Grote Markt

Probably our favorite place to go in town is Grote Markt. Since day one, Colin has called the statue in the middle of the square, The Animal Statue and we still call it that now. I love it when Colin says "Let's see what's going on at the Animal Statue". I can't even guess as to how many times I have heard him ask this. We have over 150 pictures tagged Grote Markt that include The Animal Statue taken over the past 3 years!!! In sun, clouds, snow, with Jules, with a vuvuzela, with strangers, running through the water, at the Christmas Market, on a regular day, watching a football game, ice skating and more.

The statue in the middle of Grote Markt is actually called Brabo. The legend is that a giant by the name of Antigoon would tax people crossing the river. People who could not or would not pay, had their hand cut off and thrown into the river. The hero, Brabo, killed Antigoon, cut his hand off and threw it into the river. The name of the city was derived from this legend - Hand- throwing = Ant -werpen(meaning to throw). The story is a little gory, but telling it to the kids allowed them to actually notice several other details of the statue that they would have otherwise never noticed.

The city has been doing a lot of paving work around Grote Markt and while doing this, discovered cellar walls of the old town hall that date back to the 16th century. They have fenced off the area and built a temporary bridge of people to see. From what we know, they will be filling it back in again to complete the paving work. So cool.

Beer

The Belgians are famously known for their beer and there are over 1000 beers brewed just within Belgium alone. For Christmas, I bought Craig the latest edition of Belgian beer book picturing and describing all of the beers brewed here. The book offers information on it taste, how it is fermented, the temperature at which it is to be served at, how it is to be poured and of course, a picture of the glass it is to be served in. Every beer has it's own glass and you will never be served a beer in a cafe that is not served in it's proper glass. For the most part, many of the beers here are very high in alcohol content. Normally somewhere between 6% and 8%. We have had some at 12% and I know they go higher than that. At this point, Craig has tasted about 200 of the beers in the book. Pretty impressive!!


We thought it would be nice to bring home some beer mementos for the bar Craig wants in the basement of the house that we don't own yet. At this point, we have a fairly large collection of glasses, which are the easiest to find. It has been more of a challenge to find signs and other accessories, but we have managed to collect some nice things.

We took advantage of one the past weekends to make a quick trip to the Duvel Brewery. The brewery is only about a 20 minute drive from Antwerp and down the street  from Craig's work. Duvel makes several beers including one of my favorites, Vedett, and LaChouffe. We managed to pick up a sign, coasters and make a stop in a local cafe for a beer (or two).

Also, now making Duvel Tripel Hop

This past weekend, we drove to Mechelen to visit the town and have dinner at Brewery Het Anker. They brew many beers under the Gouden Carolus name along with several other varieties. They have been brewing beer since 1471(!!!) but did not start using the name Het Anker until 1872.

The weather could not have been more perfect and instead of using our time to explore the town, we found ourselves sitting at one of the cafes on Grote Markt sipping the local beer. Most of the beer in Belgium is very territorial. Even though we were only 16 miles from Antwerp, there was no sign of DeKoninck, the staple beer in every Antwerp bar. Mechelen is obliviously very proud of there local brew and it dominated every menu here.



Brouwerij Het Anker - Stepped Gables surrounded by cases of beer.



Gouden Carolus Classic and Maneblusser

In Grote Markt - Mechelen, Belgium

Hurting Ears, Bumped Heads and Strained Eyes

The Shand Family has had a lot of adventures over the past couple of weeks.

Chloe had been asking us for a while now to get her ears pierced. A pretty bold question for a three and a half year old, but that is Chloe. Craig and I discussed it and really could not come up with a good why we shouldn't let her. We decided to ask Colin for his opinion and he was very quick to veto it, stating that she needs to be older. We ended up ignoring his opinion and brought her to Claire's (yes, they have Claire's in Belgium, too) the next day. We gave her plenty of warning that it was going to hurt, but she still was determined to have it done. Once we found someone to help us, she sat in the chair calmly, let them pin her hair back and mark her ears. They said she was one of the calmest little girls they had seen. They lined up their piercing gun, both at once, and did it. She flinched hard and curled her head down into her chest, but did not scream or wail. There was a little whimpering but no crying. We do have a video of the piercing, but it makes me cringe every time I watch it.


All worn out after having her ears pierced.

The next day, Chloe was able to show off her newly pieced ears adorned with pink crystal earrings at the annual New Year Toast in Grote Markt. It is almost hard to believe that this is the third New Years Toast we have been too. As expected, there was free fries, beer, gluhwine and juice. It is really an awesome event and it was mobbed. We met up with several friends and camped out for about an hour in front of the swing ride while the kids went on over and over. We have declared that it was going to be the last go around when Colin decided to climb out of the swing the wrong way and landed face first on the cobblestone. The egg on his head grew immediately and then quickly turned black and blue and was followed by blood coming from his nose. We rushed over to the first aid tent where his head was wrapped with ice. They told us we should head over to the hospital to have it checked. Assuming we were tourists, they asked us if we were familiar with Sint Vincentius Hospital and I had to laugh since I feel like we are practically on a first name basis with the staff. It took a few hours of waiting, but Colin was cleared by the doctors and was able to go to school with a good story the next day.

The following Sunday, I headed off to London by myself for Diamond Grading Lab. I have been taking e-learning classes through GIA (Gemological Institute of America) towards certificates in diamonds and pearls. I was excited to get away by myself for a bit. Every time I have been to London, I am so shocked at how busy it is. The tube system is so efficient and is always mobbed. One night, all four corners of the Oxford Circus tube entrance was backed up with people leading all the way up the steps to street level. I still haven't figured out whether to stay to the right or left when walking down the street. Honestly, I don't know if Londoners have it figured out either.

I was pleasantly surprised to see on Facebook that one of my friends from elementary school, Matt, had also just arrived in London. We have not seen each other in about 10 years, so we met up for dinner one night. The day I left, Craig was able to manage 2 birthday parties at the same time, then vomiting and soiled underwear in the evening. Unfortunately, the week went down hill from there with all three of them getting sick.

The Diamond Grading course was an intensive 5 full day lab. It is normally taught over 7 weeks for full time students We were warned on the first day that we would feel eye strain and by the third day, I was definitely feeling it. By day 4, I had to walk way from my microscope a few times during the day and by the fifth day, I felt like my eyes were bleeding. The strain I was feeling must not have affected my judgment too much because I scored a 95% on the 2 stone challenge.

I arrived home late Friday night and had a few days to rest up before I packed back up and head of to London again for a Pearl Grading Lab. I felt like I had a very Dutch moment when I loaded my suitcase onto my bike and rode myself to the Antwerp train station. The train station has a large area underground just for bikes. There must easily be a few thousand there. The stairway leading down has grooves along the sides of the steps just large enough to fit your bike tire so you are easily able to walk it down and back up. I arrived back in London on Wednesday in The Pearl Grading Lab was only one day and the day flew by fast. Although I enjoyed having a bit of alone time, it much nicer to be back home.



New Years Toast in Grote Markt



Christmas Holiday Part 1

Our holiday season kicked off with the arrival of Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Pieten in Antwerp. As usual, it was a big deal to see his boat come up the river and see Sinterklaas and his entourage parade into town. Colin went dressed as Sint and Chloe as Piet. There were easily a few thousand people who came to see him and we were packed in tight to try and get a glimpse. The TV footage that played the following few days proved to be the best view. The kids also got a visit from Sint at school and Chloe found it funny that one of the Zwarte Piets told her she was a little bit bad. She would think that was funny. As expected, we woke up on December 6th to find that they left the kids sweets and toys in their shoes. Colin is already asking if Sinterklaas will be visiting us when we are back in America. If you want a good laugh, listen to this You Tube recording of 6-8 Black Men by David Sedaris describing Sinterklaas.

The opening ceremony for the Antwerp Christmas Market is the Light Parade that starts down by our house and ends up that the market. It is another one of those odd Antwerp events that I would describe as a indie, performance type event that seems to be normal around here. My favorite was the light princess that guilded down the street by way of bicycle, of course!

It is nice to be here during Christmas and to be able to see the markets. Being around wooden shacks covered in lights somehow makes it ok to hang out in the freezing cold. The market gets very crowded and many people end up hovering around the drinks stalls or the fire pits that are set up. It is almost hard to believe that they are not selling beer at the stalls here in Belgium rather, it is typical for the stalls to sell gluhwine, amaretto and of course, jenever.

This year, there is an enormous ferris wheel set up and I brought Colin on. I could not believe that he was not scared, even when we stopped at the top for a few minutes while they were letting people on and off.

Colin has also been playing basketball twice a week. He enjoys playing and has a friend in his class. He is not the best player, but he doesn't seem to get discouraged. He had his first game early in December and recieved a medal for his achievements.

Colin and his giant uniform.

Het Zuid

The neighborhood in Antwerp that we live in is call Het Zuid, or the South. At one point, the Zuid would have been described as up and coming, but now it is known as the trendy place to live. I thought I would take some pictures of some of the interesting things and wonderful buildings we see on a regular basis.

We live just off of the main shopping street for antiques. There are also a couple of fashion concept stores along this street. On the weekends, it is normally crowded with shoppers. There are also several cafes along the street and the weather doesn't even have to be nice to make it difficult to find a seat outside.

Below is an art gallery with an elaborate wood sculpture attached to the facade of the building. It is next door to one of our favorite restaurants, Chez Fred.



Just down the street is another restaurant/bar, Heilig Huisken. The name translates in to The Holy House. Heilig Huisken is a typical example of a stepped gable house that you see all over town. You will often see with them with the year they were build in wrought iron on their facade. I have seen them as early as the 1400's. Heilig Huisken is know for their good service. I would normally consider the phrase 'good service' an oxymoron in Belgium, but they do take care of you here. This is where one of our favorite servers works, Kenny. You may remember him from the Bollekesfeest Tandem Bike Rice.



Heilig Huisken





This is the infamous bar on our corner where the Belgian Beer Pouring Champion works. He also owns the bar along with his father. It is called De Vismijn or Fish Market. The bar has been here since 1930 when the street we live on was the Antwerp Fish Market. It is a landmark in Antwerp and most people know it. It is definitely a hang out for all ages and you can frequently find people dancing inside. On the weekends, there is one man who takes orders and serves all of the drinks. You are not allow to walk up to the bar and order a drink from the bartender. It is suprisingly efficent. The owners are quite friendly and they are nice neighbors to have. With the exception of the Vismijn, our street is full of modern apartment buildings and several high end design shops.



De Vismijn



Even though we only live about 4 blocks from school, there are many interesting sites along the way. Only about 2 blocks from our house is a local Steiner school. The building is probably one of the most well known Art Nouveau buildings in town. 



Art Nouveau Steiner School

Just one block further, in Marnixplaats, stands a large statue of Neptune. There are 7 streets that lead up to this circle, so you are able to get a great view from many places.

Marnixplaats

After I drop the kids off at school, I often walk over to the food store. Along the way is the Royal Musuem of Fine Arts and just behind it is another popular building in Antwerp, t' Bootje or The Boat. It is another Art Nouveau building from 1901.

't Bootje

This apartment building is around the corner from us along the river. The design was inspired by a building designed by Adolf Loos for Josephine Baker in 1928. The original building was supposed to be built in Paris, but never was. Our friends Amelia and Rajat live across the street and have a great view of the building. What you cannot see from the street is a wacky mannekin leg sculpture on the roof. 

                                               

The buildings in Antwerp are pretty diverse. There is a nice mix of old and new with a bunch of Art Nouveau thrown in. We have been pretty lucky with the weather this fall but as you can see, it has turned very grey recently.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Craig has been away all week, so we will be celebrating tomorrow.

Our Local Star and Bal van de Burgemeester

Every year one of the local papers, Gazet Van Antwerpen, prints pictures of most of the Grade 1 classes throughout the Antwerp area. This year they photographed 1208 classes! Today was the day and Colin's class went to the news shop to buy their copies!

This past weekend we ate at the oldest bar in Antwerp. Not sure how this slipped by us until now, but we are sure to be back. The bar, Quinten Matsijs, dates back to 1565 and is named after the painter who worked in Antwerp. After dinner, we head over to the Bal van de Burgemeester or Mayor's Ball. It is common here for the cities/towns to throw a public birthday party for their mayors. We attended the party last year so we knew what to expect. As usually, we attracted and had some interesting times with some odd ball locals.

With Tracie and one of our new friends.

Soccer, Red Heads, Dogs and more...



Barbara and Roman



We are just coming off a busy week and a half.



Friends of ours from Atlanta came to visit with their 2 kids, Roman -5 years and Beatrice -17 months. Both of their kids have red hair and I was able to lure them to Belgium to attend the Roodharigendag (Red Hair Day) in Breda, The Netherlands. It was definitely a site to see. There easily had to be 2000 red heads that gathered for a weendend long festival that included taking an aerial group shot of the attendees. Antwerp was also celebrating their liberation from the Germans in WWII all weekend with different events around the city. The four of us managed to get out 2 nights in a row without the kids for dinner, drinks and the Liberation Ball.



Getting ready for the group photo

On Tuesday night, we attended the Belgium vs. USA soccer game in Brussels. When Craig bought the tickets, he had to declare who we were rooting for because they seat similar supporters in the same section. It was clear that we were the visiting team because we had a seperate entrance that was far from parking and at the back of the back of the stadium. It was my first soccer game and the American supporters were able to fill up almost an entire section. We went outfitted with our USA soccer gear that Barbara brought from the US. Unlike the Belgian sections, the American supporters were standing most of the game and definitely demonstrated the proper way to do the wave when it reached us. We even had Captain America, the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam sitting by us. The US lost but it was nice that the team walked over to our section after the game and thanked us for our support.

The American Section

Colin and Chloe also started  school this past Monday. Like last year, I was the most excited for the beginning of the school year. This year, Colin is required to wear a uniform. They were both very happy when I picked them up at the end of the day. Colin was excited to let me know that there is a girl in his class from New Jersey named Lauren!

KG1 and Grade 1

Barbara, Todd and the kids left on Friday morning and we decided to have a low key weekend and rest up for the Bollekesloop 5K run we registered for on Sunday. If the name of the run sounds familiar, it's because it was hosted by the De Koninck brewery who also hosted the Bollekesfeest from my previous post. We met up with a group of friends and cheered on the kids as the completed the 1K Kids Run. Colin was giving it his all until he ran into someone and hurt his knee. He finished the run, but cried his way to the finish line. Craig and I ran the 5K and both completed it with record times - Craig 29:00  Me 29:13. You know you are in Belgium when at the end of the race you have a beer and a cone of fries instead of a banana or an orange.

Colin and his fellow competitors, Liam and Olive.



Runner #9222



We also had a surprise visitor for the weekend. Our friend Andrew's dog - Aussie! The kids didn't leave him alone all weekend, but I do think he liked the walk around the city we took.

Bollekesfeest

It was a big weekend in Antwerp with the Bollekesfeest here by our apartment. De Koninck is the only brewery in Antwerp and is a staple in most bars in the area. As with all beers in Belgium, De Konick is served in it's own glass designed to enhance the taste of the beer. The De Koninck glass is called a Bolleke. It is typical to ask for a Bolleke to get a De Koninck.

For the past five years, they have held a Bollekesfeest or Bolleke party. It is held in the parking lot by us that I previously posted about. It is huge and probably one of the biggest events I have seen set up. Unlike what would happen in the US, it is a family event with many childrens events planned. They also serve the beer in GLASSES! But that is typical Belgium-beer must be served in it's correct glass and NEVER plastic.

The opening got off to a rainy start but cleared up for the Horeca Bollekes Tandem Bike Race. About 13 bars participated having 2 of their bartenders carry 2 full Bollekes from Grote Markt to the feest while riding a tandem bike. Whom ever had the most beer left in their glasses at the finish line won. No one expected the boardwalk at the feest to be so slippery from the rain and a couple of them completely wiped out.

We were back the next night with two of Craig's colleagues. Half of the Bollekesfeest was set up with local restuarants. Even though they were set up under tents, each set up was elaborate and while you were inside, it felt as if you were in an actual restuarant. We made the most of it and had a sit down dinner, then stopped at another to have some pizza.

We were back again on Saturday with the kids and our friends Hugh and Tracie. Craig and Hugh both successfully attemped to pour the perfect Bolleke on the bar stage and left with an official looking certificate. We spend the rest of the day in the playground that was set up with climbing, cooking and play stations for the kids. It was a hot day here - almost 80 degrees!

The weather was looking great again for Sunday, so we were out of the house at 9:30 and went up to the Art Museum for the free breakfast. We were back at the playground until dinner when we went over to the Mosselfeest. We went to the Mosselfeest the first summer we were in Antwerp and never knew that it was part of the Bollekesfeest. It's funny to think about how little we knew then.

We have big things happening in the next week. I start my Dutch classes again this Friday and the kids start school this coming Monday. We are also having friends with their 2 kids coming tomorrow morning for a week. We have all kinds of things planned including the Red Hair Festival in Breda (boths their kids have red hair). I will be sure to post on that later!

Santas and Snow

We packed in a lot this past weekend. Colin and Chloe's Christmas concert at school was on Friday. Colin's class sang Silent Night. They also helped sing Rudolf with Chloe's class since they really weren't able to carry the whole song by themselves. Chloe completely choked and watched Colin sing the whole time she was on stage. That is Chloe all of the way to the right with her head turned.

That night, we went out with friends who are also from Jersey. Saturday, 2 of Colin and Chloe's friends came over to play and that night, we participated in a 5K Santa Run. All of the runners wear a complete Santa costume and are given a shot of jenever at the midway point. There were so many crazy things happening while we are there, I don't think I would even be able to describe it.  The running conditions were pretty bad. There was already snow on the ground and by the time we finished, it was snowing heavily. Alot of the route was cobblestone and it lead us right through the heart of the Christmas Market. It was pretty crazy.

It has been snowing a lot recently but has only accumulated to about 4 inches over the past week. I don't think there are plows in the city and many people own shovels. I have seen people clearing their sidewalks with brooms, squeegees, and planks of wood, if they bother to do it at all. We even have a friend who attempted to clean the snow from his car with a wooden spoon. Pushing a stoller through slushy snow is almost impossible. It is expected to snow again today and tomorrow.

We initally had plans to travel to Italy over the holiday but they fell though. We will be in Antwerp for Christmas.

Antwerp Christmas Market

Our plans to travel over the weekend were cancelled again due to the weather. It is been very cold here, at freezing or below. It has also snowed often but it has not been sticking too much. They are definitely not used to get snow here so even a little causes a bit of chaos.
The Antwerp Christmas market opened on Saturday. One of the events the city put on was a light parade that night. We were able to bring the kids to see the parade and Santa Claus in his sleigh before the sitter came. Even though it it far from the best market, it is so nice to see the center squares filled with decorated stalls and lots of people hanging out drinking their gluwine and jenevers. The next day, we brought the kids back to the market to ride the carousel and ice skate.

We woke up that Sunday morning only to realize that Craig's bike had been stolen. He will describe is as a gem, but the reality is that it needed new tires in a size that is not manufactured anymore. I wasn't too worried since he has 2 more back up bikes in the garage.  I almost couldn't believe it when I spotted the missing bike just down the street from us today. The fender was badly bent making it impossible to ride. I can't believe it spent the past 4 days leaning against a wall a half a block from us.

We have a busy weekend coming up starting with Colin and Chloe's school Christmas Concert on Friday. Saturday, we will be taking part in a 5K Santa Run. We are given a full Santa costume to complete the race in. Should be interesting. We will take lots of pictures!