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Inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Antwerp, there are a couple of massive Rubens paintings - basically triptychs but also with paintings on the backs of the two side panels. This is from the backside of one depicting Christ being taken down dead from the cross, with women lamenting and soldiers looking on. The back panels weren't well explained, but may have shown the patron who commissioned the work, looking very holy (Rubens was very good at kissing up to patrons). However, why the patron had these weasels at his feet is a mystery to me. At least I think they're weasels. Maybe Rubens secretly didn't like the guy?
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Some renovation is taking place in the cathedral, and some very old crypts were found underneath. They have set it up so you can go down and see them (they are empty, but have crosses painted inside). I think they are from the 13th century.
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Once a fortress, this is now a maritime museum. Antwerp was once the largest port in the world; Rotterdam is now, or possibly one in Asia has surpassed it.
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The Grote Markt, or Grand Place, of Antwerp. This is the central square, once the main marketplace. The stadthuis, city hall, is on the left, and the other buildings would have belonged to the old guilds of the city. The statue commemorates the throwing of a hand, which is the basis for the name Antwerpen (it is Antwerpen in Flemish, Antwerp in English, Anvers in French). The link has two possible stories, another is that the name comes from "aanwerp" which means "alluvial mound."
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Aleta writes a postcard.
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This is a major pedestrian street, the Meir, that leads from the train station to the old town. Lots of clothing stores on either side. However, Antwerp is known for some fashion designers (the Antwerp Six), but they are all on the Nationalestraat, which is less picturesque.
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Antwerp is still the world capital for dealing in diamonds. 7 out of 10 diamonds in the world pass through here. We walked through the diamond district, although the main dealing street was all closed up (since it was Saturday), and very creepy with security cameras everywhere. Aleta is standing by a synagogue on this street - many of the diamond dealers are Jewish - and behind her is a plaque commemorating a car bomb that killed a few people and injured many more, just a few years ago. Car traffic is no longer allowed on this street.
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