Adventures there and back (Antwerp)

Oh j’en ai marre! How I hate technology right now. I had been spending nearly an hour editing clips from Antwerp and the video was just nearly done. When I wanted to save it, it of course crashed. Ugh!! Now I don’t want to touch it anymore. Not today. I’ll write instead.

Antwerp is the flemish name for the city in northern Belgium, and it has the french name of Anvers. The pun of “un verre en Anvers” was considered very funny during the trip, I believe Kenneth made it up. Antwerp used to be very famous for diamond making, but that has died down a bit now. These days the fashion university has made the centre town very fashionable, filled with designers and pretty things. I like the name Antwerp more, it sounds more like the city itself. First time I visited Antwerp was with Misato the winter of 2005. I really fell in love with the old town then, in the winter, with all the christmas trees and magical feeling. Actually here is my blog entry for that first visit to fairytale land (for memory’s sake).

This trip was arranged by Express team for exchange students. There was maybe a hundred of us. Two wagons on the train was reserved. Once in Antwerp I really wanted to visit MoMu (Mode Museum) again, and a few of us went to see a exhibition of the designer Bernhard Willhelm. It felt so nice to be inside the world of another again. Especially his work that was very absurd and childish. His imagination I definitely enjoyed, however when it was actually transformed physically into costumes I’m not as sure. The graphic design and scenography of the exhibition was probably better than the actual clothes. It was a good exhibition, and one hour felt too limited to consume all the details.

After a yummy soup for lunch sitting outside in the sun, we continued with the Express team for a tour of the town. However, the tour lasted only until the harbour where we decided it was too hot and too nice that we should just sit down by the water. So we grabbed a few beers, and suntanned by the harbour. After that, there was more suntanning in the central park where Express had brought more beers and snacks. We didn’t remain long, but had to catch the train back to Brussels.

The adventures continue after we return to Brussels. Starving we all followed Bertrand to this restaurant he recommended. While there we figure the prices are slightly on the unaffordable side, so a few of us broke out and found a small chinese restaurant. A soup, a dish and rice for 6.80 euros is not bad. We grabbed a round spinning table and I could shine away using my Chinese. After dinner, some came back to my place to chill. For the first time I had 8 people in my loft, and we all fit. Surprisingly! After playing some I have never… everybody met up to go to Floris Bar where they have hundred sorts of absinthe. We got a fountain, the french style, where you let the water slowly drip onto a sugar cub that melts into the absinthe. It turns green and then you can drink it. I really enjoyed it, but I think some other thought it quite nasty. With the absinthe in our heads, we left and went into a karaoke bar. I hastily sang Kiss Me, then Vilja sang Bohemian Rhapsody and we all sang Knocking on heavens door. Afterwards we continued to beurs schowberg, a bar/club with its own rooftop terrass that really reminds of sthlmsterrassen (both in style and space). We did some dancing there, but the music was too loungy. The real dancing came afterwards, the last stop of the night, in a irish club called nua. There we stayed till nearly 6am.

By then, we had nearly been up for 24 hours. It was a long long day.