Gallery Post

2012, Antwerp

August 2012

In August 2012, I traveled to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands for my honeymoon.

Antwerp was not an easy city for us. By the time we arrived, I was still shaken by the loss of my camera, which had been stolen during the trip. On the train, I could not fully enjoy the scenery or the movement from one city to another. My mind was somewhere else, filled with frustration and disappointment.

Still, I did not want the trip to stop there. Even with that sense of loss, I tried to continue the journey as planned. Antwerp was part of our honeymoon, and I wanted to remember it as more than just a place connected to an unfortunate incident.

But travel does not always follow our intentions. While walking around the city, I twisted my ankle, and because of that, we could not explore Antwerp as much as we had hoped. I remember feeling disappointed again, as if the trip kept testing us in small and unexpected ways.

And yet, looking back at the photographs, I realize that Antwerp gave us more moments than I remembered. There are more photos than I expected, and inside them are traces of streets, buildings, light, and quiet scenes that I must have wanted to keep. Perhaps I was still trying to see beauty, even during a difficult part of the journey.

Because this was our honeymoon, I do not want to remember Antwerp only through loss or discomfort. It was not a perfect stop, but it became part of our story. Even the difficult moments now feel like memories that belong to that time, and in that sense, Antwerp remains meaningful to me.

Last updated: November 21, 2012