Tour guide in Antwerp Livinus P.

Hello, I 'm Livinus, native to my hometown "Antwerp". I 'm retired now, but still passionately attached to the city life and its history. With my wife, Catherine, I share the love for painting (she is American and went to art college in U. S. ) and gardening. I am a amateur jazz musician, painter (oil, watercolor), and author of graphic novels, cartoons and comic books. (as a guide I am new to ToursByLocals) Antwerp inspires me because of its medieval history (and subsequent Spanish, French, Austrian and Dutch occupation/influences), the connection to the sea, the great vibe and fantastic atmosphere. I guess the port with all the worldwide shipping, the warehouses, the seamen, ship-repair, etc. created this vibrant, cosmopolitan setting. But Antwerp is also the center of world-famous Flemish Art, going back to gothic over barock and rococco style. The nice thing is that all of it is on a human scale: the car-free historic center can be easily discovered on foot. From the 1920s on, millions of people (mainly from Eastern Europe) booked a passage on the "Red Star Line", operating from the port of Antwerp, seeking a new life in Northern America. Irvin Berlin, Albert Einstein. . . to name a few. The Red Star Line Museum, and the Plantin Moretus Museum are 2 of my favorit spots (Plantin Moretus, the only museum in the Unesco world heritage list). But let's not forget the Fine Arts Museum (which recently reopened after more than 10 years of renovation), the lively market places (like Sunday market, FridayMarket, Cattle Market, etc) with typical pubs, cafés, eateries, and charming boutique shops. All hidden gems waiting to be discovered, but the friday market is my top spot: you will find on auction the weirdest objects for sale, ranging from antique candelabras over pied-de-stalles to inflatable dolls…. everything spiced up by some clownesque vendors. However, don't raise your hand…you might end up with a bed and mattress… The best way to discover Antwerp is by walking and (if you want to cover a bigger distance) by bike. I could provide you, at no extra cost, 2 e-bikes Master in Industrial Engineering (telecom) For years I was an instructor (teaching all over the world) at a telecom company (later for a national operator in Belgium) I followed courses in jazz (saxophone), graphical art (mainly etching) and history of art Since retirement (2016) I work in my own graphics studio (werkplaats Noord) operating my etching press Organizer of drawing/painting/graphics workshops in Cultural Centres in Flandres: eg Lithography, Intaglio, Oil painting, linocut, cartoons/comics/graphic novels Author of two graphic novels (2016 & 2023) and cartoons I am a sailing instructor at Royal Yachting Club of Belgium at "Galgenweel" lake in Antwerp We mainly sail on RS Venture (if you are interested in learning to sail we could arrange that) International Certificate for Operating Pleasure Craft (I.C.C European standard certificate - sailing & motoring) First Aid Certificate (level 1 and level 2) None