Sunday Vacations Day Trip to Antwerp

## Migration, Printing, and the Invention of the Modern World

A historical journey from the age of mass migration to the birth of borders and ideas

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Antwerp is not just Belgium’s port city, it has long been a nerve center of global transformation. On this Sunday Vacations day trip, we explore the city through the eyes of history: from the great transatlantic migrations of the 19th century to the cartographic revolutions of the early modern era.

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### Morning – Red Star Line Museum

Between 1873 and 1934, more than two million people passed through Antwerp on their way to the New World. This museum tells their story, not as a nostalgic tale, but as part of the global history of displacement, labour, and hope.
We walk in the footsteps of those who fled poverty, persecution, or conscription, those who dreamed of reinventing themselves across the Atlantic, just as the modern capitalist world system was taking root.

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### Lunch – Afghan Cuisine

In the shadow of one migration story, we break bread with another. Afghan cuisine offers not just a culinary experience, but a reflection of the new migrations, the ongoing displacements, and the richness that diasporas bring to urban life. Expect spiced rice, grilled meats, vegetarian options, and warm hospitality.

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### Afternoon – Plantin-Moretus Museum

This UNESCO-listed site is more than a museum: it is a crucible of the European mind. The Plantin printing house was where modern cartography, scientific thought, and humanist philosophy were given their first mass-produced voices.
See how borders were imagined, how empires were justified, and how knowledge became power, printed, bound, and circulated. The museum invites us to reflect on how the world was literally shaped on the printed page.

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### Dinner – Central Asian Cuisine

We end the day with a journey along the Silk Road: the food of the steppes and mountain cultures between East and West. Here too, cuisine is a trace of trade routes, forgotten empires, and diasporic memory.

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### For whom?

Ideal for curious minds, expats and locals alike. If you're interested in history, migration, borders, and the evolution of global ideas, this day trip is designed for you.
We value conversation, connection, and cultural context, come for the knowledge, stay for the people.

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### 💸 Practical Info

• 📲 Join the WhatsApp group and complete the Google Form.
  👉 The links will appear in the comments section once you’ve RSVPed on Meetup (only visible to attendees).

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👟 Please wear comfortable walking shoes.
🕰️ You may join only part of the day, just let us know.
🐾 Not dog-friendly this time.

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📝 Sign up to receive full itinerary and coordination details.
Let’s reimagine Antwerp not just as a destination, but as a mirror of the world we’ve inherited.