Sights for sore eyes

At the time of writing, my eyes and glasses seem to have come to some sort of agreement, which means I'm no longer suffering from daily headaches and sore eyes. 

However, it was a totally different story on my first days wearing them at the office after the Easter break. Although I did  make the effort to take regular breaks and look into the distance to avoid digital eye strain - the ideal is 20 seconds every 20 minutes - my eyes were taking a long time to refocus whenever I was taking time off from the screen.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday saw me reach for paracetamol on more than one occasion while eye drops were administered aplenty. I was so tired in the evenings that I fell asleep on the sofa, which is virtually unheard of for me. But I did manage to go outside into the garden and see - although with slightly blurred vision - that all was thriving. As always the honesty flowers popping up one by one, a sea of bluebells in the making, and the first of the dusky cranesbill (Geranium phaeum) blooms were a sight for sore eyes!

Then Thursday the 13th of April dawned and much to my surprise my eyes were behaving more or less normally. I was gazing out of the office window at the cityscape at my feet when I suddenly noticed the steep gable roof with its rows of dormer windows belonging the 500-year old Gothic Vleeshuis (Butchers' Hall) peeking out above the roofs to the right of the cathedral. It truly beggars belief that I'd never noticed this before in all the 28 years I've been working here! 

Apologies for the crap photo, but I only had my phone at my disposal.

It was a sunny day, with highs of 13°C, and a blustery wind propelling along an armada of clouds. After a string of rainy days which had kept me inside for most of the time, this was the perfect opportunity to go for a bracing walk and give my eyes a well-deserved rest. So, why not walk to the aforementioned Butchers' hall? 

 

My route first took me to the Grote Markt, Antwerp's market square, which is lined with lavishly decorated Guild houses. Admittedly, they are not as old as they look. The original houses being destroyed by fire in 1576, they were rebuilt in Flemish Renaissance style, and revamped again in the 19th century. 

The bronze statue in front of the newly renovated 16th century town hall is the famous Brabo, caught in the act of throwing away a severed hand. According to legend, Brabo rid the city of the evil giant Antigoon, who demanded tolls from people wanting to cross the river, cutting off the hands of those who refused to pay. After slaying the giant, Brabo gave him a taste of his own medicine by severing his hand and throwing it into the river Scheldt. According to popular belief, this is where the city's name is derived from, handwerpen being Flemish for hand throwing.

At the other side of the square,  Antwerp's Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of our Lady) is proudly showing off the elegance of its tower, finally rid of its disfiguring scaffolding behind which it was hidden for many a year.

I wasn't too pleased to see the dark clouds behind it, but courtesy of the stormy wind they didn't linger, taking their liquid content elsewhere. Phew!

I left the Grote Markt by taking the street at the right of the town hall and continued walking into the direction of the Butchers' Hall. This part of Antwerp used to be the site of a colourful harbour district. Completely demolished in the 1960s and 1970s, it was replaced by a soulless and much scorned social housing development (below, top left).

Finally arriving at the Butchers’ Hall, I was dismayed to find that construction work was going on in front of it, my view marred by a flock of fluorescent orange-jacketed workmen and their machinery. I only managed to photograph around them by pointing my camera upwards.

A Butchers' Hall was built here as early as 1250, functioning as a meat market where butchers could sell their merchandise. The beginning of the 16th century marked the start of Antwerp’s Golden Age and when the existing hall could no longer cope with the needs of a growing population, a new one was decided upon. Built between 1501 and 1504 in the same spot, it was twice the size of the original hall, its façade made of alternating layers of red brick and white sandstone, locally known as bacon layers.

After the Butchers’ Hall lost its primarily function in 1810 when the French occupying forces abolished the Guilds, the building was used as a storage depot and a theatre. Eventually, in 1899, the city acquired the hall and opened it as a museum in 1919, displaying a miscellaneous collection of historic objects, including pottery, drawings, lace, weapons and jewellery. In the 1970s, musical instruments became a prominent part of the collection, at which time I remember visiting it with my Dad. After another round of renovations, it was finally reopened in 2006 as Sounds of the City, a museum which tells the story of 600 years of music in the city of Antwerp. I haven't been to see it yet, but Kezzie has, on my recommendation, when she visited Antwerp back in February 2022.

Walking away from the Butchers' Hall and into the direction of the quayside, I came across a remnant of the early 13th century town walls, living cheek by jowl with early 20th century and 21st century architecture.

At the quayside, I came face to face with Het Steen. Literally meaning "the stone", it was given its name as it was the city's first large building constructed in stone. What remains today is only a fraction of the once mighty castle. The building used to be the centre of the city's oldest neighbourhood, with narrow streets, gates, towers and a fish market. The castle was altered several times during its history, and it is actually quite easy to see which part of the castle is still original, as the 13th century masonry is much darker than the later additions.

In fact, its latest addition is brand new, built between 2018 and 2021. Once again considered a monstrosity by the citizens of Antwerp, you can see part of it at the left of the old castle in the photo on the top right. You can find a much better photo here, on the Visit Antwerpen website. Opened in 2021, it contains a Visitor Centre, a cruise terminal, The Antwerp Story discovery trail and a panoramic roof terrace. Unfortunately, at the time of my visit, I didn't realize the latter was freely accessible, so I'll have to return for the view!

Near the entrance of the castle stands one of Antwerp's most famous statues. Dating from 1963, it depicts the legendary figure of Lange Wapper who, according to Antwerp folklore, could grow to the size of a giant and terrorized the city in the 16th century.

Above the gateway leading into Het Steen is a heavily worn bas-relief sculpture known as Semini which is said to date from as far back as the 2nd century. Like its female counterpart, the Sheela-na-gig, it is considered to be a fertility symbol. In the 16th century, the local clergy came to find the well-endowed figure inappropriate and had a certain body part removed in 1587. 

On the occasion of the reopening of Het Steen, the city commissioned Antwerp artist Sharon Van Overmeiren to create a new artwork inspired by the Semini. Made from wrought iron, bronze and clay, the contemporary sculpture entitled "De Gulle Waard/The Generous Gatekeeper" is taking pride of place in the castle's courtyard.

All too soon it was time to return to the office. But not before walking past the Water Bus terminal towards the promenade on the banks of the River Scheldt and the giant Ferris wheel called The View.

I'm sure this will offer an even more magnificent panorama of the city, its port and its river. If one doesn't suffer from vertigo, that is!

There wasn't any time for a proper stroll along the windswept promenade - so windswept, in fact, that I had difficulty holding on to my beret - but I promise I will return for more Antwerp views one day soon.

And then we were Friday! No day off for me, though, as my colleague is still on sick leave, but I did manage to take the afternoon off. 

In order to avoid traffic, I'd agreed with Jos that I would take the tram into Mortsel like I did in the olden days, and he would pick me up there. It was my first tram ride in three years, and it felt strange and curiously familiar at the same time.

As my eyes were once again behaving badly, I declined Jos's proposal to go charity shopping and went straight home instead.

After a frosty start, the day brought a continuation of Thursday's sunny weather, with highs of 14°C.

I was quite surprised to find that this plaid patterned Diolen dress hadn't received its seasonal outing yet. Apart from it cheery green, red, navy and white colours, it's got a dagger collar, shiny square black buttons framed in white metal and turned-up cuffs, closing with two buttons. Here are some details, if you're interested.

As usual, I added lots of red (belt, ring, necklace and cardigan), but this time I opted for sage green opaques and my beloved green ankle boots. To my - charity shopped - King Louie cardigan I pinned the green bird brooch I found at the indoor flea market's last edition.

After a slow start on Saturday, the sun came out to play, warming up to 15°C. However, the wind once again played spoilsport, making it feel rather unpleasant in the shade.

After lunch, we drove over to the garden centre and made use of their offer on perennials, choosing some shade loving ones for our passageway project. 

We ended the afternoon sitting outside in the sunshine in Jos's son and daughter in law's garden, watching grandson Cas play with the remote control tractor we gave him as a present.

I'll leave you now with the day's outfit. It was warm enough to the wear the moss green H&M cord jacket I picked up from our local flea market in July 2019. The spotty red blouse was charity shopped between Lockdowns in 2020, and I combined it with the recently found Terra di Siena Paisley patterned maxi skirt.

Accessories consisted of one of my stretchy belts, my green birds in flight brooch bought in Cardigan, and a charity shopped necklace which always reminds me of a set of wooden mosaic tiles I played with as a child. On my feet, the comfy faux-lace-up No Stress boots which came home with me from a charity shop last December.

See you next time!