I had the chance to Visit the Jewish Quarter of Antwerp. Only 2.5 hours away and only 30€ I also wanted some kosher meat or a reasonable facsimile.

My host and tour guide, Cindy, guided me around the various sections, one section for each Chassidic sect, with its own synagogues, grocery stores and schools. There were lots of women and children around and I guessed that most of the men were at work, selling diamonds, or running a business.

We took a short walk around one of Antwerp’s many parks then headed for dinner, We choose a dairy restaurant based on price, 10 – 15 € seemed reasonable. I had a wonderful omelet with salad and fries, Cindy had a croque–madame, I would have been happy to dring a big glass or tap water but was told it wasn’t allowed, I have  o idea why. We enjoyed our slightly rushed dinner. When it was time to pay I was told to put my money away! Cindy paid with me adding the change.

In the section I saw, Antwerp seemed to be a collection of old and new buildings with a few from after the war. And for the record, I was not planning on buying any diamonds, I just wanted to roll around in a tub of them and keep any that stuck. That didn’t happen.

I did get some kosher meat, salami and sliced roast.

I didn’t do anything of note on Thursday, so don’t expect me to tell you about it, except that I had some yummy herring!

A final note, While walking through the neighbourhood; For hundreds or maybe thousands of years we were forced to live in ghettos and we struggled to get out. Now as we have our freedom to live anywhere we want we put ourselves back into ghettos.