TRAIN FROM BRUSSELS TO ANTWERP

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Day 3: GANTE - BRUSSELS - AMBERES - BRUSSELS

Saturday, November 2

Today we start the day shortly before 6.30 in the morning and without breakfast, shortly after 7 in the morning we leave the Ibis Centrum Opera Hotel and we are already on our way to the Ghent Station, from where we will take the train from Ghent to Brussels That will be the first of the day. The next will be the train from Brussels to Antwerp.
Another good option to visit the city from Brussels is to book an excursion to Antwerp by bus with a Spanish guide.
For more information you can read this post on how to go from Brussels to Antwerp.
But first of all we make a brief stop at a Starbucks of the same station where we charge energy with two muffins and two coffees for 12 euros. Of course, without wifi. although coincidentally the boy who attends us studied in Girona and speaks Catalan perfectly. So we have a nice morning talk about the area, taking advantage of it to practice the language 😉
After breakfast we go to the ticket machines in which we first check that we cannot take them from here train tickets from Brussels to Antwerp that we will need for later, so we focus on getting those from Ghent to Brussels at 8:24 a.m., which leaves via lane 9 and has Brussels Eupen address.
On this occasion we have opted for the normal ticket, since the weekend fare is only valid for round trip and we only need the one-way ticket train from Ghent to Brussels.

Another of the options we had is to get the train ticket with intermediate station, that is to say Ghent to Antwerp, with intermediate station in Brussels, but this one was more expensive than not the first.
So shuffled all possible options, we have stayed with the first and most economical: train from Ghent to Brussels with normal rate and then once in Brussels, we will get the ticket from train from Brussels to Antwerp With the weekend option, it will be round trip.
The train leaves at 8.24 on track 9 and takes 15 minutes of delay that we take advantage of by reviewing the guide and planning of things we have today to do in Antwerp.
When he arrived train from Ghent to Brussels It is almost empty, although in a minute we get confused, we practically do not find a seat and we have to go to another car to sit down.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Antwerp
- 10 places to visit in Antwerp essential
- Antwerp in one day: the best route

After a few minutes searching and thanks to the help of a girl, we realize that the seats that have papers in the windows is because they are reserved, so those "do not count" either.
We arrive at Brussels Midi Station 30 minutes later and the first thing we do is go directly to our hotel in Brussels, which is right in front of the Brussels Midi Station, to check-in, to return to the Brussels Midi Station and finally make my way to Antwerp.
The idea of doing the following nights in Brussels It was a decision we made telling that the last day we have to be at the airport at dawn, since our flight leaves at 6 in the morning and telling that the bus leaves just from the area where we have the hotel, for us it was the more comfortable.
We also have no more moving with luggage up and down and from the Brussels Midi Station We have a perfect connection, as we could see in our previous trip to Bruges and Brussels.
It seems a lie that having the hotel in Brussels next to the station we have taken 15 minutes to find it! And all because we have left through the opposite door of the station! 😉
We arrived at the hotel after this brief period disoriented and having not yet had the room for being 9 in the morning, we left our bags at reception and returned to the Brussels Midi Station, which, as we have already mentioned, we have right in front.
Now we don't waste any time and go straight to the ticket machines, where we get the tickets from train from Brussels to Antwerp and we look at the panels that tell us that in 10 minutes, at 9.58 our train leaves for another of the pearls of Flanders!
The price of the tickets of train from Brussels to Antwerp It is 16 euros. 2 weekend fare tickets to Antwerp - Antwerpen, which is the stop we will use at Antwerp.
The journey takes about 40 minutes and we take advantage, as we did this morning in Ghent to review the planning we have for today and enjoy the scenery.
The weather today is not especially sunny, the sky is quite gray and the temperature is 13 degrees, but being Saturday we prefer to visit today Antwerp and tomorrow do Leuven.
In this way we will try to give us some time to go back to visit some streets in the afternoon. Brussels Remembering our time here a few years ago.
We arrive at Antwerp Station punctual and just get off the train from Brussels to Antwerp We understand why all the wonderful adjectives that apply to it.

Antwerp station. Train from Brussels to Antwerp

After taking several photos and getting lost in the facilities, after our train ride from Brussels to Antwerp, just leave the Antwerp Station, we find De Keiserlei, a street full of shops that will take us directly to the city center of Antwerp.

Antwerp

We walk through the city as if we already knew it and we arrived at the “back” of the city, to one of the most charming squares of Antwerp: Groenplaats

Groenplaats

Groenplaats, or Plaza Verde, is a pleasant open space with trees and flower hedges.
The square is full of bars and restaurants, which invite you to sit at every step we take.

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- Guided tour of Antwerp
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But first things first, so we have to keep walking to get to another of the jewels of Antwerp, its Cathedral, where after paying 5 euros per person, we have the opportunity to contemplate the works of Rubens that are saved here.

Antwerp Cathedral

In our opinion, this Cathedral is very cold and part of it is under construction and being restored, so we did not find it especially interesting.

Interior of the Antwerp Cathedral

In addition, one of Rubens' most famous works, The Resurrection cannot be seen for restoration.

Antwerp Cathedral

This type of thing only happens in the Catholic Churches, where they charge a ticket and then you find that inside you cannot see even half of what there is.
Although in no case you will find the souvenir shop closed 😉 A pity, but it is what there is and the truth is that we, however much we are against it, can make us want to know more and we end up “going through the hoop”…
They have even a security door so you can't sneak in and go directly to the souvenir shop.

Exterior of the Antwerp Cathedral

After this brief visit to the Antwerp Cathedral, we take the opportunity to enter into the odd trade and make some purchases before we set off again.
As the morning progresses, we are surprised by a fine but annoying rain (and that today did not announce rain and yesterday yes). It is clear that we cannot heed the weather forecasts.
With this time, we make a brief stop at the Grote Markt, the center of Antwerp and where we can see firsthand the vestiges left by the golden age of commerce in the 16th century.

Grote Markt

Posing in Grote Markt

Seeing that the rain is not going to give us a truce, we prefer to make a stop and take the opportunity to eat now that we are in the center of Antwerp.

Streets of Antwerp

We stop at Fritum where we order some special potatoes, some normal ones, a normal fricandela and another special one, plus a coke and a water for 18 euros.

Fritum in Antwerp

Eating in Antwerp

It seems that between the frites of yesterday in Ghent and those of today, fast food will be a constant in this Getaway, Antwerp and Leuven getaway.
After filling the stomach, we rest for a while and after 1 noon and seeing that the rain has given us a break, we return to the streets of Antwerp.

Antwerp

Curious name of a local in Antwerp

But it seems that luck is not on our side and as soon as we take three steps it rains again and now even more intensely, so we go to the Starbucks aid, to drink the second coffee of the day, although here we are also again without wifi and with a single sink for the whole place ... incredible infrastructure change from one to another.
We take our coffees for 6 euros and take the opportunity to "fix the world" on this afternoon that seems not to want to give us a little truce so that we have just met Antwerp.
When almost an hour passes and we see that it has stopped raining, we go out and go straight to the Port of Antwerp, which we will not deny that disappoints us a bit.
Maybe it's because of the poor atmosphere due to the bad day or maybe it's because we have been discouraged by the rainy day ...

Het Steen Castle on the way to the Port of Antwerp

Seeing that the Port of Antwerp It is not the strong point of the city, we go to the center of Antwerp, where we are going to stop at the always busy "fashion street".
The truth is that we go around, but we don't find it too interesting, so we return to the center of Antwerp and as if by magic and without waiting for it, as usually happens with the best things, the sun rises !!
A good option if it is your first visit to the city is to book this guided tour in Spanish for the most interesting points or this free tour in Antwerp Free!

Port of Antwerp

So there is no time to lose and we restart the cameras and our "traveling bodies" and in a hurry, before we cover up again we take the opportunity to take a good walk, getting lost in the streets that we had not yet passed and Enjoy the festive atmosphere that seems to have come out to meet the sun.

Streets of Antwerp

Antwerp

The sun returns to Antwerp

Antwerp

It seems a lie as some sun rays can change the mood of people so much, or at least that happens to us, that just having these minutes of sun has made us smile and forget about the gray day we have had so far ...

Grote Markt

Sunbeams in Grote Markt

Grote Markt

It's after 5 in the afternoon and we've been rolling since 6 in the morning, so we give the day of Antwerp finished and we return to the Antwerp Station, from where we will take the train from Antwerp to Brussels.
But before we can not avoid buying a waffle and a water for 3.50 euros.

Eating Waffles in Antwerp

This to see beach bars with waffles and not to stop is a crime and we will not be what we commit.

Antwerp

With our waffle in hand, we follow the path to the Antwerp Station, where we see that our train from Antwerp to Brussels It leaves at 17.08 on the platform 21. And the direction of the train is Brussels Zuid (Midi).
This platform is on the first floor, so we take the opportunity to go back and take photos of one of the most beautiful stations we have ever seen. As we said this morning, we are not surprised by all the compliments we have read.

Antwerp Station

The train from Antwerp to Brussels arrives on time and we arrive at Brussels after 6 in the afternoon, because halfway we have stopped 15 minutes to wait for another train to pass… it is very clear that the Belgian trains are not punctual !! Or at least those of us who have taken these days.

Our train from Antwerp to Brussels

When we are entering Brussels We decided that it is better to stop at the Station of the Center and thus tour this area of Brussels which is the one that makes us remember again.
Upon leaving the Brussels Central Station Our legs take the path that leads us to the Grand Place directly and we are surprised by the things we remember, although at the same time there are many others that we have forgotten.
We have decided that on this tour we will not take the cameras at all. We go with the firm idea of enjoying only the sensations that can give us to return to tour a city that we have been in before.
It is curious to return to a place where you have already been, after a few years and see how many things have changed, or how you have changed, as the famous phrase says.
We return to the Manneken Pis, to the street of the restaurants, the galleries and in the end we go in search of an Italian recommended in the forums.
When we arrive we see that the entrance sounds a lot to us and taking a look at the notes we have of the trip to Bruges and Brussels we realize that we were here 3 years ago and we did not remember it.
It is a pity that it is complete and we cannot relive what we remember as one of the best dinners we have made in Belgium.
So we have to go find another place to have dinner and we end up at Casa Nostra, a pretty tourist restaurant, but the only ones where we find a table.
We ordered a couple of pizzas, a coke and a water and we are not going to say that we did not like it, but it sure will not be a place of those we remember the next time we return to Brussels.
And being almost 9 at night, it's time to make way for our hotel in Brussels, the Park Inn Hotel by Radisson Brussels Midi, as far as we walk, under a light drizzle, that reminds us that sometimes, time allows us to enjoy things at will.