Antwerp - city on a river

Lovely day trip to Antwerp, the railway station is truly gob-smacking - I had not been for 20 years and only passed through on the new lower third floor - so a modern three level railway junction with the outstanding "cathedral railway station" beautifully preserved above. Belgium can be proud of this engineering feat.

The MAS museum is a must visit - what a brilliantly designed building with a wonderful view from the top. I particularly liked the Visible storage floor - brilliant idea.

The exodus theme recounting the horrors of 1914 in Antwerp was an eye-opener for me - I imagined that only Ypres and that region had suffered so badly. We watched the commemoration of the re-creation of the pontoon bridge that was built in 1914 to try to save some of the locals.

And the current exhibition on Sacred Places, Sacred books about pilgrimages to the holy places of Christians, Jews and Muslims should surely be something repeated across Europe to remind us that these three religions are so similar and based on the same patterns of behaviour and beliefs that there is no reason for religion to be a source of hatred.