20260923 Antwerp

John here: We checked in to the same hotel we had stayed in, in Spring 2025 – the Hotel ‘t Sandt – because of its great location and excellent bike storage. We plugged all of the batteries into their charging stations, cleaned up and cooled off, and then set off to see what we missed the last time: the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. On the way, I bought an ice cream and an Allen wrench set (because I had left my treasured Park Tools set on the side of a road somewhere…).

Alas, the museum was going to cost about 20€ each and closing time was in 20 minutes. No go. We stepped into the lobby anyway to snap a couple of photos. The view from the top of its front steps is fantastic and there’s a beautiful mosaic up there. (Beautiful view of our brown legs and white feet – classic cyclists’ tans – we’ve had extraordinary sunshine!)

We then jumped on the number 1 tram to Antwerp’s spectacularly grand and beautiful train station.

Patti had in mind a classic martini, cold, served in the beautiful cafe bar in the station. Patti was severely disappointed. It was the worst martini ever. But… the zero beer was alright.

After the #sadmartini, we walked past all of the diamond shops (Antwerp is a diamond centre) and high-end fashion stores, to arrive in the famous Grote Markt around five o’clock. It was very, very busy with tourists, and rightly so: it’s spectacularly beautiful.

A highlight here is the Nello & Patrasche (the orphan boy and his dog) sculpture set under some mosaic tiles in front of the cathedral.

And of course there are the iconic buildings topped with their gold statues.

Restaurants in this area were busy and very touristy, but Patti had done some research in the Spring and learned that viewing the sunsets at the top of the MAS Museum was free, and well worth the longish walk from where we were. And so true. The museum is unique, with each of its 11 floors offset by a quarter turn of its escalators. That is, as you exit an escalator you are presented with a new view of the city. Each floor has its own exhibits (which were, unfortunately closed, only the rooftop terrace was open.) The rooftop is open air – windy! – with commanding views in all directions, especially of Antwerp’s portlands.

We enjoyed the Belgian sense of humour in various statues and signs around the city.

After the sun set, we walked in the direction of our hotel, stumbled onto a spectacular restaurant – Orbit – savoured a delicious meal (more moules frites for Patti) and called it a day. Tomorrow, a flat 60kms to Brussels.