I’ve just spent a couple of days on a work trip to Antwerp, Belgium. It has been many years since I went on a work trip – Antibes, France in 2018 when I was working for Automattic. This is my first trip with Creative Force.
This trip was entirely optional but a good opportunity to meet a significant proportion of our engineering team who I work closely with every day. We spent two days event storming a new product feature which was frustrating at times but fruitful overall.
We are an international group representing 6 different countries. It was wonderful to meet people I’ve been working with for years but never met in person. They’re a friendly, welcoming bunch.
During the day we worked but at lunch and in the evenings I got to explore the city which is picturesque with tree-lined streets, enchanting architecture and enviable cycling infrastructure. Indeed active travel is very easy and I walked everywhere but Antwerp also has trams, buses and a very good train network.
Locals were friendly and always happy to help which was fortunate as one day during lunch I ventured quite a long way from the hotel at which point my phone battery died leaving me without a map and unsure how to get back. I don’t think I inherited the British “keep calm and carry on”. I’m more of a “panic and freak out” type of person. My sense of direction is also abysmal; at one point, when I was quite close to the hotel I realised later, I was in the middle of an intersection with no idea whatsoever which direction to go. I asked someone who pointed me in the right direction. In the days before phones it would have been easy to get a printed map but these things are no longer widely available.
Antwerp has a magnificent train station. Indeed it’s listed as one of the top ten sights to see and I can see why. 19th century European train stations are often beautiful but this one has the wow factor.
You can sit and enjoy a coffee with this nice view which is exactly what I did.
Another view of the train station.
Apparently it is locally known as the spoorwegkathedraal (railway cathedral) and is sometimes cited as the most beautiful railway station in the world. I’m glad I got to see it as the train hall was bombed in WWII and sustained damage which is still visible today. They also considered demolishing it in the mid-20th century when so much beautiful architecture was lost to stupid civic decisions. Thank goodness they preserved it for future generations to admire.
Not far from the station is Stadspark, a little peaceful oasis in the busy city centre. You can easily wander around here for 30-40 minutes. It’s a nice place to run or walk a dog as I saw many people doing.
I love an iron suspension bridge like this one which reminded me of the Cambus o’May bridge in Aberdeenshire though not as big.
There’s also a skate park.
Suspended above the skate bowl is a graveyard of skaters’ shoes. This is where worn-out shoes are laid to rest.
Antwerp has a gothic cathedral, The Cathedral of Our Lady, that was never fully completed but is the largest in Belgium nonetheless. I didn’t go inside because it was closed when we walked past but it apparently houses some significant Rubens paintings.
On the River Scheldt is Het Steen (The Stone), a medieval castle and Antwerp’s oldest building dating back to the early 13th century.
Not far from the river is Grote Markt (Market Square) which is a picture perfect sight with architectural elegance on all sides. At one side is city hall, the administrative centre of the city, built from 1561 to 1565 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In front of city hall is Brabo Fountain, a bronze statue of the city’s founder tossing the severed hand of a mythical giant called Druon Antigoon.
There was much to admire just wandering around.
A horseless carriage.
Botanic gardens.
Street art.
I saw a few pigeon friends. This poor little dude has stringfoot but I couldn’t help him as I was without my stringfoot kit, net and food. Plus feeding pigeons in Antwerp is not permitted and I can’t see how I could catch one without the lure of food. There were so few pigeons there and I felt very sad for the few I did see especially this one that was limping. It is a tough place for them.
One day when I was at the skate park I crouched on the ground to get closer to a couple of pigeons foraging and nearby were three youths with loud music blaring. They were giving me funny looks which I responded to with smiles and muttered something about the pigeon’s foot needing help. I tossed a crumb of food to the pigeon, yes I know this is not permitted but I took a risk as I wanted to help the poor thing. Soon after one of the youths tossed a cigarette butt so I told him off and said it was “litter”, “rubbish”. I’m not sure what these words are in Flemish but he understood as he went and picked it up so I smiled and gave him the thumbs up. He smiled back.
I believe you can be fined for discarding cigarette butts but I don’t think it’s enforced as they’re all over the city. Indeed I felt the litter problem was worse in Antwerp than Aberdeen. But as disparate as the youth and I are as individuals we both would have been fined equally had either of us been caught – him for tossing a cigarette butt and me for feeding the pigeon. He did not reprimand me. Somehow that makes me feel like we had a connection and although I despise it when people deliberately litter, he recognised it as wrong and rectified it which heartened me. We are all imperfect and sometimes we need to be a bit more forgiving and understanding.
It was a wonderful little trip but it’s always nice to return home and I was delighted to see Aberdeenshire’s patchwork green fields from the plane. I adore this little island I call home and nothing beats a homemade cup of tea in your favourite mug.
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