17th – 18th December: Meandering
through the Netherlands and Antwerp
 |
| Leiden |
Our destination for the end of the day was Antwerp but we
decided to visit various places en route.
First stop was Leiden- this was another pretty cobble and canal town
that we spent a pleasant hour wandering through. We then drove through the Hague and onto
Delft. Although we had planned to stop in Delft we found it difficult to gain
access due to major road works so we continued on the scenic route towards
Rotterdam where we found a pleasant canal side spot to have our lunch. We were both travel weary by the time we
arrived in Antwerp and needed to get out of the van for some fresh air and to
reflect on our travels over a pint of Leffe in the adjacent crown Plaza hotel.
The only bar nearby!
Tuesday morning it was raining when we woke but we confidently decided we would still make
the bike ride into the old centre of Antwerp and we were so pleased we did.
Antwerp has a lovely square in its centre called Grote Markt. The centre of the square contains a large
fountain and all around were beautiful buildings including the 1600’s staathuis
(town hall). There was also a fort/castle on the river front (Schlept river)
which looked like the type of castle you would see in a fairy tale book with
turrets, ramps and gateways. We also
visited the cathedral which has the tallest spire in the Lowlands and has seven
naves. The cathedral also contained many
works by Reubens who had lived in this city. We passed his family home on our
way back to the van which added to our wonderment at how lovely Antwerp was.
Getting back to England
We left Antwerp in the early afternoon having made the
decision to go back to Brugge before heading off for Calais and our ferry. Brugge midweek was quite different from our
visit when we started our trip off.
However this visit reinforced our views on how lovely this city is. We also spoilt ourselves and had a pleasant
meal in the old centre. It was a lovely
way to spend our last night of this trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment