On a Pub Crawl!
We arrived in Antwerp this morning, after a couple of hours sailing through the Scheldt delta, which made for interesting sightseeing. Our berth was right in the centre of the city - perfect.
Rather than hare off on a tour of Ghent or Bruges, both places familiar to us from previous visits, we decided to explore the centre of Antwerp by means of a guided pub crawl! We’d never seen such a tour on offer before and were glad to give it a try.
The weather was beautiful, hot and sunny.
Our group met by the entrance to the pier, where the twelve of us met Hans, our guide.
Crossing over into the central area of the city, we were soon a bit off the beaten track and into small streets.
Here was our first stop - a bar popular with locals, many of whom seemed to be regulars.
Whilst we found seats inside, Hans organised the drinks.
The introduction to the Belgian beer tasting was Seef, a light and refreshing beer, served cold from the bottle.
The first thing we needed to do, said Hans, was to learn to pour it properly. Firstly, have the correct glass (each beer has a correct glass, we learned) and if pouring it for someone else, turn the labels outwards, if it’s for oneself, then the labels face inwards. Pour at 45 deg and if it gets too frothy, then wait a while for it to settle before continuing.
It was delicious and the perfect start to the evening. Light, refreshing and I think we all finished it off without a problem!
On then, through more streets, chatting as we went.
We soon found ourselves in the Grote Markt where a market was just being cleared away. The Town Hall on the left looked beautiful in the sunshine with the flags flying, and the golden highlights of neighbouring buildings shone out. A perfect example of a grand European city square.
Hans told us the story of the Brabo Fountain as we continued to our next stop.
Den Engel is on the corner, adjacent to the Town Hall, and we learned is a favourite with the local politicians, who drop in here after their meetings. It’s also popular with wedding groups for celebrations after their ceremonies, so unsurprisingly, it was pretty busy this evening.
No place for us inside, but there were tables outdoors and we settled ourselves in whilst Hans got the drinks!
This time, a darker, more caramel flavour, but still refreshing and a beer I’d choose to look for again. It was served to us as we’d learned, in the correct glass with the label facing the customer! Cheers!
Where are we going next?!
Our route took us past the old church of St Paul, where a serious fire had broken out in 1968. At that time, this had been the Red Light district of Antwerp and Hans tolds us the stories the firemen told of the ladies who came to assist, perhaps not dressed in the most appropriate way to fight a fire!
We were a realxed bunch who strolled into our final stop, where a group of tables outside were perfectly placed for us.
I think that most of us were somewhat relieved to see the tray of smaller, wine glass sized glasses of our next samples: Lambic beer. Hans explained about the challenge of making this beer and of the qualities that make it special. He also agreed that perhaps its an acquired taste - certainly not as accessible as the previous samples we’d tried. There was a sourness to the flavour, slight hints of vinegar and it wasn’t to everyone’s taste.
Which meant that the last sample, of a Belgian IPA was a good way to round off the experience. Another light and refreshing beer, a familiar flavour and definitely one to remember.
Whilst we could have sat comfortably here in the sunshine, chatting and feeling quite relaxed by now (!) we also knew we had to walk back to the ship.
Hans smiled as we turned the corner, for there she was, just across the road! How’s that for a great end to a fun experience? Feeling a little peckish, we were quite glad the pool grill was open for a freshly made pizza, too.
Life is good! We are here in Antwerp overnight and we have more fun to look forward to tomorrow too 🥰
