Antwerp And Goodbye
Today I was moving out of Melsbroek and spent one last day with my friend / the second volunteer from the NMSC and together we explored Antwerp!
At 8.30AM my alarm clock is ringing and I’m way to tired to get up, so I snooze it way to often and now the time is running. My last stuff is going out of the room, which was my home for the last 8 months. Nele and I put everything in her room because I can’t take it with me now and so I’ll take it with my father on Sunday and go now just with a backpack and my purse on the run!
After some joggin’ through the hospital to see some people for the last time we head to the bus stop and take our bus to Vilvoorde where we’ll take the train to Antwerp-Central. It’s way to warm with my leather jacket, the backpack, the purse and my winter jacket (at the coast I’ll probably need it!) so my leather jacket is going into the trash can at the station. Goodbye my dear friend, your best times are behind you.
In the train we talk about what we wanna do and see in Antwerp and create a rough plan that we want to follow later.
The moment we got out of the train and see both for the first time the Antwerp Central Station we’re both just whispering “wow..” and I can’t take enough pictures from one of the most beautiful train stations I’ve ever seen! Nele nearly has to pull me out of there so that we still have some time left to go explore Antwerp and so we start heading to the Rubenshuis, the former home and studio from Peter Paul Rubens, which is now used as a museum. Afterwards we walk to the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal and after I’ve bought a Antwerp-Keychain for my collection we head to the Burg Steen. On our way we cross the Grote Markt and the Stadhuis before we arrive at the oldest building Antwerp’s, Burg Het Steen.
Our break at the Castle, with view over the River where the sun mirrors itself is refreshing and with new energy we head to the MAS, Museum aan de Stroom. The architecture is incredible and it’s not even amazing to look at it from far, but also when you go closer and discover the small silver hands which cover the whole building or realize that the whole glass is curved and after a closer look you’ll even realize that the two persons you’ve discovered at one of the balconies of the building are just statutes. It’s all matching perfectly and colors, shapes and surprises are commingling to a first class architecture.
We take some time at the MAS to talk and enjoy the sun, where we have to get used to again and after a small snack we go back through Antwerp’s streets to the station and say goodbye. I wish her luck for her future stay in Melsbroek and after a “Maybe we’ll see eachother on Sunday.” I watch her walking to her track and go then also to mine.
Next stop: Oostende!
My train is arriving and I’m relieved to free my back from all the stuff I was carrying around the city. I take my book Life of Pi out of my purse and start listening to the voice in my head which narrates about behavior of Lions in the circus and that Animals always follow a hierarchy before I fall asleep with the book in my hands.
I wake up when a voice from the speakers tells all passengers that we’re arriving shortly in Oostende and so I pack all my stuff back on my shoulders and get ready to enjoy the fresh sea air, the sound of the sea gulls flying through the air and the boats in the harbor who wait to go back on the open water.
Now I’ll go to pick Lars up from school and start my last days in Belgium!
