Antwerp

We were met at the airport in Brussels and herded on to a bus. We had a bus- and walking tour of Brussels that morning while our rooms were being readied on the ship. Our ship was docked at Antwerp, so after lunch on board, we had a walking tour of the town.

    

The Antwerp Marathon would be held the next day. The finish line was in the main square.

The 1872 novel A Dog of Flanders by the English writer “Ouida” is extremely popular in Japan, apparently. Its sad ending winds up in the cathedral whose doors are pictured above and whose spire is shown from the main square further up this page. The novel has been made into four movies in English, but many more movies and TV shows (some as animation) in Japan. Many of these versions were given happier endings.

Japanese tourists would come to the cathedral area and look all around for a monument to the famous fictional dog. The locals hadn’t heard of the book and were mystified by the tourists’ quest. Eventually Toyota had this monument placed opposite the cathedral in the square.

It seems the novel had some popularity in the US at one time. A 1920 document relating to policies and evaluation of teachers in Los Angeles along with some seemingly weightier matters noted the problem of the confusion of third graders caused by the different pronunciations that teachers gave to “Patrasche.” It should more or less rhyme with “Natasha.”

This ingenious invention is for when you come home late. In the dark it can be hard to insert your key into the lock, especially given the strength of the Belgian ales you might have consumed during the evening. So if you just started it near the top and moved the key down, this faceplate would guide it into the slot.

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