Two snapshots of Antwerp: a stencilled girl hiding on a broken wall, and a night when the whole city seemed to squeeze onto the Scheldt quays.
This is a short one, and an honest one. Antwerp is a city we have passed through more than properly documented, and exactly two photographs survive. They could hardly be less alike.
From our September 2013 stop: someone stencilled her into the one broken patch of plaster on the corner. We admired the commitment to the spot.
Years later we found ourselves back on a very different night, down on the Scheldt quays with what felt like the entire city.
The quays after dark, shoulder to shoulder. The sign in the corner reminds everyone that bringing your own fireworks is forbidden, which tells you what kind of night it was.
Two photos, one quiet, one very much not. Antwerp clearly deserves a longer visit, and it is on the list.
