Xmas in Belgium/N. Germany trip day 4 - Rounding out the tour of Belgium, gotta check out Antwerp (12/4/19)

Wake up early to catch a train down to Antwerp. The morning air was very crisp and the was frost on the ground making many of the rocks slippery. As we get in, we walk through a small china town and then the old town which has a bunch of statues on corners of buildings of what I am assuming were mother marys? This city is also setting up for their christmas market which would have been nice to check out another one but alas. 

Train station beauty

Intricate building architecture

Church in Antwerp

center square has buildings with gold statues all on top

Found the ferris wheel

Coastal castle near the center

View from the top of the View Antwerp building

Lunch beer damage

just a sample of the menu offerings at lunch

Another beautiful church

Steph wanted a few waffles so we got waffles

Beer makes me happy apparently

The view... that is the name of the building behind me. Im not talking about me :)

Another shot from the top of the view

lunch room decor

Arial shot of my cherry meat dish. Was pretty good just unexpected based on it having cherries.

hidden street in plain sight

Enjoying the lovely day walking along the river

Kulminator

The Museum aan de stroom is open so we walk up to the top of the tower to get a view of the city. We then head to the 't Waagstuk to grab lunch and drinks (I had a cherry with meatloaf dish which was surprisingly good). Finish up our lunch then grab some groceries, find and explore the Vlaaikensgang (hidden street), head south down along the water and eventually find the Cafe Kulminator. Heard this cafe was one of the must visits for beer lovers and it did not disappoint; the beer selection was huge including many verticals of delicious beers available, the place itself felt like you were in your home with the cluttered, old decor. One thing I didnt expect was the guy who runs the place was incredibly stern; when we tried to get in, he cracked the door open and asked why we were there, when I said to have some beers, he asked if we were there to drink beer or enjoy it. I responded both and that was not received well; so I stopped laughing and said to enjoy it and he let us in. Have a few beers there to try some of the options then make our way back to our place in Ghent as we have an early check out in the morning to get ready for.