Romantic Rhine & Moselle - Antwerp

 Day 4 – Thursday 8 August 2024

When we woke we were moored in Antwerp, rafted on the port side to Phoenix Alina. A Regent ocean cruiser was at our expected mooring spot by the Margrave’s castle.

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The Margrave's Castle

It was a 15 minute walk to the place where the walking tour commenced, at the Margrave’s Castle. There were closer places on the quayside but the bank was being renovated and we were told river boats weren’t insured to moor there.

Statue of Rubens in front of the Cathedral that has four pf his gigantic paintings 

There were excursions to Ypres & Passchendale (2 hours by coach) and (Bruges 90 minutes by coach) but we took the walking tour of Antwerp. We learned the city name comes from a legend about chopping off and throwing a hand. The walking tour covered the same ground as the excursion we had done with Viking earlier in the year with the major – and puzzling – absence of entry to the cathedral to see the four gigantic Rubens paintings. If one knew about them, one could use freetime or return after lunch. An American couple went to the diamond area for bargains but later told me they didn’t buy anything because the prices were no cheaper than in the USA.

 

We spent the afternoon relaxing in the Panorama Terrace. The Alina left at 17:00, and we sailed for Nijmegen around 18:45.

 

Sate starter

Tough slow-roasted pork tenderloin (with a side of chips)

The slow-roasted pork tenderloin at dinner was so tough I couldn’t cut it with the knife.

Tarte Tatin was delicious, especially with a glass of Sauternes

This side trip to Antwerp was another that added to our impression that this cruise was badly planned.   Antwerp isn’t on the Rhine or Moselle and wasn’t on the way to our next destination. It did offer visits to Ypres and Bruges but the biggest group of passengers took the walking tours of Antwerp which didn’t include the jewels that are the Rubens paintings inside the Cathedral. It seemed to us that our short time in Antwerp was for marketing reasons to include Belgium  and thus the boast that the cruise visited five countries. In my opinion the time taken on this side-trip would have been better spent on the Moselle.