"Malines, Mechelen (not Machelen)" Mechelen by Norali

Mechelen... a city/town I use to pass by while heading to Antwerp (from Brussels & by train, that is). That was the sole thing I knew about this city. Then came the VT era (mine, btw) where you could dig out some pages abut the country you live and its cities... and I found Mechelen amongst the hundreds of Belgian pages on here.

However, I didn't happen to visit Mechelen right away. But when the time was about right to do it, I just advised a VT-local-guy-cum-VT-friend, Frank, about any possibility to visit the city with him. He is a Mechelen-born man and who lives in Antwerp. Thing is, there was a private meeting we tried to put in place for some time but got cancelled. He just returned from Madagascar at that time, and I wanted to meet up with him again to chat up and talk about his experience in my Island. I was preparing a removal (was on the brink of returning to the island) and after some mails and phone calls, we finally found a cool thing to do: visiting Mechelen.

It was the necessary halt from the long removal preparation. Months after, I still can say I'm glad I could do it.

Btw, I remember & am suspecting I knew one thing about Mechelen prior even the VTera: coucou de Malines. A kind of chicken that is sold in venison, feasant shop. I guess it is from Mechelen ?

The wooden houses

I consider Mechelen's preserved monuments as its main curiosities.
And too bad, whereas such things are eagerly shown to the eyes of the world in other Belgian cities, they are almost like hidden treasures in Mechelen. You would expect this or that monument to be open to public visits, you are disappointed because no visit is allowed.

Fortunately, the city is nice for an afternoon stroll and you'll have to make do with the exteriors of the buildings... well, sometimes the courtyards too! At the end of the day, it was not that bad they were closed...

Mechelen-born, Frank, was guiding me around

A mix of knowledge, culture, style, humour & cool... that this guy is.

He was guiding me around although our chat was not only about Mechelen. We also talked about Madagascar and I enjoyed the tales & anecdotes of his trip to Madagascar.
It was one of those fun and interesting guidings I use to enjoy ! Not boring at all.

Dank je wel, Frank !

• Pros:Many preserved buildings & monuments
• Cons:They are closed, you cannot see their interiors.
• In a nutshell:Do they really want to share with us ? Anyway, a city that is dedicated to women is always nice :-)