We leave the 14th Paris in the afternoon on our Bromptons and cycle up to Gare du Nord. It's the first time that we have loaded up the bikes with all of the bags and allows me to feel the effect of the additional weight. I'm able to move the bike with surprisingly little problem and we join the main Paris North/South cycling route which goes just past my flat in the 14th arrondisement and continues more or less continously past Montparnasse, Port Royale, Jardin de Luxembourg and then over the Seine through Chatelet and then onto Gare du Nord.
The Thalys train has some of the older rolling stock and we struggle to fit our folded bikes into the racks at the end of the carriage. Despite being in 1st class there seems to be limited space for bigger bags and we have to move smaller luggage so that our bikes can fit in. Both are bikes are covered with the Brompton travel cover which is obligatory in Eurostar and Thalys trains. Once left, the journey is pleasant and runs to time. We are given a small vegetarian dish with drinks followed by tea.
The station at Antwerp is a marvel of civil engineering with four levels of platforms running on both sides of the station housing which turns it into a beautiful atrium. We mount our bikes and bags on the platform and take the lift to the main level where we navigate to the side exit and cycle the 10 minutes to the hotel. The first impression is not good. We are not on dedicated lanes and we are stuck behind taxis. However, upon arrival at the hotel we have no problem checking in and taking our folded bikes and luggage to our room. The Sapphire hotel is lovely and our room is a spacious loft. We walk to the new port area and have a vegetarian burger. We walk back in a light drizzle which is actually quite pleasant.
This article has been written by Christian and illustrated by Candy
