girls on tour

In April I took a few days off and headed over to the continent with a good pal of mine. We spent a few days following a band close to her (and now, my) heart on the European leg of their tour.

We started the trip at different points: she started a few days earlier in Cologne and I joined her in Antwerp (since I had to work and do rubbish accounts-y related things first). I had been to Belgium once before – to Brussels – but never Antwerp, and didn’t know what to expect of Belgium’s second city. I had heard good things: the capital of cool, a port-city-turned-hip-metropolis that will always leave you wanting more. At least two of these things would turn out to be true…

The first day was mostly spent traveling around the city and finding our bearings. The public transport – a system of trams and buses – can be extremely confusing for English speakers, especially if you’re staying out of the city centre (read: we got lost more than once). I opted to take the train and walk while the weather was still good.

I met my friend in a cute little cafe; very good coffee and cake, totally instagrammable.

We had a pretty brief stroll through the city which was 90% under construction, but quaintly beautiful nonetheless. We were staying a little way out, so most of the next few hours were spent traveling to and from our accommodation (we opted for couchsurfing, which turned out to be a cost-free and pleasant addition to the trip). We stopped at a store (that we eventually found after 25 mins of wandering around) to pick up some food and drink (read: crisps, hummus and wine) and made our way to the venue.

Now, I’m not gonna drone on about the bands and the setlist and the atmosphere. What I am going to say is The Maine are one of the best bands I’ve been to see. Not necessarily musically (though they sure ain’t half bad), but because they’re so community focussed. You truly feel a part of a family when you’re in the crowd, not to mention when you’re outside talking to them like they’re a friend of a friend. The support bands – Airways and Calva Louise – were pretty awesome too, and have since become regulars in my Spotify playlists.

After the show we headed for central Antwerp and spent the rest of the night in a club I can’t remember the name of, drinking €5 bottled beers and listening to naughties “hits”. We ended the night with a local delicacy known as Bamischijf or, just Bami (read: fragrant mac and cheese, deep fried) and the life story of an elderly Polish taxi driver.

Day 2 consisted of a slow and relaxing morning (read: hangover) and a chilled out day roaming around Antwerp. We spent most of the day in a lovely little plant-based, cash-free eatery called Greenway: aesthetically pleasing coffee, food, and decor – not to mention tasty – this place sure did the trick. We also met up with an old travelling companion of my friend which was a lovely addition to the day. We strolled around for a few hours after, got some Belgian chocolates and a Belgian waffle (did I mention we were in Belgium?), waved off our companion for the day and headed to get some Chinese food before grabbing an early night.

Day 3 started with a couple of stiff coffees before getting a coach to Amsterdam for the next show. If you know be at all you’ll know that coaches really aren’t my thing, but they’re a cheap alternative to trains or planes and don’t take too much longer. When we arrived we didn’t have much time before the gig so we took a short stroll through the canals, grabbed some coffee and some, er, local delicacies before waiting in line for 30 mins for the best vegan grub you’ll ever have (Vegan Junk Food Bar). A few short hours later and we’re back in the crowd with the same smiling faces we’d seen the night before.

Day 4 was our final show of the tour and took us right back home (well, London). After a combined 3 hours of sleep between us (thank you, hostel), a few trains and separate flights, we finally got to London. We met up with a uni friend of mine who put us up for the night, but not before buying herself an impromptu ticket to the show and joining us on seeing out the tour. This was easily the messiest night, ending with a hat that didn’t belong to us, a large amount of McDonald’s and 8 too many bruises (read: Becky jumped a barrier and landed in the crowd and god only knows what I did). A fitting end to a fantastic trip.