Today, we took the train from Brussels to Antwerp, Belgium. We arrived at the Centraal Antwerp Train Station - an impressive-looking building on the outskirts of Antwerp.
The Centraal Train Station is modern and very unique looking.
Once we stepped outside, we were in the modern-looking Belgian town of Antwerp. We immediately noticed the very wide streets (that are not very common).
Since Antwerp is known for a thriving and lucrative diamond business, we expected to see a lot of diamond merchants. We were not disappointed -we saw many diamond sellers near the Centraal Train station.
Walking down De Keyserlei Street, we ran into a statue of David Teniers, a famous Flemish artist born in Antwerp.
We continue walking until Meir Street, where many high-end/luxury shops sell their wares.
There are many beautiful buildings on Meir Street in Antwerp.
The streets are full of people and street entertainers.
We saw a beautiful building that turned out to be an indoor shopping mall - Stadsfeestzaal.
We walked inside and were astounded at the ornate and richly decorated building.
There was a beautiful Laurent-Perrier Champagne bar - shaped like a champagne glass - with drinks served above and below.
The whole look was very modern and unique.
As there was a nice smoothie bar - Zest Juice Bar, Inna and I decided to try some Belgian smoothies (as we needed to inject some healthy food into our European diet of pastries).
The smoothies were delicious.
After exploring the various shops and restaurants in the mall, we decided to have lunch on the second floor, at the "La Place" restaurant.
The sandwiches and salads at "La Place" looked delicious. The desserts seemed quite tasty also. We had a hard time settling on just a few items.
I get hungry just looking back at these photos.
After a delicious lunch, we walked around the 2nd floor and ran into a gallery of paintings.
We saw some interesting paintings on the 2nd floor.
We exited the Stadsfeestzaal Mall and walked by a lovely bronze sculpture of a bird.
From here, we decided to check out Ruben's House. We purchased tickets and walked inside the beautifully decorated house of the famous Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.
Ruben's residence is immaculately decorated with beautiful freezes, paintings, and sculptures.
Once we entered the house, we saw many beautiful paintings painted by Rubens and his helpers. Unlike many other painters, Rubens painted some of the paintings himself, and others were painted by his helpers under his instruction.
Beautiful gardens surround Ruben's House.
After visiting Ruben's House, we stopped by for a quick snack at "La Place Restaurant."
After our snack, we strolled to the Cathedral of Our Lady, a beautiful Gothic church in downtown Antwerp.
The Cathedral has tall, beautiful spires and a large clock.
In front of the Cathedral is a statue of Peter Paul Rubens.
Inside the Cathedral are tall, beautiful ceilings, though not as elaborate or ornate as the ones in Notre Dame (Paris, France).
The Cathedral has beautiful stained glass windows (though a bit plain).
The Cathedral also has many famous religious paintings.
The Cathedral also has beautiful, tastefully decorated, tall ceilings.
Notice the Fleur de Lys on the Cross
The ornately decorated front entrance reminds me of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
After touring the Cathedral, Inna relaxed in nearby Grot Markt Square while I toured a nearby printing museum.
The nearby Plantin-Moretus Museum of Printing sounded intriguing, and I decided to look.
According to Wikipedia:
The Centraal Train Station is modern and very unique looking.
Once we stepped outside, we were in the modern-looking Belgian town of Antwerp. We immediately noticed the very wide streets (that are not very common).
Since Antwerp is known for a thriving and lucrative diamond business, we expected to see a lot of diamond merchants. We were not disappointed -we saw many diamond sellers near the Centraal Train station.
Walking down De Keyserlei Street, we ran into a statue of David Teniers, a famous Flemish artist born in Antwerp.
We continue walking until Meir Street, where many high-end/luxury shops sell their wares.
There are many beautiful buildings on Meir Street in Antwerp.
The streets are full of people and street entertainers.
We saw a beautiful building that turned out to be an indoor shopping mall - Stadsfeestzaal.
We walked inside and were astounded at the ornate and richly decorated building.
 |
The whole look was very modern and unique.
As there was a nice smoothie bar - Zest Juice Bar, Inna and I decided to try some Belgian smoothies (as we needed to inject some healthy food into our European diet of pastries).
The smoothies were delicious.
After exploring the various shops and restaurants in the mall, we decided to have lunch on the second floor, at the "La Place" restaurant.
The sandwiches and salads at "La Place" looked delicious. The desserts seemed quite tasty also. We had a hard time settling on just a few items.
I get hungry just looking back at these photos.
After a delicious lunch, we walked around the 2nd floor and ran into a gallery of paintings.
We saw some interesting paintings on the 2nd floor.
We exited the Stadsfeestzaal Mall and walked by a lovely bronze sculpture of a bird.
From here, we decided to check out Ruben's House. We purchased tickets and walked inside the beautifully decorated house of the famous Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.
Ruben's residence is immaculately decorated with beautiful freezes, paintings, and sculptures.
Once we entered the house, we saw many beautiful paintings painted by Rubens and his helpers. Unlike many other painters, Rubens painted some of the paintings himself, and others were painted by his helpers under his instruction.
Beautiful gardens surround Ruben's House.
After visiting Ruben's House, we stopped by for a quick snack at "La Place Restaurant."
After our snack, we strolled to the Cathedral of Our Lady, a beautiful Gothic church in downtown Antwerp.
The Cathedral has tall, beautiful spires and a large clock.
In front of the Cathedral is a statue of Peter Paul Rubens.
Inside the Cathedral are tall, beautiful ceilings, though not as elaborate or ornate as the ones in Notre Dame (Paris, France).
The Cathedral has beautiful stained glass windows (though a bit plain).
The Cathedral also has many famous religious paintings.
The Cathedral also has beautiful, tastefully decorated, tall ceilings.
Notice the Fleur de Lys on the Cross
The ornately decorated front entrance reminds me of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
After touring the Cathedral, Inna relaxed in nearby Grot Markt Square while I toured a nearby printing museum.
The nearby Plantin-Moretus Museum of Printing sounded intriguing, and I decided to look.
According to Wikipedia:
The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium honoring the famous printers Christophe Plantin and Jan Moretus. It is located in their former residence and printing establishment, Plantin Press, at the Friday Market.
The Plantin-Moretus Museum possesses an exceptional collection of typographical material. Not only does it house the two oldest surviving printing presses in the world and complete sets of dies and matrices, it also has an extensive library, a richly decorated interior and the entire archives of the Plantin business, which were inscribed onUNESCO's Memory of the World Programme Register in 2001 in recognition of their historical significance.[1]
One of the oldest original printing presses in the world is located here in the Plantin-Moretus Museum.
Many types were selected and made for printing in the printing presses below.
After returning from the Plantin-Moretus Museum, I found Inna sipping a nice cup of coffee in a nearby restaurant.
After relaxing, we walked to the nearby river Scheldt, where a large castle - "The Steen"- was erected.
After touring The Steen (there was not much there to see), we decided to explore Antwerp's shopping market. We found nothing awe-inspiring, but we liked all the decorated bicycles.
We saw lots of exciting sculptures attached to houses on the street.
Inna stopped by a few boutiques to try some clothes but found nothing worthwhile.
0 comments:
Post a Comment