Crazy about mathematics, animals, Broad City and good people.

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

Obviously I love the Couchsurfing idea, but unfortunately I haven't been able to use it recently, hosting nor surfing. I moved to Antwerp last year to do my PhD, which means I'm really busy throughout the weekdays and during the weekend I'm usually travelling around and visiting friends. Unfortunately, this means that it's highly likely that I won't be able to host you :(, so in case you want to save time you should better try with someone else. I see that there are thousands of hosts in Antwerp, so that shouldn't be a problem, good luck and I hope you enjoy this fantastic city! Feel free to contact me though if you're stuck or if you feel I could help in any way!

Some of my favorites in Antwerp (you can easily google all of them):

VENUES & CONCEPTS
- Het Bos, my favorite venue in Antwerp! There's a lot of concerts, expos, festivals and parties going on there almost every night, check their website. They also offer superb affordable brunch on Sundays.
- MAS museum, touristy, but it offers a great view of the city from the rooftop on 10th floor (free), the area around the museum is also extremely nice.
- Born in Antwerp, a new concept in town, a lot of things are going on there daily, lectures, expos, screenings, (flea) markets, parties. Bar Paniek is next to it. It's next to the river, so it's a great place to chill for a few hours in the afternoon.
- E.M.M.A, my favorite place to go out. It's rarely open and might close soon, but if there's any party happening there, it's not to be missed.
- Park Spoor Nord, a huge park with a big refreshing fountain :) in front of the very popular Cargo summer bar (nice, but can be quite packed).
- Antwerp Central station, one of the most beautiful train stations in the world, not to be missed!
- A-Tower, the ugliest building in Antwerp close to the central station that has been turned into the biggest pop-up concept in the city. There is a bar with a great terrace (I would only recommended it during the day) and a lot of ping-pong tables, a club on the 21st floor with spectacular views of the city, a number of expos at a lot of different floors of the building.
- Opera. It's usually possible to get cheap tickets for an opera or ballet, recommended!
- MHKA, i.e. the Museum of Modern Art often hosts nice exhibitions. Currently, they host amazing expos about the rave movement and eighties punk and cold-wave.
- Henri Conscience square, a nice square with a beautiful library and church, but also a few cute cafes and restaurants.
- Sint Paul's church with a beautiful garden.
- Que Pasa, a tiny fun drag-queen bar to grab the last beer before going home :) (most fun on Tuesdays).
- Kavka, another venue that hosts a lot of concerts, workshops, hangouts.
- Noordkasteel, nice green area with a lake close to the city centre. Magiq Spiegeltent is there that almost daily throws parties and festivals during the summer. Summer of Antwerp’s bar (see below) is also in the neighborhood.
- Drag me to hell parties at different locations few times per year.
- Superdiesel, nice summer parties on Sunday afternoons. *
- Scheldt cruise, decent and affordable (http://www.flandria.nu/en/port-cruises/#scheldt-cruise), recommended if the weather is good.
- Scheldt. Chilling at the river docks is always great on a sunny day, e.g. close to Steenplein castle.
- Badenhuis, Jacuzzi, fire, herbal and steam baths at the Veldstraat sports centre. You can relax there for the whole day for only 13 euros.

DAY „TRIPS“ IN THE CITY
- Linkeroever, beautiful green left bank of the city that offers great views of the city, a must while in Antwerp. You can easily walk or bike there by going through the 1930s Sint Anna tunnel under the river, a great experience in itself! You can simply walk next to the river up north to Sint Anna beach (a few cafes there, and a summer bar that hosts parties from time to time), or go to the lake Galgenweel and have a drink at the isolated summer bar close to it (Bar Left).
- Middelheim open air sculpture museum in a forest, one of my absolute favorites in Antwerp!
- Zurenborg, beautiful art nouveau neighborhood. There’s a lot of places there that presumably offer great food, I heard that pizza at Orso is quite something. :)
- Riviernhof beautiful park with the Sterckshof castle.
- JH Wommel is quite a venue in a fortress that sometimes hosts minimal/wave/synth concerts and festivals.
- Bokenberg park with the Europe’s biggest ecological swimming pond (free).

FOOD
- Falafel Tof, No1 place in Antwerp for a cheap delicious meal! It's vegan, all the ingredients are super fresh, and the owner who also works there is extremely friendly. I don't see how anybody would not absolutely love this place.
- Supernatural is another of my favorites for food in Antwerp. It's a small cute cafe with super friendly (but extremely slow) staff that offers cheap delicious Asian food.

USEFUL LINKS
- http://www.antwerpart.be/, an overview of the majority museums, galleries and art spaces.
- http://thisisantwerp.be/agenda, calendar of some popular events in the city. Check their map of the summer bars at http://thisisantwerp.be/maps/summer-bars-2015 (not updated).
- http://www.spottedbylocals.com/antwerp/, many useful tips!
- http://www.zomervanantwerpen.be/ Antwerp is alive during summer! Many things are going on all over the city, my absolute favorite is the open-air cinema (http://www.zomervanantwerpen.be/cinemaurbana), free and NOT TO BE MISSED if you're in town then. I also like their summer bar (http://www.zomervanantwerpen.be/circusenzomerbar/detail/zomerbar1).
- http://www.seeyouthere.be/, an overview of events all over the country, updated weekly.
- https://www.velo-antwerpen.be/en, city bikes that can be rented for a day or a week, super cheap and convenient!

DAY TRIP OUTSIDE OF ANTWERP
- Ghent. Besides being extremely beautiful, Ghent hosts plenty of great events. I strongly (!!!) recommend going on a boat ride through the city canals (only 6 euros).
- Bruges & Oostende. I always recommend visiting these two cities in one day, because they are only 10 minutes away, but quite far from Antwerp. Bruges is simply beautiful (but very expensive and touristy, I would only recommend spending a few hours there walking around), don’t miss Rozenhoedkaai :). Oostende is a city on the Belgian coast, it’s nice to visit throughout the year, and in the summer you can also swim of course. Apparently, there is also a tram line (the longest in the world) that goes across the whole Belgian coast, it’s only 5 euros for the whole day (hopping on and off as much as you like).

Have fun! :)

Interessen

• animals
• breakfast
• picnic
• vegan
• boating
• movies
• traveling
• billiards
• surfing
• swimming
• mathematics
• beaches

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina