Antwerp, Belgium
April 29 - 30, 2017
Belgian chocolate in the morning and Belgian beer at lunch and my trip was off to a grand start! Antwerp is an absolutely wonderful place and like all European cities whose history goes back hundreds of years, there is much to see and admire - beautiful old buildings, statues, a Market Square and Town Hall, but there are also the new and gentrified areas with a sophistication all their own. The second largest port in Europe, Antwerp is especially known for its diamond industry and I’ve been told that the number of carats cut and traded here is more than in any other city. And, yes, there is an abundance of jewelry stores, although visiting them was not on my “To Do” list.
A highlight of my stay here was the time I spent in the Red Star Museum; a poignant reminder of my grandparents' journey to the United States after leaving Ukraine. The Red Star Line, an ocean passenger line founded in 1871 and also used for the transport of cargo, provided ships that carried European emigrants, a good number of them Jewish, from the poverty and religious persecution in Europe and Russia to America where freedom and opportunity beckoned. The Red Star Line warehouses served as the company’s depot and it was here that the decision was made as to who would be allowed to leave and who had to stay behind-the making and breaking of dreams. Those former warehouses have been turned into a museum whose photographs, artifacts, and records tell the stories of so many who walked through its doors. I wasn't able to find out if my grandparents left from Antwerp, but I did find their names and those of my great-grandparents while doing some genealogy research on one of the computers available for public use...it was an emotional moment.
www.vantagetravel.com
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