一些來自臺灣的設計師們所主筆的各地遊記

Travel journals delivered by designers based in Taiwan

這樣一座溫柔接納的城市。

如果說你問我第一個愛上的歐洲城市是哪個，我會毫不猶豫的跟你說，就是安特衛普。

A city that embraces everything wholeheartedly.

If you ask me, “what’s the very first Europe City that you fell for,” I’ll answer without a second thought:

“Definitely Antwerp.”

隻身到了比利時，準備好好體驗當地生活，而這次聽了好友的建議，從布魯塞爾搭火車到離荷蘭比較近的北部城市安特衛普。一下安特衛普車站，龐大的車站建築有著歲月的痕跡，古老的磚牆建築上有著金色的字樣及裝飾。總是到這個時候才會後悔自己對建築的無知，但同時被這樣的文化洗滌著，讓全身的細胞慢慢沈浸在這樣的人文氣氛中。這個時候，第一次感受到被歐洲擁抱著，歡迎著我來到這充滿故事、活力與驚喜的城市。

Traveling alone to Belgium, I was just about to experience authentic life. Took one of my friends’ advice, I decided to catch a train from Brussels to Antwerp. The moment of getting off at the Antwerp main station was surely a cultural astonishment. The station architecture has the charm brought by a magician called time, with gold words and decoration inserted. It is always until the moment like this that I start to regret my limited knowledge regarding architecture history. I could only appreciate the chance to be bathed in such culture enrichment. This was the very first time I felt embraced and welcomed by Europe.

身為一個懶惰的設計師，除了查了幾個美術館及博物館之外，在路途上，我總是隨意的瀏覽街上景色，學習如何成為當地人，再用五官體驗這個城市。這是我很喜歡也常建議身邊朋友的旅行方式：把腳部分放慢，靜靜的品嚐的這座城市，也享受被城市吞噬的過程。

Being a lazy designer, I only managed to check out some art galleries and museums online beforehand. On my way to some places, I tried my very best to be part of the city, that is basically pretend to be a local resident and feel it in a total different sense. This is also what I always recommend to my friends as a way of traveling: Slow-paced strolling in the city, tasting the whole city, and enjoying being swollen by it as well.

我常常在旅行過程中搜尋著似曾相識的文化符碼，就像在安特衛普動物園舉辦的這個燈會，充滿著中華文化的象徵物：龍、建築以及紅燈籠。在我們看來的確有點過頭，畢竟安特衛普座落在歐洲，將充滿中華特徵的元素直接應用在這樣的城市裡，似乎有些牽強。又回想了一下，其實安特衛普的中國城及華人也是構築成它的一部分，或許這樣的燈節是一種接納與融合的表示？

I am constantly searching for similar cultural symbols during travel, for example, the encounter in Antwerp Zoo. It is full of Chinese symbols: the dragon, houses, and red lanterns. From our perspective, it surely is a little bit over the boundaries, which is because we can hardly connect this to Europe. The context itself is unreasonable. Giving it a second thought after, however, I am persuades by the idea that Chinese culture indeed is a part of Antwerp, which we can see clearly in the China Town at the city center. Perhaps the lantern decoration is a kind gesture of tolerance and integration?

在安特衛普的街道上閒晃，我會突然被一座藏在古老建築的現代歌劇院所驚艷，或是在一個通往狹長小徑的街口躊躇不前，鼓起勇氣往冒險的未知總是這樣的。對設計師來說，這就是這座城市最具魅力的地方，因為我們總因此五官敏銳，也一邊膽怯地去接受新事物。

Walking around the streets, I could easily be amazed by an opera house hidden in ancient architectures, or feel indecisive at the intersection towards a narrow alley. I would assume this happens when facing the unknown; then courage is always the answer to the doubt. For designers, this is the most charming part of this city, since we will then be challenged to become more sensitive and fear to try to embrace new experiences.

繞進通往MHKA的轉角，首先會被龐大的白色建築物上面往下看的假人嚇到，而不得不停留了幾分鐘，確認一下那是假人，然後再繼續往門口走去。原來那是呼應近期的James Lee Byars特展所做的宣傳。不用海報、不用傳單，而是用裝置先震懾住遊客，並讓這個印象一直停留在心裡。James Lee Byars的The Perfect Kiss展覽很令人驚艷，不只是展覽的內容豐富，以創作者的本位去策展更是讓觀者合理地吸收所有資訊。

Turning into the corner of MHKA, I was struck by the fake man standing at the edge of the enormous white building. I had to stumble for a few seconds, confirmed it was not a real human being, and then kept my path to the entrance. It turned out to be in correspondence with the temporary exhibition of James Lee Byars. Not a single poster or handout, MHKA successfully left impression on visitors. The exhibition, Perfect Kiss, is absolutely amazing, not just how fruitful the content is, but also the curators managed to curate with the perspective of James Lee Byars and have the information soaked by the audience just so naturally.

除了美術館，咖啡廳也是我必去的地點之一，在這樣的小咖啡廳裡，隨意點一杯咖啡，沈浸在充滿枕頭的座位上，慢慢整理這座城市所帶給我的所有事物。這座很做自己的城市，在新舊文化的交替中慢慢雕塑出自己的樣貌；開闊的城市地貌，不斷的驚喜與鼓起勇氣的過程，彷彿在短短的旅程中就可以看見自身與安特衛普的碰撞及火花。

Apart from art museums, cafe is also a category I couldn’t afford to miss. In a small coffee place like this, ordering a coffee casually with my body fully supported by piles of pillows, I got to categorize and feel the city once again. This city, which has its own irreplaceable personality, is gradually forming into something from the conflict and combination of both its old times and newcomers. Spacious public spaces and city landscape bring us continual surprises and the chance to plucking up courage. It seems like although my time here is short, I can easily see the sparkles between Antwerp and myself.