Journal of My Experiences
Our guide�s name was �Aarse� � sounds like Doris, but without the �D�. She was a very kind and endearing lady who we soon began to call �Grandma.� Unfortunately, many wished to sleep and throughout the ride, she would try to explain some site or attraction. Her voice was very loud over the speakers and was quite abrupt to hear, even when awake. If she wasn�t our �Grandma� I think many would have become impatient with her very quickly. A few did anyway.
We arrived in Antwerp late in the afternoon. Grandma lead us to the center of the square and told us the legend of the beginning of the town where a man cut off some other guy�s hand and threw it in the river. We were given about an hour to tour. John Naduch and I went first to the Cathedral. They had some paintings by Peter Paul Reubens. The church was quite beautiful and ornate. It was quite a shock for myself to see such a church, far more amazing than almost anything comparable in Canada. I was especially interested in monuments on the floor. They listed people�s names dates of birth and death along with DOM and RIP. Although I�m uncertain, my consultation with others has lead me to believe that the church was built over a cemetery, the stones are actual gravestones.
I was also fascinated by a �Memores Mortis� carving on one of the walls. It was a scull and some writing in Latin. I�ve always been fascinated with the medieval period�s fascination with death. They seemed to have an acute sense of it. Today, we try to avoid the thought of it, until it is unavoidable. Their fascination with death seems somewhat healthy. The gruesome images are there to teach and remind us of our own fragile nature.
The Religious faith of the people who built the church was screaming from every corner. Many of the buildings in Belgium, even secular ones have statues of saints or especially Our Lady affixed to them. Later I discovered even a bar named after �Christ the King�. The faith seemed a very foundational part of their culture. I can understand what our Holy Father means when he speaks of the important of Christianity to European Culture.
John tried to get his picture taken with some medieval looking guys pretending to chop off his head. Unfortunately his camera wasn�t working. We tried so hard though
We later arrived at our hotel room and had our �opening meal�. The Hotel was glorious!! The meal was quite phenomenal � worth over 18,50 Euro. Unlike North American Hotels, each room had two single beds pushed right beside each other. These were some of the fluffiest beads that I had every slept on. This was the nicest hotel we would stay at on our trip.
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