Floating Phil

Trying to stay in touch with the world while sharing my adventure, posting some photographs and recording my thoughts.

Antwerpen (Antwerp).

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Phil

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Being a tourist today, while thinking “The struggle is real”, 
 
Today one of my hosts gave me a lift to the train station in Geel.  To the Afrikaans people here: yes, like the colour but pronounced much different.  If I had to be honest, the body would have loved to stay in bed today… but I have so little time here.  Time to make it count.  So I grabbed my backpack today and took the train to Antwerp, ready to be a tourist and absorb this city as much as humanly possible in 8-ish hours.  From the first minute, arriving at the central train station I instantly realised that this place is steeped in history.  Everything is old and impressive with a massive presence that makes your life seem small and insignificant.  Antwerp central station…
The city is filled with cobble stone streets leading to castles, cathedrals and everything in between.  I mean e-ve-ry-thing including modern buildings, deserted alleys, canals, dockyards and an abandoned fish market.
Most impressive for me was the St. James’ Church (Sint Jacobskerk).  There were other builings on the premises before then, but construction started in 1491 and took 175 years to complete.  Being inside and sitting down gave me some real interesting feelings and goosebumps.  Wow.  Currently the church is under heavy refurbishment construction, but the parts that are still open is mind-blowing.  Imaging starting a building project today that will only finish 2 or 3 generations from now?
Moving on… each one of us that left our home country knows what I am taking about when I say “the struggle is real”,

Spending time with my new hosts yesterday evening, it all just kept on coming back how hard immigration really is.  I didn’t make the decision to leave my home country lightly, leaving family, friends, my business and my life behind, and neither did anyone else I presume.  I surely didn’t leave my home country because I was a quitter, no, I left looking for something better, and making things happen, rather than waiting for things to happen.  Listening to the stories that each one of “us” (leaving our home country) have/had to go through… the struggle is most certainly real.  Each in a unique, unprecedented  and unpredictable way, but indeed very real.  I realised this again and again on my trip, visiting friends, living in survival and uncertainty and also standing at the “Red Star Line” building and reading a small piece on the wall…
“…The human aspect of this story is universal and timeless.”  
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43.5323 – 172.5567
19 August 2024
FP-221

6 responses to “Antwerpen (Antwerp).”

  1. The “OLD” architecture is just truly incredible!

    RE: St. James’ Church (Sint Jacobskerk) – I would also get goosbumps ..

    I remember moving just from Johannesburg to Cape Town was quite a struggle the first year – also leaving all kinds of behind – and that was not even leaving the country
    So I can comprehend a little of what it must be like immigrating ..

    “…The human aspect of this story is universal and timeless.” -INDEED!

    • About the immigration, like I said, so many of us have been through this and know exactly what it entails to move to a different place.

  2. Jy raak nogal ’n teer puntjie aan, immigrasie. As jy regtig daaroor dink is die oor groter meerderheid Europese nasate van Suid-Afrika, Amerika, Kanada, Australië en selfs New-Zeeland te danke aan immigrante. As jy ingedagte hou watter ontwikkeling hulle in Europa geniet het, wat hulle vir onontwikkelde lande moes verruil, kan ’n mens net wonder van watter stoffasie hulle was. Ek glo die uitdagings wat vandag se immigrante ondervind is nie makliker nie. Omstandighede in die gasheer lande is moontlik beter, maar die aanpassing en vestiging moet steeds ongelooflike uitdagings verg.

  3. There’s so much to ‘unpack’ on this and previous pages. I am not surprised you have experienced restless nights and ‘interesting’ dreams. And now you’re on the way to SA with so much more to come.
    Hang in there buddy!