DIScourse - Antwerp

Antwerp, BVBA 32

Antwerp, Ogre Statue at the National Shipyard Museum

Brussels, View from the Wiel Museum

Brussels, The Original Maison Martin Margiela boutique

Antwerp, Kulminator sharing a Kasteel beer from 1989.

Here are some photos from the past weekend. The weather was finally looking like summer which was a real relief after all the grey skies and rain.

A longtime friend was visiting from Vienna so the weekend was more active than usual. Not long after I got off work my friend got in so I met him in front of the train station. We walked back to my apartment and then walked to a few shops before meeting up with a mutual artist friend (and a friend of his that I'd met before) for drinks at Berlin which is a little restaurant/bar that I'd been meaning to go to. After our friends left we walked to Kulminator to continue drinking in the sun. Since my friend and I met nearly 19 years ago in the fall of 1989 I decided we should try having a beer from that year. After scanning the extensive menu I found an '89 Kasteelbier that we decided to get not realizing it was 12% alcohol. It was a rich brownish auburn and almost like a liquor in taste. Very smooth and heavy. Since it was so warm out we ordered a couple other blonde beers to keep us refreshed while we sipped the Kasteel. Somehow we managed to walk home and make it up the stairs to my apartment.

Saturday I woke up not feeling so hot and saw a half eaten sandwich on the table next to my bed. I suppose I needed a snack when I got home the night before since I hadn't had dinner after work. After a somewhat slow start my friend and I made it out of the apartment and to a shop we had been to the day before so my friend could buy a hat that he had tried on (his first hat in years). We walked around town a bit and to a couple other stores then headed to the train station so we could check out Brussels.

In Brussels we went to a few shops that we had wanted to check out before they cleared out all the sale stuff (Saturday was the last day of sales at most shops). I was extremely lucky and found a pair of summer boots in my size that I had been wanting, along with a new button up shirt at Stijl. I actually found several shoes that I wanted to get but I'm really looking forward to the fall collection and need to save some money for its arrival in the store. We made our way to the Hoet optical store (Hoet is owned my the main designer of Theo) to look at the Hoet line of frames and so I could introduce myself. We then went to a cafe for an afternoon drink and stopped into a gallery to check out a small group show.

We then caught a cab to the Wiels museum where the Mike Kelley retrospective was that had been recommended to us. The museum is in an old brewery and is on the edge of Brussels. The show covered three floors and was a really great overview of his work complete with sculptures, paintings, videos, music, sketches, and photographs. When we were done at the museum it was getting close to 7:0o so we walked to the Brussels south train station and caught the next train back to Antwerp.

Back in Antwerp we dropped our things off at the apartment and then walked to the city hall neighborhood for some pizza and people watching. After pizza we walked around for quite awhile. We picked up some bicycles from my office and took them back to my apartment then sat on the balcony and had some beer while listening to music. Later in the evening we went for another walk before heading home.

On Sunday, after we got up we had coffee and got ready for the day (me in my new boots, my friend in his hat). It was super sunny and warm. After leaving the apartment we went to le Pain Quotidien (daily bread) for a light lunch. We then wandered around the city stopping for beer later in the day near the Demeulemeester boutique (which is closed until the 2nd). After having a drink we went to the MuHKA (the modern art museum) to see the group show that was going on Die Lucky Bush, which turned out to be a great show and also included some Mike Kelley pieces. It's funny that I've been in Antwerp for 2 1/2 months and for some reason never new about MuHKA.

After leaving the museum we headed back to my apartment for a brief rest before getting on our bikes and riding to the suburbs to see and take photos of Ann Demeulemeester's le Corbusier house. We rode around some more and then took the bikes back to the office before heading back to the apartment. I was going to cook Japanese curry that another friend had sent me but the gas was out on my cooktop, so we ended up just having a cold dinner which was fine since it was so warm out. We sat on the balcony and listened to music while eating, drinking and people watching.

We then decided to head back out on the town for some more people watching and a beer at one of the many outdoor cafe's. It was already past 10pm but there were crowds of people out eating and drinking still. We went to the Pelikan Bar and had a La Chouffe as we talked and watched people walk by. We kept seeing flashes of light every 10-15 minutes and assumed that it was coming from the outdoor concert that was happening nearby but as the flashes increased we realized a storm was coming. So around 11:30 we headed back to the apartment. About ten minutes after we got in the first rain drops fell. We sat at the balcony doors watching the lighting and rain until the wind picked up enough that we closed the doors. It was a huge electrical storm that also created some of the heaviest rains I've seen in Antwerp. It was still raining when I fell asleep.

DIScourse

Grand-Place / Grote Markt / Market Square, Brussels




















Stadhuis (City Hall) Antwerp

Bonapartedok and the Lightboat with new the MAS(Museum of City History)building in the background









Inside the De Brandt Park, Antwerp

















Sorry for the delay in my blog posts but my internet connection at my apartment is not very reliable (I am picking it up free). A lot has happened since my last post.

On the 21st, after work, I took the train to Brussels (about 45 minutes) so I could attend the Einstürzende Neubauten Alles Wieder Offen show at AB Club. I missed the trains I was hoping to catch but ended up getting to the club just before the band went on stage. I met up with another EN supporter at the show and we talked a bit before the show started. I was happy that the show started on time, which I'm not used to. The show lasted about 2 hours and there were a couple encores but it was over and I was out of the venue by 10:30 which was great since the last train to Antwerp left at 11:30. The band played newer songs but it was an excellent show complete with an actual set design (lighting, backdrop, etc).

On Thursday after work I made my way to KULMINATOR (the best bar ever with over 500 beers, many of which are aged) and managed to book an appointment for a hair cut and color on the 7th.

I did not end up doing as much as I had wanted to over my first full weekend in Antwerp as the weather was not particularly good. On Friday I learned that we quit work 2 hours early to get in shopping and relaxing before the start of the weekend. I ended up going to Kulminator again, then went home and made dinner then watched television.

On Saturday I got up a little later than I was planning but made it out of the apartment and to the open air market outside my apartment for some vegetable shopping. I later went for a walk and to finally check out the designer stores (Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Veronique Branquinho, Walter Van Beirendonck). I didn't end up buying anything since the sales start in a month. After my walk and window shopping I went to the grocery store to get things for the rest of the weekend. In the evening I decided to try out the 80's Night at a local club, Den Aalmoezenier. The doors open at 10 but I didn't want to arrive too early so I got there at 11. Unfortunately, that was too early and there were only two people there, the DJ and the coat-check/drink-ticket lady. I left and decided to come back later after going for another walk around town. It started to rain a little around 11:30 so I headed back to the club to find some people there, but it was really slow until about 1:00 when people finally started to dance. I think I was there until 2 or 2:30 (the club closes at 6) when I was too tired to keep my eyes open.

On Sunday the weather wasn't very nice in the morning so I stayed in bed watching television (it's fun switching between Dutch, French, German and English channels). After I got up I walked to the office to pick up my bike and decided to go for a ride to the docks. I found the bar that I went to two years ago (Cappuccino Club) which is right next to an old Light Boat (one of two in existence, I think). On a bike you get a better sense of the size of a city. Antwerp is pretty small compared to a lot of major cities, but I was able to see some things I hadn't seen yet, like the new MAS building that's going up. I later came across the Burning Plague pub and decided that I needed to go in based on the name alone. It looked like it was owned by a former rocker with punk music playing, a Harley Davidson poster and a signed electric guitar on the wall. Not a very good drink menu though.

So that was pretty much my weekend. I didn't meet anyone new or meet up with any of my coworkers or friends, but I guess these things will take time.

Now it's Thursday and the week has been pretty uneventful so far except I did find the addresses for most of the designer's ateliers/offices and on Monday I managed to find the offices for Raf Simons, Walter Van Beirendonck and Bruno Pieters. I was surprised to find out how close all of them are to my building. On Tuesday I met up with a coworker after work and we went to De Brandt Park (a little outside the city) so he could go for a run and I could walk around and take photos. It was a nice large park that I think used to be a private residence complete with a mote and thatched grounds keepers house. I think there was a large wall surrounding the property because on my walk I kept coming across concrete and brick foundations. After the park we went to the Kulminator and I had a Westmalle Dubbel beer from 1994 for about the same price as a new Westmalle is in New York, quite a difference in taste after 14 years of aging.

Tomorrow night is the Vampire Party (otherwise known as goth night) at Den Aalmoezenier which I am planning on attending, but now I know not to show up until midnight.