Antwerp/Antwerpen

One of the advantages of traveling by train is that when you reach your destination, you are often in the center of the city.  You roll your suitcase along behind you and go out of the station into a busy part of the city.  Frequently the train station itself is well worth seeing.  This is the case in Antwerp. We got off the train and discovered that we were on the bottom level of the station.  Above us were two more levels with trains arriving and departing.  The interior had an ornate clock and glass ceilings.

Another plus of traveling by train is that when we got off the train, we were only a five minute walk from our hotel.  

Antwerp like Amsterdam is one of the world's leading diamond centers.  We discovered that the zoo and the diamond district were right next to the train station.  I have no idea how a novice could ever decide which diamond store to enter.  Frequently there were as many as 6 stores in a row along one side of the street while on the opposite side there were more.  Each shop window was crowded with rings, necklaces and other jewelry all sparkling with diamonds. The Vecchio Bridge in Florence is a very decorative cluster of shops with windows filled with gleaming diamonds, but it is a small area.  Antwerp's diamond district is filled with modern businesses related to the diamond trade.

Once years ago, I read-learned that in Great Britain for centuries, Jews were not allowed own land or property.  Little was left to them but the professions and banking.  Learning this piece of trivia made me realize how easily build prejudices around conditions that "we ourselves" have imposed. Antwerp has the highest Jewish population per capita of any European city.  After going out to the largest modern mall in the Bendlux area, I wondered if Antwerp had a higher per capita of Muslims as well.  Everywhere we went there were women in beautiful colored head scarves and frequently with baby carriages or toddlers in tow.  It just struck me that Antwerp is not only a beautiful city with a wide diversity of people.