A Day in Antwerp

Saturday morning we drove (only 1.5 hrs) to Antwerp, Belgium. I love Antwerp, because of the legend. And who doesn't love a good legend? OK...centuries ago (during Roman times) there was a giant (Antigone) who stopped the boats going down the Scheldt River right at the part where the river makes a "U". (Guess where that is?) Anyhow, this nasty giant demanded a HUGE (50% of the value of the goods being transported!) tax for the boats to continue down the river. Naturally, the sailors were ticked and decided to fight the giant. Naturally the giant won. Always. AND to add to his nastiness, he would cut off the hand of each sailor he fought and toss it into the river, as a warning to others. Then he moved into the nearby castle, killing everyone inside. So along comes Brabo, the hero, he fights the giant for DAYS, and with the help of the god Mercury, kills him. In the name of justice, he cuts off the giant's hand and throws it into the river. The city is named Antwerpen (in Dutch) and that stands for "hand twerpen" or "hand throwing" in English. Good story, huh?
There's a statue of Brabo in the city center (tossing the giant's hand) and you can also see the castle in my pictures. We went through the cathedral of Our Lady looking at Ruben's masterpieces. Ruben's home is in Antwerp too, you can still go through it. We found a wonderful Italian restaurant for lunch. (Southern Italian..yum!) and of course, another Christmas market. Love that glug wine! One more week of school, and the kids in my class are going everywhere from Bangkok to South Africa,London, the U.S., and I'm off to Italy to meet Brad !