Heading toward the Burgerij/MAS Museum
Last Sunday Koen’s parents came to Antwerp for a visit. We had wonderful, sunny weather and took a nice stroll through the city. After a delicious lunch at Burgerij, we checked out an exhibit about royal luggage and then walked a different route back to our apartment. It’s always fun playing the tour guide!
Red Star Line Museum
A few weeks ago, Koen and I visited Antwerp’s newest museum – the Red Star Line Museum. The Red Star Line was a company that transported European immigrants to America and Canada. The museum is located in the former warehouses and you are able to listen to and read the stories of immigrants who traveled via Antwerp. There are tales of excitement and disappointment and you’re surrounded by photos and artwork of the voyages. If you are interested in history and personal tales, you’ll love the museum (like Koen and I did)!
Aquatopia – located at the entrance to Chinatown
Koen and I visited Aquatopia around Halloween! The entire aquarium was Halloween themed, so amongst the fish we found cobwebs, ghouls, ghosts, and grim reapers! I also don’t remember the names of the fish I took photos of, but I will describe them as best I can. There was also an incident where a snake slithered out of his habitat – so scary!
The Famous Katz’s Delicatessen
By our 10th day in NYC, we had already seen quite a bit – so we slept in before enjoying lunch at the famous Katz’s Delicatessen, founded in 1888! Everyone knows the famous scene in Katz’s Deli from the movie When Harry Met Sally. There’s sign hanging in the restaurant if you’re interested in sitting in the same booth! After our HUGE lunch, we headed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection at the Met is overwhelming. In general, it’s so amazing how much art is at your fingertips while you are in New York City. Koen and I will be back in NYC September 2014, and we’ll definitely head back to the Met! If you’re on a budget, admission for the museum is based on donations. So if $25 is too much, you can give what you can any day of the week. After our trip to the Met we met Christina when she got off from work for Mexican food.
American Museum of Natural History, Theodore Roosevelt Equestrian Statue
I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday during our trip to New York City! We decided to save the American Museum of Natural History for the occasion. I had no idea the museum is so big! Luckily you can leave the museum and come back, so we spent a couple of hours in the morning exploring before taking a break to have lunch in Central Park. After spending a few more hours at the museum, we went for a birthday cupcake in Soho followed by a delicious Italian dinner from Di Palo. To end the evening, Koen, Christina, and I went for cocktails at Apothéke, a speakeasy in Chinatown.
Sunday breakfast – Dim Sum at Jing Fong in Chinatown
On Sunday, I had dim sum for the first time! To take advantage of Christina being off from work, we started the day with Dim Sum, followed by a visit to The Frick Collection, where on Sundays from 11 – 1PM you can pay what you wish to visit, and then a beautiful ferry ride from Battery Park to Staten Island (which passes Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and also happens to be free). When we arrived back in Battery Park, we went to Nathan’s for hotdogs and corndogs. Christina had to go back to work, but Koen and I enjoyed the view of the Statue of Liberty and the nice weather. My birthday was the following day, so we stopped by Di Palo for delicious Italian treats and wine. And of course, a birthday dinner isn’t complete without dessert, and we went for a walk to the Little Cupcake Bakeshop in Nolita for cupcakes.
Koen and Christina in front of the best Vietnamese sandwich restaurant in Chinatown!
On Saturday, we planned our day around visiting the Guggenheim Museum. Because we were trying to save money, we visited the MOMA on Friday, because entrance is free between 4 – 8PM and the Guggenheim on Saturday between 5:45 – 7:45PM, because you are able to pay what you want. Christina was also off from work, so she took us to her favorite Banh Mi restaurant for lunch, then to a Nike exhibit she worked on in the Meatpacking District, followed by a tour of the Chelsea Market, and then to a Belgian restaurant for biertjes and frietjes.
The Museum of Modern Art!
I know it’s already March, but I’ve just now been able to find the time to post more photos from NYC! We were there 14 days and I’m still on Day 6! This post is exclusively about The Museum of Modern Art, or the MOMA, because I want to keep track of all of the beautiful artwork that Koen and I saw. At the time there was a special exhibition called American Modern: Hopper to O’Keeffe which I really enjoyed. Also, we were able to visit the museum for FREE. Every Friday if you’re patient enough to wait in line, you can enter the museum free of charge from 4 to 8PM.
As of 9 September I’ll be 26 and museums in Antwerp will go from being 1€ to 8€. So now every Tuesday and Sunday until my birthday I’ll be visiting at least one museum. Today is The Rubens House!
The Rubens House Museum
An American in Antwerp 