Antwerpen? Handwerpen?

I was walking along a street in Antwerpen when I saw some girls taking pictures with a large hand statue. "Hurm..weird..", I thought to myself. Then later I saw chocolates made into hand shapes at the Antwerpen Chocolaterie. I wondered why the hand symbol is so significant to this city which is widely known as Antwerp.

So I googled, and found out that there's a history behind this hand symbol. Handwerpen means "to throw hand" in Dutch.There was a legend involving a mythical giant called Antigoon who lived near the river Scheldt. Anyone refused to pay the giant for crossing the river will have their hand severed  and thrown into the river Scheldt. Eventually came a young hero named Brabo to save the day. Brabo managed to cut off the giant's own hand and flung it into the river. That's why the hand symbol is very meaningful to this city. From Handwerpen the name became Antwerpen...

Statue of the giant's hand being thrown into the Scheldt River.

The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of our Lady)

Set fire on the water

Cool huh?

Taken at the Christmas Market in Antwerpen

Yeah shit happens... lol

The view of the cathedral from a street in Antwerp

Along the street

Walking towards the Town Hall

Antwerp City Hall

16th-century Guildhouses at the Grote Markt

Grote Markt 

Ayah James and I at the Grote Markt

Fizz and Ayah James

Carousel at the Christmas Market in Antwerp

Stadsfeestzaal

A modern shopping center in a grand historic building in Antwerp. The interior of the building is mainly in the colour of gold giving it a very grand, luxurious and fabulous looking shopping complex. Kalau xnak shopping, cuci mata pon cukuplah... :)

Leonidas Chocolates

This is a must visit shop when you're in Belgium. This shop offers some of the most finest chocolates you can ever find. You will have a hard time choosing chocolates to suit your taste. I simply asked for a mixture of caramel flavoured chocolates..That's it xyah pening2.. :p 

It was my first time in Antwerp a.k.a Antwerpen. I had a wonderful time walking around the city while looking at beautiful classic architectures of the old buildings. Simply breathtaking! Oh other than being a great city for sightseeing, Antwerp is also a shopping heaven for shopaholics. You can find a lot of famous brands and beautiful shopping complexes such as the Stadsfeestzaal. So if u come to visit Belgium, make sure you drop by at Antwerp to experience the wonderful things it has to offer!!!

Till the next post... 

Tschüss und mach's gut!