The Antwerp-Aspirin Saga

 

Here's the short version:  I ran out of my daily dose of children's Aspirin (81mg) and had to replenish it.  The Netherlands doesn't sell it over the counter so we went to Belgium, where it does, choosing Antwerp to make a day's trip out of it.

The longer version is that back then, when I turned 50 in 1995, doctors were automatically putting their patients on the children's Aspirin daily dose as a blood thinner to help prevent heart attacks/strokes.  So, doing the math, I've been faithfully taking it every day for almost 28 years...until a study came out last year, questioning the efficacy for those not at risk.  To which I then asked my doctor here (last fall) if he thought it was okay if I stopped taking it.  He had no problem with it.

Then all hell broke lose as winter took it's toll on my body.  Without the photos, which you don't need to see, I ended up getting "winter toes" on my left (knee-replacement) foot and one "winter finger" on my right hand...something I've NEVER HAD IN MY LIFE, even though I've always had cold hands and feet, due to poor blood circulation.

DUH!  Have you connected the dots????????  With my poor blood circulation over all these years, the daily Aspirin was helping my blood get to my extremities at least enough to keep me from "winter" toes and fingers!  Without the Aspirin thinner, my blood thickened and had no chance of doing its job.

Why children's Aspirin is only prescribed by a doctor here, and not allowed over the counter, I do not know.  I always got my supply while in America each year, where I could always buy a twin pack of 2 bottles at Walmart (lasting at least a year) for under $6.  Because I stopped taking it, I didn't replenish my stash last November.

So, in Belgium I paid €8 for a pack of 112 pills and bought 2 packs to last me till I get back to America in October!

Which is to say I PLAYED DOCTOR and, with Astrid's total "no-brainer!" went back immediately on my daily Aspirin dose, with the improvement I wanted and expected.

All that to explain why we drove the 60 miles to Antwerp to make a day of it in the area of the train station!

Our Antwerp destination of choice was at their landmark train station.

The camel, to the left of the station (in the top photo), advertises the Antwerp Zoo nearby.

In eye-sight of the station, we stopped first for a latte macchiato...of course.

The signs alone were worth the visit:

"Tomorrow is a lovely day."

"Don't steal:  the government hates competition."

"Let the music play."

...etc., etc.

But the train station itself was the winner for the day.

This is from when we were last there in 2012...and why we wanted to go back.

Lucky for us, we both love architecture.

After passing under the clock inside, you see what it looks like from the train platform outside.

It's a cozy, protected platform...as though lending a helping hand to travelers.

And it's a looooong covered platform, looking back to the station.

This is Astrid's photo, showing the VPP (vanishing point perspective) which I love.

Past the covered part of the platform, you get the lay of the land.

Believe it or not, a pharmacy for my Aspirin was in the train station, which we visited after our sight-seeing.  Serendipity.

From the station we then walked a couple blocks to Wagamama for lunch.

Of course, I had to take this for our Shutterchance photoblog's Bike Friday.

This was Astrid's Bike Friday...with her famous signature placement (can you find it?).

Lunch at Wagamama (only 2 of them in Belgium) was the perfect ending to our outing.

All of that just to say we did it, making lemonade out of the lemons!

Daughter Amy in the Netherlands, 2019

It was a pretty spontaneous decision but when I realized Amy had some time off between two jobs, I asked if she could come visit us, even if for just a week.  She agreed and she came!  In fact, she just returned back to Atlanta yesterday.

Each day I posted a collage on Facebook, documenting her time here with Astrid and me.  In this post I'm adding a few more photos to fill out the trip.

Day 1:  Thursday, 21 February:  Amsterdam Airport to Gorinchem

She arrived at the Amsterdam airport, we drove home, ate at our favorite Metropole restaurant for lunch, she took a nap and we chilled the rest of the day.  Even watched a movie together that night:  Sideways.  What you need to understand about Amy and us is that we LOVE watching movies together!

Believe it or not, I took no photos that first day.  This was all about chilling!

Day 2:  Friday, 22 February:  Gorinchem

We wanted Amy to sleep in as long as possible every day, which she did!  She needed to restore her body after 2 years of negative work stress.  She'd arrive at our apartment (from our center's guest room across the courtyard) by 11 a.m. each day.

The only thing we did at home that day, before Happy Hour, was to watch The Adjustment Bureau after lunch.  We wanted to get in our cozy movie time together.

Friday afternoon is Happy Hour here where we live, from 3:30-4:30.

Riet (top-left) planned Frikandel Speciaal especially for Amy 

(as she had also done last year for son Mark).

Amy ate the whole thing!

That was our appetizer before an evening dinner with nearby friends, Femke and Jeannette.

The only photos I took that evening were of Amy bonding with ragdoll Finn.

It was love at first sight for both...because Amy really has the touch!

Day 3:  Saturday, 23 February: Antwerp, Belgium

Before Amy came we had discussed the possibility of visiting another country, just to say she did it.  HA!  Because she is now working at the Mercedes Benz headquarters in Atlanta, we all assume she will one day need to travel to their worldwide headquarters in Germany.  So Belgium was the next country of choice...and because Antwerp is only an hour's drive away, we picked it.  (Remember, we were trying to keep this trip easy for her.)

On late-morning arrival at the market square, we first stopped for latte macchiatos and wine.

The shining sun called to us all!  It was good to soak it in.

Then we visited the cathedral, walked around city center, and then ate mussels.

It was exactly how we pictured the day.

BTW, the Cathedral of Our Lady, from 1531, was Amy's first Roman Catholic experience.

Like her mother, she was awestruck.

And that evening, back at home, we watched another movie:  Don Juan DeMarco.

Day 4:  Sunday, 24 February:  Kinderdijk and Pannenkoeken

Kinderdijk is always a must for us because of how soulful it is.

Besides, it's a UNESCO World Heritage site just 30 km away.  A no-brainer.

After Kinderdijk we met up with Jeroen, Eva and Hailey at our favorite pannenkoeken restaurant.

It was a perfect chance to share the "Dutch pancake" experience with Amy and meet the family.

Eva and Jeroen, after all, are her step-siblings!

Day 5:  Monday, 25 February:  Gorinchem's Citadel Walk

While Astrid did a short babysitting stint that afternoon, Amy and I walked our citadel.

Are you paying attention to the weather we had!!!

Amy was such a good sport, climbing all the way to the top of  De Hoop (The Hope) windmill.

That evening we ate at home and watched another movie:  A Star is Born (new version).

Day 6:  Tuesday, 26 February:  Loevestein Castle

Much like Kinderdijk, visiting the Loevestein castle across the Merwede river from us is a must.

After driving along the dijks, we crossed over the river by ferry in Brakel.

Both the ferry and castle were firsts for Amy.

How many times do Americans step foot in a place as old as from 1361!

We even had time to chill out in the sun again.

That evening we ate at out favorite Japanese restaurant in town.

And afterwards we watched Air Force One.

Day 7:  Wednesday, 27 February:  Back to the Amsterdam Airport

Bright and early...the only day she couldn't sleep in...we were back in the car for Amy's flight back to Atlanta.  That was yesterday!

I can't begin to express the joy and fulfillment I had in this first visit from Amy, maybe because after 9+ years she can finally picture what my life is like here in my new country.  You know how the mother-daughter relationship is like none other, on so many levels.  I needed THIS level and am so thankful to Astrid for the following images that speak louder than a thousand words:

Thank you, Amy, for coming.  Thank you for being YOU.

As you often used to say, we should to do this more often!

ANTWERP, Belgium: Part 2

After a good night's sleep in Antwerp, we headed out to see a different part of the city the next day, about a 30-minute walk from city center.  We knew we HAD to see the central train station, which is considered one of Europe's finest.

On a foggy Saturday morning, this is what we saw as we approached her.

In our peripheral vision, just off to the left of the station, is the Antwerp Zoo.

It's the oldest zoo in Belgium and one of the oldest in the world, from 1843.

Another day.  Another time.

 When we entered the train station.....W. O. W.

The station, finished in 1905, has 4 levels with 14 platforms.

And what wondeful light!

After touring the inside, we exited at the back (or another front?)

 and saw the Church of Our Lady, Onze Lieve Vrouwekathedraal, from the day before.

At this side of the train station, were veered off to the left into the Jewish neighborhood....

...where all the Antwerp diamonds are!  HA!

Antwerp is one of the biggest centers of the world's diamond industry

and is home to the Hasidic Jewish community of ca. 15,000 people.

 Totally unplanned by us, we just happened to be walking through the neighborhood late morning...

just as worshippers were leaving their synagogues on the Sabbath!

OMG!  Talk about being "short of eyes."

I tried to be as discreet as possible, of course, while taking pictures.

At one point Astrid stopped one of the men with the big fur hats

and found out they are Polish Jews, wearing the hats of their grandfathers' grandfathers!

As we continued walking around, we started "collecting" Mezuzah doorpost blessings.

Notice the two spots where they've been removed!

Happy Chanukah!

And with Astrid's foot, she's pointing to a shoe scrapper in the outside wall.

At that point we walked back to the train station for a koffie break before continuing on....

...to Chinatown, on the other side of the train station, where we first entered earlier.

What a shock, to go from the Jewish section to the Chinese section of town!

Talk about two sides of the same track!

As I've worked on my images these past two weeks, I have many impressions, of course.

 Surely you know that Belgium is a country known for its beers!

I wonder if "99 bottles of beer on a wall" came from there?

Except, make it 300 or more.

There are 178 breweries in Belgium.  Count them.

Wouldn't it be fun to visit them all!

And just to say we did it, we entered Bier Central with 20 beers on tap

and another 300 in bottles.

No, we didn't sit down to try one because....

...we were on our way to Wagamama for our main meal of the day.

Great beer with edamame...and a main course I forgot to capture!

We LOVE Wagamama, wherever we can find it!

You know me and architecture....

...and gevelstenen (= gable stones) and weathervanes, of course.

Impressions.  Impressions.

And more impressions.

Antwerp in two days.  Now you know why at only an hour's drive away, we have promised each other to go back at least once a year...if nothing else for the mussels alone!  If you liked mussels as much as Astrid does, wouldn't you drive an hour away to eat some good ones?!

And now for next week, the Christmas market in Köln, Germany!  It IS that time of the year....

ANTWERP, Belgium: Part 1

True to form, it's taking me two weeks to get all my Antwerp photos processed!  So, let's start at the very beginning....

Antwerp is only an hour's drive, 100 km, from our apartment here in the Netherlands.  To give even me some perspective, it took us an hour to get to the airport from where I used to live in Atlanta.  That's nothing!  But when you think about it being in another country from where we live now, it just seems farther away.  But it's not!

If you need to cover your eyes, do it now and skip this collage....

but if we can't take a joke, right!?!

This was the first corner where our cameras got busy as we walked towards city center!

Robin had already warned us about it when she was there recently.

 By now you know that the market square is the center of these wonderful European cities.

The town hall and the guild houses mark the perimeter of the square.

The huge Christmas tree was up, ready to be trimmed, probably the following week.

And see that statue (bottom left above)?

Yup.  That's the giant's hand being thrown into the Scheldt River. 

The giant, Druon Antigoon, severed the hand of anyone who wouldn't pay his tax to cross the river.

Eventually, he was slain by a young Roman soldier named Brabo, 

who cut off the giant's own hand and flung it into the river.

Thus the name of the city, Antwerpen = hand and werpen = hand throwing.

And with that history, we were ready for our koffie met appeltaart!

Energy for the Church of Our Lady, to be exact....

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, a Roman Catholic church.

One of those churches you see from almost everywhere in the city!

And then you go inside.  Very Roman Catholic!

In fact, more Roman Catholic you cannot get.

Besides, the country itself is a Roman Catholic country

(compared to the Netherlands, which is Dutch Reformed).

So, Madonna niches were everywhere as we walked around.

Everywhere means everywhere!

(Does it make up for the first collage???)

Don't you love how some things really catch your attention?

Umbrella in Dutch and French is parapluie.

See how it stands in the shadows of Our Lady!

 Robin had also told us about the Goossens bakery from 1884.

The site tells you to be prepared for a long line.  They're not kidding.

But it was totally worth it.

And how can you resist these penguins just waiting to be captured!

By then our appetite was fully whetted.

Astrid had been dreaming of mussels for as long as we were planning the trip!

She can have them!  And I enjoyed my pork medallions.

Lovely.  At De Kleine Post. 

We then took our time, as it started getting dark, to walk back to our car.

Lots of window shopping, getting ready for Christmas.

We got a good night's sleep at a nearby hotel and prepared for the next day.  To be continued....