It’s a beautiful day today, again sunny with clear blue skies. I made myself a cup of tea and had an apple and the ginger biscuits. I logged on the internet for a while and chatted with my sis over breakfast. After that, I went to the Brussels Noord station, bought a return ticket (€13.20) to Antwerpen. The officer told me the train will be leaving in 10mins from platform 11. So I board the train at platform 11 and I double check with one of the passengers on board. She told me the train is going to Antwerpen but there are some technical issues now hence she wasn’t sure when the train will depart. Also she told me that the train has stopped there for over 20mins so it is better for me to board another train. I got off the train and asked the train conductor at the platform where he told me to go to the opposite platform. Soon, a city rail train arrived and I checked with one of the passenger and he confirms the destination. The interior of this train is different from the train I boarded just now. The city rail train has PVC seats while the Intercity trail has a more comfortable seats. We had to change at Mechelen station, and I only knew this because I saw the girl whom I know was also going to Antwerpen alight the train. After 45mins, we arrived at the Antwerpen Central station. I got a map from the tourist info counter and went out to explore. *Note: A year later after I came back from this EU trip, I came to know about the flash mob dance which happened at this very station. More than 200 dancers were performing their version of "Do Re Mi", in the Central Station of Antwerp. with just 2 rehearsals they created this amazing stunt! Those 4 fantastic minutes started the 23 of march 2009, 08:00 AM. It is a promotion stunt for a Belgian television program, where they are looking for someone to play the leading role, in the musical of "The Sound of Music".Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)
Antwerpen is known as the fashion city of Belgium. The streets were lined with all the famous brand names you can think of. I had no problem maneuvering around this town as the map is clear and the streets clearly marked and organized. First, I arrived at the Rubenshuis (Ruben’s house), which is the former house and studio for Peter Paul Rubens, now also a museum. There were a café next to it with visitors sipping a cuppa under the warm sun. I passed by a shopping mall so I went in to search for food. As I went in, there was this ‘Antwerp Chocolate Store’ and one of their chocolate is the ‘Antwerpse Handsje’, chocolates in the shape of a hand. Maybe when people eat it, they can "Hi-5" with the person beside him? :p At the centre court, there were a ‘garden’ with lots of doll rabbits in conjunction with the upcoming Easter Holiday. The rabbits are really cute and adorable. I bought an apple waffle from a brasserie for only €0.95. Although this is not the original Belgian waffle (square in shape and only have sugar on top), but it tasted really good. Yummy yum... Walking on I came to a square with a statue of Petro Paulo Rubens, located at the Groenplaats (Green square), which was originally the Antwerp's central cemetery until Emperor Joseph II banned cemetery inside the city and converted it into a square. Hilton Hotel Antwerp is here. 
After that I visited ‘De Kathedraal’, cathedral of our lady. This is the largest Gothic cathedral in the Benelux countries. The Cathedral of Our Lady houses a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens. Following the map, I walked through the Grote markt (the market square), with Guilds richly decorated with golden statues; ruihuis (Antwerp canal), ethnographic museum, silver museum, The Steen (next to the canal), Museum Platin-Moretus, beguinage & beguinage church, Saint Andrew’s Church, Theaterplein. In the middle of the market square, stands a statue of Brabo, the legendary giant slayer, who controlled the river traffic and demanded exorbitant tolls from those using it, or else he will cut off one of your hands in replacement. Brabo killed and cut off the giant's hand and threw it into the river, hence the name Antwerp ('hand thrown' in Dutch). The statue of the giant can be seen at the Steen. 
That evening, I bought a Faro beer from the supermarket only to realized it needed a wine /cork-screw opener which I couldn’t find in the hostel... bummer
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