An Antwerpen Morning

In my mind, Belgium has always felt like quite an artificial country. From a historical perspective, it was created out of thin air to act as a buffer zone. From a cultural and linguistic perspective, the country is very divided between the Dutch-speaking more urban north and the French-speaking more rural south. And don't get me started on their horrifically complicated political setup. It's always seemed to me that it would be a lot simpler for Flanders to stop imitating the Netherlands and just join them, and for Wallonia to do the same with France.

However, it's evident that the Belgian people don't take the same view, so I've decided to spend a long weekend in Belgium to get to know the country and hopefully learn a bit about what it means to be Belgian.

My first stop is Antwerp, the capital of Flanders. In my view, Antwerp has its priorities straight - the train station is incredibly grand with an enormous domed ceiling and an impressive facade to welcome you as you disembark, while directly outside it they've positioned a Belgian chocolate experience and an enormous zoo.

Despite this, I summoned all my willpower to not spend all day just at the zoo and eating chocolate, instead heading over to the Historic Centre of Antwerp and visiting two museums - Het Steen and the Museum Alan de Stroom. Both these museums gave a very interesting overview of the history of Antwerp, the former focusing on the key industries which have shaped the city and the latter focussing more deeply on the experience of Antwerp during the Second World War and the history of its port.

My favourite was the history of the port and the explanation of how the fortunes of the port have directly correlated with those of the city. The port notably boomed during the days of the Hanseatic League, during the Spanish rule over the Low Countries after the discovery of the New World, during Napoleon's attempts to expand it with the idea of using it as a base to attack the British, and during the personal rule of Leopold II over the Congo causing Antwerp to become the centre of the Diamond trade.

This afternoon I intend to be a bit more indulgent, spending some time dining in the sun and visiting Chocolate Nation!Read more