Antwerp, Belgium

Our ship was docked about 15 minutes from the city center, making it easy to tour the major squares as well as the side alleys in town. Antwerp is a major shipping port in Europe, second only to Rotterdam. An interesting feature next to our ship was the world's oldest escalator made of wood and leading to a pedestrian tunnel underneath the river. We saw lots of chocolate stores, liquor stores featuring some of Belgium's 1000 beers, and snack shops featuring Belgian Fries and sausages. The Belgians are proud of their fries which are fried twice.

Grote Square and Brabo Fountain

Our first square was the Grote Market with the guild houses lining the square and an interesting Brabo Fountain in the center featuring a figure holding a cut off hand. This represents the legend of the giant Druon Antigoon, who cut off a hand of all ship captains who refused to pay the toll. But then was surprised by Brabo, a captain of the Roman Army, who cut of Druon’s hand and his handless body lies bleeding at the base of the fountain. This story is celebrated by chocolate shaped like a hand (which of course we sampled).

Raising of the Cross by Reuben

The Cathedral of Our Lady is quite unique. Inside are four Reubens paintings as well as some interesting woodwork in the choir telling Mary’s story. Nearby is a bar filled with many of the old statues from the church. Quite a few of us ended up enjoying some Belgian beers and food there.

Church Bar

Belgium itself is a rather young country, founded in 1830 and set up as a monarchy republic to provide a buffer between France and Germany, who were always having wars. The first king, Leopold I, is well thought of because of his investments in infrastructure. Unfortunately, Leopold II felt they needed an African colony, so they were given the Congo by the European powers, again to separate German and French colonies. Belgium exploited the riches of the country, particularly diamonds, rubber, and chocolate, and in the process killed over 10 million Africans. Belgium has a unique political structure, each language group (Flemish, French, and German) has their own parliament as well as the national parliament.

In the afternoon, we got to watch an Argentine Navy Trainer Tall ship ceremoniously set sail right in front of us. We ended our day with a great Captain's dinner and went to bed early for the early start to the airport.

Euthanasia Discussion

Our afternoon speaker introduced us to the fact that Euthanasia is legal in Belgium (as well as the Netherlands and Luxembourg). They consider it a way to have a dignified death when dealing with unbearable or unending pain. The individual is the decision maker and the doctor has the right to not participate. After signing a paper, that you desire to be euthanized, the doctor must review your options for the future and ask for a 2^nd opinion. In Belgium, it is not necessary for you to be terminally ill to ask, but you must have a physical or mental problem. There is no age restriction, but for minors, the parents must agree. But you must be able to make a decision when the chemicals are given to you, so this is a problem for people with dementia.  Legally, euthanasia is a form of natural death for insurance and criminal law purposes. About 2% of Belgium’s deaths are via euthanasia.

Of course, there are many people opposed to euthanasia. The primary cons are:

·         Religious reasons, that this is suicide

·         Fear of forced euthanasia

·         No recourse “what is done, is done”

·         Pressure from family “I’m a burden to them”

Trip Summary

A 23 minutes video of this trip is available on youtube.

Overall, this has been a relaxing cruise. Each day started with a walking tour of a new town, followed by time to explore further on your own or just relax on the ship. We met some great people on the ship, and had fun joking around with each other. Jörn our program manager had a story or joke for every occasion as well as sharing the facts about each location. Finally, Captain Richard was always available, welcoming us every time we returned to the ship.