After a day of recovering from jetlag, we visited Antwerp several times over the weekend. The first visit included visiting a nice bar/café on the margin of a plaza, and watching Jan perform with his band at a standup comedy/open mike night. Jan is a great keyboardist/pianist who has toured with Zap Mama and been involved with some well-known acts over the last several years. For the next two days Sofie arranged some bikes for us to use, and we rode into town, gliding over the reddish-orange bike paths the entire six miles along with folks young and old, business people, families, and many other Antwerpens riding and enjoying the spring weather and beginning of Easter Break. The transportation infrastructure for bicycles, as well as the use thereof, was truly inspiring to see and participate in. Perhaps one day areas of the US will have this as well. How expensive is gas over there now?
Antwerp was glorious in the sunny weather. The train station is an incredibly impressive structure. We spent several hours walking around the city, and experiencing the contrast of different neighborhoods, including the Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods and the red light district, and their features, such as the various green spaces (botanical garden, city parks) and impressive baroque architecture. There were also newer architectural features that caught the eye, such as the new courthouse. After touring the city by day, learning its history and becoming familiar with its contours, we prepared an “American style” hamburger BBQ dinner for Sofie and Jan out in their expansive backyard. It was great to be in the city by day and retire to their “country estate” by evening. One afternoon we had the pleasure of enjoying good Belgian beer with another of Kristen’s friends from Quincy, Kaley, who happened to be visiting Antwerp that weekend with his girlfriend. The weather turned showery the last day we were there, so we took a break to regroup and plan for our next adventure. We said goodbye to Sofie and Jan, thanking them for their much-appreciated hospitality and welcoming them to visit us in the US whenever they get the chance… perhaps on Jan’s next big tour abroad with a band or as a quest for studio recording equipment!
The train ride from Antwerp to Baden (outside of Zurich), where we would visit Ansgar and Patricia, took an entire day and involved several transfers (Brussels, Cologne, and Basel), but traversed some beautiful country, especially in the south of Germany and in northern Switzerland. We arrived in the evening and met Ansgar, who took us to their apartment minutes from the station that overlooks the Limmat River. It was great to see the two of them, especially since we last saw them at our wedding and Patricia was now ~26 weeks pregnant! We enjoyed wandering the streets of Baden the next day, from the medieval walls of Ruine Stein, to the hotsprings that give the town its name and draw many tourists. The hotsprings have been in use for millennia, and there were ongoing archaeological excavations into the “Baden Kultur” from the Romans through the Medieval Era to more modern times. We walked around the area that was open to the public and could see some of the unearthed remnants of bathhouse structures long since past.
The next morning we departed Baden for Calancatal, a rural valley in southern Switzerland where Patricia’s family has a mountain cabin. The drive was visually stunning, passing through the beautiful Vierwaldstaedte See, through the Gotthard Tunnel, and up into the mountains. Calanca Valley is simply beautiful, with steep glacially-carved valley walls, rushing creeks, picturesque small villages, green forests, and livestock (mainly goats, but also cows) grazing in the flatter grassland areas. Their cabin is a really amazing “Steinhaus”, built mainly of native stone in the early 18th century (and possibly earlier) as shown by the date on the fireplace. The short doors hinted of a time when people were shorter, and the blackened walls made us wonder about the horrendous indoor air resulting from the constant attempts to warm the house. After a short walk around the village, we enjoyed a scenic view of the green valley and a delicious meal from the grill: sausages, salad, bread, and bacon wrapped bananas for desert.
The first full day in Calancatal we went on a long hiking traverse high on the west slopes of the valley, skipping the teleferique ride at the outset that arrives in the village of Landarenca, which is not accessible by car. The village was very quaint and compact, with narrow cobblestone alleys for roads that were traveled as much by goats as people. Continuing above the village, we came to see that most flat-ish spaces on slopes above the main valley were occupied by some structure or another- many in various stages of decay. The following day we hiked up to a few small cabins that are also part of Patricia’s family’s property (visiting some beautiful cascades along the way) but are perched high on the steep slopes of the eastern side of the main valley. Here we ate a simple lunch while our eyes feasted on the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains.
We were sad to depart Calancatal, but we were happy to see some of Zurich the next day after returning to Baden. We rode into Zurich on bikes – a ride of about 25 km one way – and enjoyed a beautiful day visiting Zurich Lake and some of the sites of Zurich, including the Grossmuenster Church and the narrow cobblestone paths of the old city. Such urban sites made for a nice transition to our next destination and another European gem with great heritage: Prague. We left Baden the following morning, grateful for such a wonderful time and incredible hospitality, and wished Ansgar and Patricia the best in the upcoming expectant months.
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