an abandoned house in belgium

do you ever just want to give it all up, buy a falling down house to fix up and move to belgium? me neither. though this house near gosselies was rather tempting. tucked in the undergrowth along a cobblestone street, windows open, quietly falling into disrepair, yet strangely appealing. i peeked in a window. it was like the people left it from one day to the next, taking nothing with them. i so found myself wanting to know the story. what happened? was it elderly family members who died and the family didn't want the house? was there a murder? have i been listening to too many true crime podcasts? could i learn to speak french?

i don't really know what to make of belgium. i've been in brussels a few times and also to ghent. this was my first trip to the french-speaking part. it felt like entering a pocket in time. quiet, slow, and maybe a bit abandoned and forgotten, like this house.

ruin porn :: the beauty and the sadness

we explored this old house four years ago when we were here. i'm thinking a lot about decay these days - there is beauty in it, but also sadness and sorrow. think of the memories, lying dormant in these peeling walls - memories of children's laughter and running footsteps, of family meals, of fights and prayers and love and frustrations, triumphs and tragedies. this house was surely a witness to it all, a silent, stoic, untelling witness.

let's get lost: constanta

wanderlust is hitting me hard. i find my thoughts turning to all manner of european backwaters. devoid of tourists. filled with enigmatic ruins. crumbling decay all around, but treasures tucked in here and there where you least expect them.

charming buildings. rickety balconies. charmingly chipping paint. rugs hung out to air. tangled power lines. old cars hanging together with tape and a prayer.

tucked away in the courtyards, lively restaurants filled with music, balkan wine, laughing people, the smell of grilled meat. but on the streets, empty parks with unlabeled displays of ancient grandeur.

a mix of modern and old. left up to the beholder to assign meaning. on display yet seemingly abandoned in the middle of it all.

that's where i long to go and imagine my own stories.

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these photos were taken in constanta, romania in june 2006.