As you all know I love living in Antwerp. If there is one thing that I feel Antwerp is a bit short on, it is greenery. The urban life is a pretty amazing one but I do need some nature once and a while. If you’re looking for that in Antwerp, you can head out to Park Spoor Noord or Middelheim Park, both a bike ride away from the center. Greenery in the city itself, like you can find in cities such as Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Paris and New York, is missing. I usually head out to watch the Schelde if I need a hit of nature. Sitting on the concrete banks of the river you sometimes wish that the concrete would make way for more green. I’m happy not to be alone in this search for green and love the summer options in green Antwerp getaways. These three getaways in particular are worth a visit.
Bar Paniek
Bar Paniek in the middle the Antwerp Eilandje area, next to the famous MAS, provides you with a green hide-away on the Schelde river. On a unique boat, you can sit in the midst of the most wonderful greenery that looks like it has been there for ages. Which of course it has not because this bar is, unfortunately, another summer pop-up bar. Even though the boat looks like it can fall apart any second, I can highly recommend paying it a visit.
The swimmingpond (zwemvijver) at Boekenbergpark
The all natural swimmingpond hidden in Boekenbergpark is a unique element of Antwerp. It is the first ecological swimmingpond in Belgium and is kept healthy by plants growing in the pond. Since it is such a beautiful spot in the city it can get a bit busy at times. Swimming is restricted to 150 people at a time and don’t forget to bring tight swimming trunks!
Bar Attak
In the north of Antwerp, a small walk from the central station, you will find Bar Attak. You would hardly notice it as it is situated in the Kerkstraat (close to a not so nice area of Antwerp) in a plot that has been empty for some time now. In this pop-up park, as they call it, the trees and plants have been allowed to grow for so long that you forget that you’re still in the middle of Antwerp. The owners of bar Attak however wanted to do something nice with the plot and have been so ingenious to install a little pop-up bar. I must warn you though, you kind of want to hang around forever. Let’s hope they stay open well into September.
All photos taken by myself with my Iphone 5s
