Antwerp

Antwerp is one of the more cosmopolitan cities in Belgium. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that it has one of the best ports in Europe which makes it the second busiest port in Europe behind Rotterdam. Of all the goods that pass through Antwerp, the most famous are probably the diamonds which have historically and for the most part continue to be dominated by Hasidic Jews. In other words, if you want to see the diamond trade, it would be best not to go to Antwerp on a Saturday considering that is the Jewish Sabbath. (I went on a Saturday and the diamond centers were completely deserted).

The train station was an architectural masterpiece in and of itself. Nothing like stepping off the train into a neo-baroque style masterpiece built in 1904...gotta love Europe!

There are a number of stories as to how the city of Antwerp got its name, but my favorite involves the statue in the middle of the city. According to folklore, there was a a giant who would charge a toll in order to cross the river. If you refused to pay the toll, he would chop off your hand. Eventually a young man gave the giant what he had coming and chopped off his hand which is what the statute, and I am lamely trying to, represent. So the name Antwerpen comes from the Dutch "hand werpen" meaning "hand to throw".

This is "Butcher's Hall" and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Antwerp. It was completed in 1504 and the red brick and white sandstone are meant to mimic the look of meat with its layers of fat. 

The Cathedral of Our Lady shown above and below is a huge landmark and amazing attraction in Antwerp. The church is the tallest cathedral in the Low Countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and parts of Franch and Germany). My favorite part of the cathedral and of Antwerp in general, were the amazing Tryptychs by the Flemish artist Rubens. If you look at the pictures of the paintings below (sorry they are a bit blurry) you'll notice that he often uses diagonals to invoke the sense of movement in his works. This adds depth, motion, space, and the sense of time and they were amazing. 

The cathedral took over 200 years to build and the professor giving us a tour commented that at the time, the average lifespan was only around 40 years. In other words, families and generations of a families spent their entire life's working on a building that they never saw completed to its fruition (in fact the church remains "incomplete" as only of the planned two spires has been completed). How often in our lives do we work to an end that we don't ever see completed...does that mean we should work towards an end if we won't see it. The church was a good reminder to me that sometimes its not the end or the reward that is the most important, but its the process of learning and growing along the way which provides the greatest lessons. 

Luxembourg

It took a lot longer to get to Luxembourg than I expected (around 3 hours on the train) mostly because there wasn't a direct Brussels-Luxembourg City train so it stopped at a bunch of places along the way. Still, it was one of those places that you likely won't go to unless of course you're in the area like I was in Brussels. Having said that, I think it's a big mistake to not visit Luxembourg. Luxembourg was one of my favorite places in Europe. A lot of European cities feel kind of claustrophobic and dense but Luxembourg City had a light, airy feel to it. I think a lot of it had to do with the valley that the city is built around makes it feel a lot more open. 

Like most European cities, Luxembourg City had an ornate train station (above) and a church in the center of the city with intricate moldings and exquisite stain glass windows. Having gone to Cologne the week before, I was not overly impressed with the stain glass but it was still worth a look considering how old the church was.

Luxembourg City itself was easily one of the most charming European cities I visited. It was quaint, beautiful, and full of ambiance...just what a European city needs! With its narrow, crooked roads and Gothic cathedrals and picturesque river running through the center it was definitely worth the three hours.

The building above me in this picture was something Matt and I came across in our wanderings around the city. I posted it on facebook.com because I thought it was a pretty cool picture and one of my friends asked what written on the building above me. I had no idea, but she went and found out that it says, "I want to stay the way I am". Interesting. There are times in life when I think we all wish we could just stop time and keep things just the way they are...

Luxembourg would not be complete without an awesome street band!

The pictures above and below are Chemin de la Corniche and is called the most beautiful balcony in all of Europe. I don't disagree. The view was amazing with the houses down below and the little river/canal running through the center. I can only imagine what it looks like in the Spring and Summer with all the trees in full leaf and flowers blooming. 

Matt and I kept trying to get a picture of our reflection in these crazy colored vases...I'll let you decided how well they worked out!

Ahhh...Luxembourg! There are some places where once you've seen them, that's it and you don't want to go back. Luxembourg was not one of those places and I would definitely want to go back and spend a few more days there.

Except...hopefully they have a direct train by then! 

Cologne

Cologne is about a 3 hour train ride away from Brussels. Make sure to bring something with you for the train ride...a book or borrow a friends nook (like I did- thanks Nancy!). You may think that you can look out the window and be so enthralled with the European landscape but really you will get tired of looking out of the window after about an hour. Sleeping is also a good option. I absolutely LOVE sleeping on trains. I think the rocking motion just lulls me to sleep like a little baby!

Anyway, Cologne is a great German city with one of the most amazing churches in the world- the Dom. When you arrive at the central train station in Cologne, you will literally walk right out to see the Dom. It is Mammoth and beautiful. There are English tours of the church daily so first thing I would do after arriving is find out when the tour is. I think our tour started at around 11:00 AM. The tour starts right in the church and students get a discount (as is the case at a lot of places in Europe :) The tour guide told us a lot about the history of the church and how it was preserved during WWII despite over 90 percent of Cologne being destroyed in the war. The stories of city's people sacrificing their lives to protect the paintings, relics, and other historical artifacts in the church was inspiring.

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The Cathedral/Dom itself is breathtaking. My favorite part of the church were the stained-glass windows- in my opinion, the best in Europe (that I've seen- even better than the Vatican!). The Dom gained notoriety as the place where the Three Magi (Three Wisemen) have been laid to rest. 

After touring the church, we went and got some German food which I think is a must! I, of course, got bratwurst and they did not disappoint. After eating we decided it was probably best that we worked off some of the food so we climbed to the top of the belfry and the view was great! 

After the eating and climbing the belfry, we headed to the nearby chocolate factory. If you want to eat or get some hot chocolate at the little cafe at the factory, make sure you get there early. They stop seating around a half hour before they actually close. 

Waterloo

Waterloo is a charming little village about a 30 minute train ride away from Brussels. There are a ton of trains leaving daily from Brussels to Waterloo and I think it was less than 10 euro roundtrip. Just go to the Central Train Station in Brussels and buy a return ticket from one of the helpful ticket-guys (I call them geniuses because they speak a million languages and seem to know the schedule for every train coming through the place).

Once you get to Waterloo, walk to to church in the middle of the village and right next to it is visitor information. The lady who was there when we went spoke English and gave us a map and explained how to get to the various locations.

Waterloo was the site of Napoleon's final defeat so for you history buffs it's a great place to visit especially if you find yourself in or around the Brussels area because it's so close and easy to get to. Plus the museums are actually quite well done. Make sure to hit up the Wellington Museum and travel to the Lion Statute marking the site of Napoleon's final defeat.