't believe we went into any churches, just wandered around.

[whatagain]

Lovely city.
I hope you had time for a ´jenever'.

[amboseli]

Dec 15, 2018 8:17:19 GMT mossie said:

And I translate the name of the narrow street as “they know where they are going”, now tell us what it really means.

The name 'Vlaeykensgang' doesn't really have a meaning. It has a history, though.
The alley is a historic corridor from 1591 that connects Hoogstraat, Oude Koornmarkt and Pelgrimstraat. Historically, the corridor was inhabited by the poorest people and it was also the domain of the shoemakers, who were to ring the bell of Our Lady's Cathedral in case of emergency.
At the end of the sixties the alley was bought by the - then - 21-yr old Axel Vervoordt (dealer in artworks and antiques and nowadays a big name in and around Antwerp) who bought and renovated the alley and its houses and saved the Vlaeykensgang from the planned demolition.
The current Vlaeykensgang contains a number of shops and the well-known (and excellent) restaurant Sir Anthony Van Dyck.

[kerouac2]

It's nice to see cities like this in different seasons. The railway cathedral and the offical cathedral look equally impressive.

I already know this from Lille, but the Flemish definitely had no aversion to extra architectural flourishes in those days.

[amboseli]

Same city, in the evening

[bixaorellana]

Elegantly beautiful and festive!

[fumobici]

Lovely. I haven't devoted enough time to Belgium, something I should rectify.

[kerouac2]

One of the things we know how to do the best in Europe is to illuminate our nice buildings at night. In fact, elsewhere in the world, just about all of the technicians and technology that have been deployed around the globe to light up monuments, from the pyramids of Giza to Borobudur in Indonesia, are imported from Europe.