Friday the 8th of February is my day of and the weather is very good for the time
of the year. More then 11 degrees Celcius is not bad in mid winter.
I had planned to do a lot of things today but with this weather and a GoldWing
in the garage, it is hard to stay at home.......
It is time to let the Wing out of the garage and get the wheels rolling.
Ready to go
On my weekly commute to Brussels in Belgium, I always pass a shop called "Zwarte Arend"
that is "Black Eagle". It is a motorcycle clothing shop. I looked like a nice start for
a trip to visit this shop.
After I crossed the Belgium border, I was riding between row after row of big
containers in the docs. The piles of containers are huge !
A GoldWing is small, compared to the huge piles of containers
I had no problem finding the shop but when I arrived, there was a sign in the window
that they moved to another locations, on the other side of Antwerp.......
Fortunately I had my Tomtom with me so I typed the address in the Tomtom,
told it to avoid freeways and off I went.
Through some small villages I came at the docs near the center of Antwerp. On the
Jordaenkaai, I saw a very nice castle. It is called "Het Steen" and it is a part
of a bigger fort that used to protect the right bank of the Schelde in Antwerp.
Het Steen
After taking some pictures, I turned right, into the center of Antwerp. Unfortunately,
cars and bikes are not allowed on the big square but there are some nice streets just
around the square.
The cathedral of Antwerp in the background
From the center of Antwerp I drove South and my Tomtom showed me the way to the
Antwerpsesteenweg and quickly I found the shop I was looking for.
After locking the bike I went in and I think that I saw the most motorcycle clothes
I ever saw on one place. Good to know for when I need something but today I was just
looking.
From here I drove East to avoid a trafficjam I saw on my way to here. Past the airport
of Antwerp, I turned West again, in the direction of home. When I drove near Deurne, I
saw a very nice castle on the left.
Castle "Sterckshof"
It is Castle "Sterckshof" and it is the home of the Silver Museum of Antwerp.
The address is;
Zilvermuseum Sterckshof Provincie Antwerpen
Hooftvunderlei 160
2100 Antwerpen
While I was there I could not resist to put my GoldWing on the bridge to the gate
for a picture :-)
The GoldWing on the bridge
This is a place to come back to one day with my wife to visit the museum.
After I left the castle, I rode through Merksem and further North in the direction of the
Netherlands. Then, on the Kapelsesteenweg I saw that there was a big motorcycle shop.
There used to be a Harley Davidson only shop but now they have all manufacturers. And
.... they have very good cappucino for only € 0,50 so it was worth stopping for.
I enjoyed looking at all the new and older bikes. (They had a few old bikes on display,
like an old Moto Guzzi and a GoldWing GL1000) and then it was time for the last
part of the trip. Because it is more then 11 degrees Celcius now, I take of my very warm
shirt and put it in the topcase before I go.
After a pleasand trip, with perfect weather I park the GoldWing in the garage again.
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