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STADSRUIS - CITY SOUNDS #04 Antwerpen 

***********Listen with headphones********

In this episode you are listening to sounds recorded in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. Antwerpen is a fascinating city on a river, the Schelde. It has to cope with flooding of  quays whenever there is a springtide. The quays themselves are home to abandoned hangars (as they are called), beautiful constructions of cast iron. Some of them are used as parking garages. 

Parts of the old harbor have been transformed into residential areas with some stunning results. One of the most beautiful examples is Het Eilandje, where warehouses have been renovated and turned into apartments. The Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS) is a beautiful addition to this site. Fortunately, parts of the former harbor have not yet been developed , and they are great fun to spend lots of time. You will have to hurry though, because, to quote Bill Heslop: “You can’t stop progress!“

Special point of interest is the St. Annatunnel, a really long bicycle/pedestrian tunnel. The wooden escalators are well maintained and a joy for eyes and ears.

My photos of Antwerpen can be found on Flickr, here and here

This episode features the following sounds:

• Sample of a soccer player in Park Spoor Noord, crying out to a teammate (start-0:02)
• Cars passing the Mexicobrug (start-1:25)
• People walking in the St. Annatunnel (start-4:00)
• St. Annatunnel ambience, passing pedestrians and cyclists (1:05-5:15)
• Ambience of the second floor of the Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst, with a girl explaining art to her mother (0:20-2:40)
• Cars and bicycles riding on cobblestones, Leopold de Waelplaats (2:30-end)
• Nationalestraat, passing cars and streetcar (2:55-3:40)
• The down escalators of the St. Annatunnel, east side (3:30-6:05)
• Ambience ground floor of the Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst, edited (3:40-7:30)
• Road work near the St. Janskathedraal, shovel, cobblestones, church bells (3:40-8:10)
• Drainage pump Kattendijkdok (4:30-7:35)
• Soccer player Park Spoor Noord, edited (5:00-5:20)
• Soccer players Park Spoor Noord (5:20-8:10)
• Drainage pump Kattendijkdok, edited (6:00-7:35).

All photos by Robert van Riel CC-BY-NC-ND 2016