The bounty of Spring

The gorgeous weather we were treated to in the run-up to the official start of Spring continued on Thursday the 20th of March, with highs of around 20°C.

As I'd planned another lunch time outing to explore the delights the city of Antwerp has to offer, I'd taken my camera into work again. 

The destination I had in mind would involve another tram ride. However, arriving at the tram stop opposite my office building, it turned out it was running late, which meant I wouldn't be able to make it there and back within my 45 minute lunch break.

 

Time for a plan B, which was walking the length of the Meir, Antwerp's main shopping thoroughfare, which is quite literally around the corner from the office. Not for a spot of shopping, mind you! I was intent on keeping my eyes peeled for the splendour which is to be found well above the generally uninspiring and generic shop fronts.

But let's have a look at what I was wearing first. 

My red skirt, with its blowsy indigo and white flower pattern, is vintage, and was picked up for a song at Think Twice in March 2023. 

Its companion for the day was a funky Western style blouse from the defunct Belgian Who's That Girl label. It was part of a haul from an Outlet shop in the Autumn of 2022.

Brooch: vintage, flea market find.

Belt: fast fashion turned slow by having become a wardrobe staple eons ago.

The midday sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky of the purest azure blue. The canvas of blue offered a striking contrast with the white tower cranes on the building site where the Meir almost seamlessly segues with the Leysstraat with its opulent 19th Century buildings.

The cranes, which look like mighty giants, are marring Sir Anthony van Dyck's view towards the object of his desire. And no, it's not the rather demure lady on the top left!

It is obvious that he only has eyes for the mesmerizing Electra! Gilded, winged and holding aloft a lightning bolt in each hand, she is taking pride of place on top of the neck-shaped gable gracing a monumental department store built in neo-Flemish renaissance style in 1901. 

I can't really blame him as I've got a soft spot for her too! Her creator was the Belgian sculptor Emile Jespers (1862-1918). 

Initially, the shop space was occupied by electricity business Moyson. However, as early as 1910 the property was incorporated into the adjacent Grands Magasins Leonhard Tietz. As Tietz was German, the department store was placed under sequestration after the end of World War I in 1918. In 1920, it was sold by the Belgian state to Les Grands Magasins A l'Innovation, now still going under the name Inno.

Looking at the wealth of eclectic monumental late 19th century architecture which graces both sides of the Leysstraat, it's nothing short of mind-boggling that these were partially threatened with demolition in 1964. Thankfully, in 1971 this unique ensemble of residential and commercial houses was protected  for its architectural value. 

All the photos in the above collage were snapped while I gaped open-mouthed at the variety in construction and decoration, the sumptuous gables in their varying heights, the more austere neoclassical style enlivened by playful neo-Gothic baroque. 

There is, however, an imposter, as the building on the top right is actually on the Meir, and not the Leysstraat. It is the entrance of the famous Stadsfeestzaal, the former City Festival Hall built in 1908. Now an opulent shopping centre, I promise to blog about it some time.

The weather gods amped up the temperature a couple of degrees to a lofty 22°C on Friday the 21st, with the gentlest of breezes carrying the delicate scents of budding Spring in the air.

I was determined not to waste such a beautiful day inside, but again I'm taking you through my outfit first. 

The skirt is another vintage one, wrestled from a shop dummy in our most local charity shop all of six years ago. The King Louie cardigan, which I'm wearing here as a lightweight jumper, was recently found at the same shop. 

My accessories were a mix of new and new-to-me, the butterfly brooch and necklace of wooden disks being the former and the ring and belt being the latter. All have been in my wardrobe forever. The necklace in particular, which was bought from Accessorize when many years ago they had a shop around the corner from my office, has made countless appearances on the blog.

As Jos - or more to the point, his bladder - wasn't up to walking for any length of time, and my friend Inez was babysitting her grandchildren that day, there was nothing for it but to go for a solo walk.

Hof ter Linden, in the neighbouring village of Edegem, being easily reached by bus, presented itself as the obvious choice. Nevertheless, Jos insisted on driving me there. 

Walking up the avenue of lime trees leading up to the estate, I was bracing myself for the current view of the castle ....

... which is now finally under restoration!

Although temporarily disfigured by scaffolding, I couldn't have been happier. Hadn't I been lamenting its increasingly crumbling state (see here and here, for example) for many years? I was aware that work had started back in September, but I hadn't seen it with my own eyes yet. If all goes well, the project is scheduled to be finished by  the end of the Summer of 2026, although knowing how these things go I'm not exactly holding my breath.

As they'd finished clearing the sludge from the clogged-up castle pond and moat, and the often muddy footpaths had been given a facelift, doing a circuit around the pond was on the menu once more.

I strolled at leisure, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face and rejoicing in the bounty of Spring. A pair of Egyptian goose and their fluffy offspring, who were taking a breather on the grassy edge of the pond, swiftly took to the water upon my approach. 

The circuit finished, an hitherto unexplored path was tempting me into the woods. Across the moat, which ran to my left, I spotted a boardwalk which I'd hoped to be able to take on my return journey, making my walk circular. 

However, with no opportunity of crossing the moat in sight, I had no choice but to turn right, away from the moat and onto the broad tree-lined avenue you can see on the top left in the below collage. Another right turn at the end of this eventually brought me back to the pond I'd circuited earlier. 

Still, it was worth the diversion as I stumbled upon this magical, otherworldly pond which suddenly appeared like a mirage in the woods.

Birdsong accompanied me back to the castle, although the peace and quiet was soon interrupted by a group of schoolchildren and their teachers who had invaded the grassy field near the castle for an afternoon of games.

While waiting for Jos to pick me up again - he insisted! - I milled around the courtyard in front of the castle. 

Obviously, I couldn't leave without having a chat with those haughty sphinxes and docile lions!

Down memory lane

Friday the 14th of March got off to a frosty start and a bitterly cold northeast wind halted the mercury in its track at barely 6°C.

It was the day of my postponed hairdresser's appointment and by now my hair was sorely in need for its long overdue colour and cut. As I would have needed to take both a bus and a a tram to get to Antwerp, which would have taken forever, Jos took pity on me and drove me to the nearby town of Mortsel which offers the relative luxury of two tram options. I hopped onto tram 7, which was the first to come along and the most straightforward, with a stop just around the corner from the salon. 

This was what I was wearing to combat the day's chill factor. Again the outfit is brought to you by Angelica as by the time my two-hour session at the salon had finished and I'd finally made it home again, I had lost the will to live. Or at least to make the effort of taking outfit photos!

The caramel button-through cord skirt was an irresistible retail buy back in October 2021, while the striped jumper, originally from New Look, followed me home from a charity shop one day.

Black and white was the theme for my accessories, which included one of my stretchy belts found on the high street, a carved ceramic heart brooch from a craft shop in Cardigan, and a charity shopped string of black and white ceramic beads. 

I was early for my 11.30 appointment, so I made a little detour by meandering along a couple of side streets. Once upon a time these were as familiar as the back of my hand, as they lead to the old punk haunts we frequented on Friday and Saturday nights in the late 1970s.

I must have walked past these Neoclassical entrance gates, giving access to Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts, countless of times back in the day, peering through its railings at the garden with its atmospheric 16th and 17th century former monastery buildings.

Founded in 1663 by the painter David Teniers the Younger, the Antwerp Academy was one of the first art schools in the world. Over the centuries the academy with its historic campus has become an established name in the international art world. It is also the home of the world-renowned Antwerp Fashion Academy, which was founded in 1963.

It took until well into the 1980s for me to step through its gates, when first a boyfriend and then my sister were students here for a year, reading photography and architecture respectively.

The intermittent sunny spells accompanied by a wind chill which turned the air frigid continued through the weekend. 

For a day of running an errand followed by a spot of pottering on Saturday, my forest green suedette skirt from Mango came out to play again, making it officially my most-worn Winter skirt. This time around, its main companion was a funky green and tan shirt by the Danish InWear label, charity shopped almost exactly a year ago.

Accessories were a vintage caramel beaded necklace and big green bird on a branch brooch, both supplied by the charity shop goddesses, and a stretchy belt with a leopard print buckle picked up from the high street.

On Sunday, for a day of household chores, catching up with blogland and joining Bess on the sofa with my latest read, I wore a long-sleeved Trevira fit and flare dress found at Think Twice in September 2023.

There's a tiny bit of green in its pattern, which I picked up with my accessories.

Both my brooch and beaded necklace came from the indoor flea market - which for obvious reasons we'e been giving a miss so far this season - while the elasticated belt with its gold-tone lion's head buckle was a charity shop find.

We were treated to some gorgeous Spring weather half-way through the working week that followed, with temperatures nudging 20°C on Wednesday the 19th.

As variety is the spice of life, I decided to seek out pastures new during my lunch break and took the tram to Het Zuid, Antwerp's fashionable south district. After several decades of decline, the area has seen a revival since the mid 1980s and is now one of the most trendy neighbourhoods in the city.

30-odd years ago, in what feels like another lifetime, I used to live around the corner from this impressive Neoclassical building.

This is the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), which showcases seven centuries of top art, ranging from the Flemish Primitives to modern masters, with prominent roles for Peter Paul Rubens and James Ensor. 

In 1877, Antwerp City Council held a competition to design a new museum, but none of the entries was entirely convincing. The city eventually invited the young architects Jean Jacques Winders (1849-1936) and Frans Van Dijk (1853-1939) to combine their respective designs in a single plan. 

They took everything into account, from a sense of grandeur to functionality and security. After six years of construction work, the new museum was opened to the public on 11 August 1890.

In 1905, the pair of chariots designed by sculptor Thomas Vinçotte (1850–1925), with a team of two horses and a charioteer apiece, were hoisted to the roof by a dozen men. They were intended to symbolize the triumph of art and have been the emblem of the museum ever since they were installed.

Behind the museum, and even closer to where I lived, is this stunning Art Nouveau house. Affectionately known as Het Bootje (transl. the little boat) because of its corner balcony shaped like a ship’s prow, it was built in 1901 for an Antwerp ship builder called P. Roeis. It was designed by Frans Smet-Verhas (1851-1925), who was one of the leading Art Nouveau architects in Antwerp. 

My trip down memory lane took on a bittersweet taste when I rounded the corner of the street I used to live on for nearly ten years, from 1985 until 1994. My heart made a little uncomfortable jolt when faced with my former home on the first floor of the white-painted house in the below collage. The windows and the railings of the tiny balcony were painted white back then, and the façade had clearly received an upgrade from its peeling late eighties, early nineties incarnation. 

Alhough I was reasonably contented during the first handful of years I lived here, they were heady times, and it took me a rather wasteful amount of time to admit to my insecurity and that I wasn't really happy in my own skin.

I took my time returning to the office on foot, basking in the glorious early Spring sunshine and slightly sweating in the coat I'd still been in need of when I left home that morning. Thankfully I'd had the presence of mind to remove my cardigan before setting forth from the office.

On the top right, you can see part of the large monument called Schelde Vrij (transl. Free Scheldt) which was inaugurated in 1873 to commemorate the settlement with the Netherlands that allowed for the free passage of ships to Antwerp, which was vital for the city’s maritime commerce. Standing triumphantly at the top is Neptune, god of the sea, holding a trident in his right hand, and popularly known as Jef Ferket, the latter being Antwerp slang for the Flemish word vork (which obviously means fork).

My outfit that day consisted of a vintage skirt, which is one of my oldest in terms of ownership. You can see a close-up of its textured fabric, with its touches of red, green,white and black, in the below collage. 

The white blouse with its profusion of different sized blue and red dots, is from the defunct Belgian Wow To Go label and came to me by way of a charity shop.

The red chunky knit cardigan is King Louie and was bought from an outlet shop in Poperinge in Belgium's west country back in the mists of time. To its lapel I pinned a vintage daisy brooch found on a flea market. If I remember correctly, it came from the Brooch Lady's vast collection.

Finally, both the blue stone necklace and the red plastic butterfly brooch were charity shop finds.

So, that's it for now. Would the gorgeous Spring weather continue in the run-up to the weekend? You'll read all about it in my next post, which I'm hoping to cobble together very soon.