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I packed up my stuff and off I was to a new city. Antwerp (or Antwerpen) was only 2 hours away so I arrived sometime in the afternoon. A 15 minute walk took me to my hostel, which was converted from an old chocolate factory! I was rather exhausted so I crashed for a few hours in my bunk. Energized from my nap, I rented a bike for the day online and picked it up from one of the kiosks around town. I went to a kebab place down the street and chatted with the owner while I ate an early dinner. After I was fueled and ready to go, I biked down the main street, past the train station and into Old Town. I cruised along the main avenue, weaving my way through swarms of shoppers and down little cobblestone streets into Groenplaats, a big square with a statue of the painter Rubens in the center. I gazed up at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of Our Lady) and then hopped on my bike again. On the other side of the cathedral there was a percussion group performing so I stopped and listened in for awhile before rolling over to Grote Markt where a beautiful fountain splashed away in front of the 16th century city hall. I left my bike at a nearby station and walked around the area, ending up at 'T Steen, a fortress built in the 1200's right on the Schelde River. I ran back and bought some food from a corner store and then sat on the pier with my feet dangling over the water, enjoying the calm as I watched boats sail by. Eventually, I grabbed a bike and rode back to the hostel, taking the long way back through little back streets. I met two French guys and a girl named Elizabeth from the Netherlands and the four of us went up to the roof and talked for awhile. The French guys didn't know English very well so it was an interesting conversation trying to use my limited French to understand them. Another guy staying at the hostel asked if we wanted to join him in search of nightlife in the area, so Elizabeth and I tagged along. It turned out to be a fruitless quest and we ended up drinking a beer in a playgrounds outside a bar. We returned to the hostel and watched a movie in the lounge before crashing for the night. Tomorrow I'm planning on taking a day trip to Ghent which seems to be everyone's favorite town in Belgium so I can't wait!
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