I had a sleepless night last night, I’m not sure why, it may have been the copious amounts of beer I drank yesterday afternoon which affected the quality of my sleep or maybe the room was too hot, still at least I didn’t had another bad dream. Wednesday I woke up at 1am after having a horrifying dream about discovering a lorry full of trafficked women. They were banging and screaming from the inside and I was trying to break into the lorry from the outside. In my dream my nails were snapping off from the nail beds as I tried to tear through the thick tarpaulin that covered the metal lorry. I woke up sweating and in a right panic. After that I didn’t get back to sleep, this was very unfortunate as Thursday I had a full teaching day followed by a parents evening until 8.30 pm, I was literally running on caffeine.
Still I digress, the plan for this morning was to head for the local flea market (Prondelmarkt) which takes place in a sprawling square besides a medieval church. We had been here before, and even bought things there (last time a Belgium Camouflage jacket) however today it was no where to be seen. So instead we went to Huis van Alijn a history museum set amongst some old alms houses. Some of the things inside were a mystery, the helpful English translation leaflet wasn’t really any help, but in the second building were some real gems; a reconstruction of a chemist shop, a barbers, a seventies room decked out in lurid orange etc. the cafe wasn’t bad either, it was staffed by volunteers with all profits going back into improving the museum, it offered free wifi too.
Next we took the number one tram to Musuem Dr Guilain. This is a museum housed in Belgium’s oldest psychiatrist hospital, built in 1857. (Dr Guilain was one of the first doctors to believe that mental illness could be treated like any other psychical illness, he tried to move away from the asylum idea, where patients were held alone in cold cells, towards a more understanding model, with walled gardens and inner courtyards, where patients could work at trades in the workshops).
The museum houses many interesting exhibits regarding the study and attempted cures for mental illness. Some of the exhibits are truly frightening; trepanning equipment, straight jackets, brain slicing machines, contraptions for keeping people in baths of lukewarm water (often for days at a time) Electro-convulsive therapy machines etc. The photographs and early films are sad but tell the story of some of the early patients.
The building is amazing, truly magnificent, but when we first arrived, it was eerily quiet. No one was around and the long, open, walkways full of yellowing, autumnal leaves flying around was quite unnerving, (I actually took loads of photographs to inspire locations in the novel I am currently trying to write).
After this was we went into the Troll Bar (De Trollkelder) to have a few beers before heading to have some North African food in Haira & co. The vegetarian cous cous was fantastic, simple yet very tasty.
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