Antwerp as you have never seen it
May 13, 2018
An alternative city tour through Antwerp in an old-timer Renault Estafette surf bus from the sixties. Yes, we were up for that. Last weekend we went to 't Stad with the family, to meet Jamil (Voyage Local) and his mint green van.
After a warm welcome with some ‘Antwerpse Handjes’ - typical Antwerp cookies (points scored with Jules and Paulien) and a short story about the restoration work of this beautiful old-timer van (points scored with the men), Jamil starts the engine for the ‘Mix of Antwerp’ city tour.
He takes us through very different neighborhoods in Antwerp. From the posh Zurenborg, where stately houses with picturesque front gardens appeal to the imagination, to Borgerhout, where life is clearly more modest. Furthermore we cross the Seefhoek, the Jewish quarter and the old Noorderdokken.
In every neighborhood we are surprised by the beautiful stories that Jamil tells us. In the Jewish quarter, for example, we learn about Jewish customs, the Sabbath, the cooking and eating habits, the costume and the ‘Hatzoloh’ their own ambulance service.
We stop for a while in the graffiti street. This location, full of colorful works of art is renewed every year by artists from all over the world during the Graffiti Festival. Going from large angular letters, to robots and skeletons, these artworks speak to our imagination.
During the ride we listen to various anecdotes about a.o., ‘Jefke of the Zoo’ (top story according to Paulien), genever-, mussel- and fish-women and the ‘females of Cupido’. In addition, we learn where the cozy restaurants are and our attention is drawn to remarkable houses (with their price tag if you want).
After about two hours, we finish our tour at the old Noorderdokken. These large hangars sometimes look a bit dreary at the front, but at the rear the most cozy terraces appear.
Info:
Do you want to discover the real Antwerp yourself, then take a look at the website of Voyage Local
Do you want to discover the real Antwerp yourself, then take a look at the website of Voyage Local
Our photos are shot with a Fujifilm X-T20 + Fujinon XF 18-55mm 2.8-4 that you can buy at Bartok Shop
Thanks a lot Voyage Local for this invitation. We enjoyed it!
Canoeing on the reservoir of Nisramont (Barrage de Nisramont)
Some more impressions of our tour:
