Hard to believe but October has come and gone. Istanbul hinted at fall temperatures but we have weather in the 70s once again. With a week off for fall break, I wanted to take advantage of the shoulder season for European travel. Less crowds! Back in January of 2020, I designed a little tour of Belgium. While that trip never came to be, I never stopped thinking about the adorable country in northern Europe, an art historian’s dream. So, when Belgium beckoned once again, I invited my mother to join the fun.

I flew to Amsterdam, arriving among the midday drizzle at Schiphol. One of my favorite airports, Schiphol is also a train station. There’s nothing more convenient then exiting baggage claim and hopping on an intercity train only moments later. The Hague was my first stop.

I came for the art. A few years ago, I read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Took me two tries to get through the first 50 pages but it became a COVID highlight. A modern day Catcher in the Rye mixed with some Dutch art history – it had my attention. The painting which inspired the tale hangs in the Mauritshuis, a museum in Den Haag.

Painted in 1654 by Carel Fabritius, The Goldfinch (above, right) was a bit ahead of its time. Shapes of color blocked in by loose brushstrokes, this technique was not common before the Impressionists employed it centuries later. It is both unassuming and powerful, no larger than the size of a book. Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring hangs nearby, also remarkable in its allure.

After a night at the adorable Park Centraal Den Haag, I took the train back to Schiphol to greet my mother’s flight. Flying the new JetBlue route direct from Boston, Mom arrived with impressive energy despite the overnight flight. We bought train tickets and headed for Belgium.

No customs, no waiting across borders in the EU – we rolled across the Netherlands and into Antwerp with no issue. Uber from the train station got us to our Airbnb and we found ourselves well-situated to the nearby Cathedral of Our Lady and Grote Market Square.

The second largest port in Europe, Antwerp was the home of revered Dutch artist Peter Paul Rubens. We were lucky enough to see his work in the newly renovated Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA). There we caught the work of Rembrandt and Bruegel in a face-focused exhibition.

Ever since I was introduced to the Dutch and Flemish Masters back at the Peabody Essex Museum, I’ve been in awe of the warm light emanating from the canvas during this time period, earning the name “The Golden Age”.

Antwerp proved the perfect starting point for our trip to Belgium – a walkable mid-sized city with all of the amenities. Questions as yet unanswered… what is Flemish culture and which languages are spoken in Belgium? More to come. Next up – Bruges!