Antwerp Weekend

I made a spur of the moment change in my weekend plans. Rather then going camping in the rain in the Mosel Valley, I pulled together a trip to Belgium instead.

On Friday afternoon Kevin and I traveled to Antwerp, Belgium. The drive took about two and a half hours and we were settled into our hotel by 5:00 PM. That gave us some time to wander along the Meir, Antwerp's main shopping street. Before setting out on this adventure I was unaware that Antwerp claims to be one of Europe's fashion capital, along with London, Paris, and Milan. The street and surrounding neighborhood is home to standard chain stores, as well as high-end designers and new, avant-garde boutiques.

I'm not really in the market for any clothing these days, though, so shopping wasn't high on my agenda. (Especially when using Euros to pay.) So, I was happy that the frocks weren't the only things on display in the windows.

As part of a summer arts event, a number of store's windows were taken over by circus-like installations. The vignettes change on a regular basis. (We weren’t able to figure out the schedule, since all of the literature about the installation was in Dutch.) After the display is changed, a new drawing is added to the window to show viewers how the scene transformed itself.


From a man melting into a puddle, to a fire rescue, to a midget with a chain saw, each window was both humorous and creepy. I totally loved it! And, I don't think I was the only one who enjoyed the work. People were enjoying the windows all weekend, but concrete proof that the residents of Antwerp support project could easily be seen on Sunday. The street packed with pedestrians even though all the shops were closed.