Dageraadplaats is a traffic free square lined with cafes and brasseries, the ideal place to stop for a beer after walking from Antwerpen-Berchem station towards Tryp hotel via Cogels Osylei in the Zurenborg district of the city with its stylish architecture.
Cogels Osylei, Zurenborg, Antwerp |
De Koninck - Antwerp City Brewery |
We headed off towards the hotel leaving Dageraadsplaats but we would return to the tree-lined square later in the evening!
Museum aan de Stroom |
Panoramic views of Belgium's second largest city can be obtained from the roof terrace accessed by a series of escalators.
We passed Het Steen, Antwerp's oldest building, on the riverside and saw the statue of Lange Wapper, the giant, a Flemish folklore character, at the approach to the castle entrance.
We walked from here to Aura Brasserie at Hoogstraat 34, a pedestrian street between Groenplaats and the river.
For our first beer of the day we each ordered a draught 'Bolleke' of De Koninck which was served to our table near the window. We ordered omelettes for lunch which were served with slices of bread and individual salads encircled by a cucumber strip 'wall'.
Simon mentioned that in previous years the group would usually sit in the vine-covered patio area at the back of Brasserie Aura but with intermittent light rain this was not an option today.
As editor of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine, I took the opportunity to leave a copy with the proprietors of Aura Brasserie who had catered for our group so well. I look forward to revisiting the brasserie on my next visit to Antwerp.
Before heading to the Beer Passion Weekend festival in Groenplaats for the second time we would try another local beer recommended by the brasserie - Seef bier from Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie. This will be the subject of a separate blog post on BeerEurope. Roger Protz has already written about Seef after meeting Johan Van Dyck in 2012.
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