The 17th century Saint Charles Borromeo Church or Sint-Carolus Borromeuskerk is one of Antwerp‘s five monumental churches and attracts many visitors from home and abroad every day. In order to welcome these visitors even better, the church is working on a renewed reception infrastructure and public access, with the support of Tourism Flanders and the…
Month: March 2025
REVIEW | Fraser Place Namdaemun Seoul near City Hall
Autumn 2024. Ten years after my first trip to Seoul in 2014, I am returning to the Republic of Korea, better known as South Korea. Not solo this time, but with Oriol, who has never been to Korea. On the itinerary: flying with Qatar Airways to Incheon via Doha, the capital Seoul, the historic city…
ANTWERP | ‘Fashion & Interiors. A Gendered Affair.’ from 29 March to 3 August at MoMu fashion museum
On 29 and 30 March 2025, Antwerp fashion museum MoMu kicks off its spring exhibition with tours, workshops, a talk on women in design, and more. ‘Fashion & Interiors. A Gendered Affair.‘ explores the relationship between fashion and interiors from a gender perspective.
REVIEW | European Sleeper night train
October 2024. During a week-long whistle-stop tour of Germany, we visit Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt, Weimar in Thuringia, Coburg in Upper Franconia (Bavaria) and Kassel in Hesse. Smaller cities, yes. But each with their own significance. Untouched by overtourism. We’re avoiding using the white trains of DB Fernverkehr, Deutsche Bahn‘s long-distance section and opt to use…
Darklands organiser calls out unnecessary rules other events aren’t subjected to
Darklands 2025 is over and will be renamed Beyond Darklands Festival Antwerp for 2026. In a reel published on social media, the Antwerp kink and fetish festival for men who have sex with men, Darklands organiser Jeroen Van Lievenoogen points to challenging times to organise the event.
City of Antwerp presents design proposals for Meir redevelopment
The City of Antwerp selected five design teams for the large-scale redevelopment of the Meir, the city’s most famous shopping street. They have submitted their design proposals. The city is now presenting these designs to the people of Antwerp and is organizing a survey.
Brussels Pride 2025 on 17 May: ‘Unite, time to protect our rights’
Brussels Pride, the successor of the Belgian Pride, returns to the streets of Brussels on Saturday 17 May 2025. International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. IDAHOT or IDAHOBIT. This year, the theme ‘Unite, time to protect our rights‘ will call for a society where everyone’s fundamental rights are respected daily. A powerful and unifying…
ANTWERP | Museum Mayer van den Bergh counts down to closure with festive farewell programme
Museum Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp will close for renovation for a few years from 27 April 2025. A festive farewell programme will put the top collection of the 19th-century collector Fritz Mayer van den Bergh in the spotlight one last time. For art lovers, a unique and, for the time being, last chance…
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE | Athens – Mykonos – Istanbul – Kusadasi – Rhodes – Santorini – Athens
July 2024. Steve and I are cruising on the Norwegian Getaway, a Breakaway class ship by Norwegian Cruise Line or NCL. Interestingly, our stay on board happened shortly after the Getaway paid a visit to the dry dock for some refurbishments. The route? Piraeus, which is the port of Athens in Greece; followed by Mykonos;…
GAY ANTWERP | Darklands 2026 becomes Beyond Darklands
In a teasing reel on Instagram, Darklands announces some changes for 2026. Without actually giving away much. Beyond Darklands is the new name. “Beyond Darklands is the future”, a source tells me. The Instagram account now says ‘Beyond Darklands Festival Antwerp 🇧🇪’.
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