Day 35, 17 July 2014, Antwerp Sightseeing Fiesta. Really. Having already got my money's worth out of the Antwerp City Card, I had until 3.30 pm to get even more value - another €37 worth as it happens. I had a plan! Left hotel at 9.38 am... Slightly behind schedule due to 3-toed sloth approach to breakfast. Made it to the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp's Notre Dame, by 10.03 am - just past opening time. Although completed in 1521 it's been trashed a few times over the centuries, but is now perfect. More so an art gallery than a Cathedral at the moment because of the Reunion Exhibition where various masterpieces designed to adorn altars have been brought back from the Antwerp Museum of Fine Arts. Actually awesome that the Arts place is under significant renovation because swathes of the good stuff has been distributed throughout other locations in the city. Certainly enjoyed the various Rubens on display at the Cathedral, but it was a flying visit and back to my old friend the Hop & Stop Trolley for a cruise around town in the cool of the morning and an awesome commentary from the driver who was born & bred in Antwerp. Absolutely incredible to think during the Golden Age of Antwerp in the 1500s that the population here was 100,000... by comparison, London was 60,000 and Amsterdam was only 20,000. Next stop was the Red Star Line Museum. Owned by the same umbrella company that owned the White Star Line oddly enough (RMS Titanic, Brittanic, Olympic). The Red Star Line got going in 1873 and it was only World War II that saw it's eventual demise due to ownership by a Jewish man. It turns out almost 2 million people over the years made it through war-torn, poverty stricken and politically oppressed countries, sometimes taking months, just to get to Antwerp. Clutching a ticket for the Red Star Line the steerage passengers would then be disinfected, along with their luggage, go through rigorous medical checks and paper inspections and eventually be on their way to the New World - Philadelphia and then New York. One of those museums where I thought it would be a quicky look-look and go and ended up there for well over an hour. The museum is housed in the building down near the docks where the company actually processed all the emigrants. Quite eerie. Famous people to go through here? Quite aside from anyone else - Albert Einstein and Irving Berlin (or Israel Isadore Baline from Belarus as he was as a 5 year old heading to NY in 1893.) By the 1920s his music (think White Christmas, Cheek to Cheek) was playing in the first class salons on the Red Star Line. Right - massive dose of history accomplished, it was a stroll to the MAS/Museum aan de Stroom / Museum on the River to you and me. Whilst it had various exhibits in the "paid" area, the commentaries were in Dutch - so not so interesting. The main highlight of the MAS is travelling on escalators up to the 10th floor passing through a photographic record of "The Exodus - Fleeing the War". It's a pretty big deal here in Belgium as it's the 100 year commemoration of WWI this year. Absolutely heart-wrenching photographic record of the destruction of Belgium and Antwerp in particular, the Nazi troops marching in the Grote Markt and the eventual return to rubble. The purpose of travelling up 10 floors however was the panoramic rooftop with views over the port and historic Antwerp - truly a massive place. I headed back to ground in order to visit the Diamond Pavilion - but darn it, it was shut for a cocktail party and I had to make do with the Silver Pavilion... Didn't have time to make it out to the Silver Museum, so this exhibit of silver jewellery from the Taxco province of Mexico was an excellent substitute - things I learned... once upon a time Mexico was called New Spain. Still a huge producer of silver and we can attest to that - when we cruised to Cozumel a couple of years ago, the quality and prices were unsurpassed. Right. Onwards. The little trolley only stops once an hour, so it was a gentle stroll from the MAS back through Old Antwerp to Rockox House, once the residence of Nicolaas Rockox, mayor of Antwerp and patron of the arts. Due to Antwerp's Royal Museum of Fine Arts being closed for rebuilding, they have brought masses of quality pieces here and transformed Rockox House into a 'Golden Cabinet'; in order to give a notion of how a rich Antwerp art collection of the Golden Century must have appeared. Wow. I say again, Wow. The fully illustrated guide alone makes for amazing reading - actually standing in front of masterpieces from the 1300s onwards whilst reading about them is superb. Obviously a lot of religious art - but also some incredible portraits. So good they feel like worm-holes in time - 500 odd years ago this person sat, very still, looking out into the future and now I'm standing in a luxurious home looking them in the eye and thinking about their lives. There are some photos of some of my favourite pieces in today's album. Mind you, my nerves were on edge by the time I left - due to the quality of the art they have an invisible 60 cm light barrier around everything - which screeches like a banshee when I poke my nose a bit too close to some of the smaller pieces. Ahh well - still super to see pieces displayed in a home from their own period instead of a sterile museum gallery setting. Last but not least, one final trek down the backstreets led me to Museum Mayer Van Den Bergh. This guy lived in the late 1800s and was a collector. That's what we call a hoarder with money. There was nothing this fellow didn't have a bit of - art, furniture, porcelain, sculptures, tapestries. I think if he'd visited your home back in the day it wouldn't have hurt to count the teaspoons afterwards. In any event he certainly had "an eye" and was picking up canvases by Brueghel for a pittance back when they were considered a bit disturbing and not proper art. After his death at only 42 in 1901, his mother decided to make his dream come true and set up this museum in his memory. It was set up next to the family home and opened in 1904. Very interesting indeed - but I must admit to wilting a bit by the end of the visit... lurched back to the main square, jumped on the trolley, made it back to Centraal Station in one piece and cruised the Diamond quarter. Finally back at the supermarket and hotel for a pesto pasta salad and a feet up. Time to do a mini-pack and think about tomorrow morning's adventure - down to the station and off to Ghent - considered by some to be the prettiest city in Belgium because it was hardly damaged in the wars - should be excellent.
(Pictured today is the Town Hall in the cool of the day - 10 am.)