Sea towns are always magical. No matter where the urban centres are: although seas are never the same, they always create a unique atmosphere. That is true even for Oostende, certainly not one of the best cities in Belgium.
Modern, perhaps too modern for the eyes. And empty. "For sale" and "for rent" notices are put up and down the town. Where are the people in Oostende? Seamen spend most of their time far from the mainland, but they make port, soon or late. So what? Maybe once demolitions and constructions will be over, the place will finally have its face. For the time being, Oostende appears to visitors as a huge construction site. In the harbour, in the city centre, in suburbs, along the seafront: works are everywhere in progress. Cranes and modern buildings make Oostende unattractive, compared to the rest of the country. But here the city opted for a different choice, compared to the rest of the kingdom.
Like the whole Belgium, Oostende was harshly hit during the II world war. It was hit even more harshly than other parts, as the town was razed to the ground. It paid the price of the strategic position on the North Sea coast and its advantages as a harbour. Like all strategic economic centres, Oostende became since the beginning of the hostilities a priority target. Instead of restoring the original town, it was decided to create a new one to symbolise a new life for Oostende. Now the new Oostende is still in search for an identity, but the waves, the saltiness, and seagalls with their chirps are still there. Oostende was and still is a sea town.
At these latitudes, low tide offers the opportunity to remain suspended in a no man's land. For a while a huge stripe of land snatched from the abyss becomes property of the man. There, the man can separate himself from the human world exactly like the sea did before him. In time of high-water, it is always possible to cross the bay and getting to the wild part of the city, the one with no buildings along the coast. There, the individual stands just with dunes and vegetation, and finds the right space and moment to enjoy his solitude in the company of the sounds of the sea: the roar of the ocean, the crashing of the waves on the shoreline, the wind whistling. And when the sun comes out, it becomes possible to remember how the heat be part of the blue world.
North side and south side are the two completely different part of the same city, the natural result of the North Sea penetration inside the mainland. It is just question of crossing a bridge to enter one of the two different worlds: the urbanized one or the more virgin one. Fishermen go in and out the harbour, the fish market find its place right in the main quay, and little stands surrounded by seagulls and albatross serve smoked and fried fish to all those who want to taste some of the typical plates from the sea town. They can't compete with the same stands that is possible to find in Dutch fishermen's villages. On the other part of the border other kind of specialities have made available, but this another story. And another culture.
The seamen's memorial can be seen under different perspectives. On one hand it pays tribute to all those who got lost offshore. It is monument to sorrow, a place to remember how challenging is life far from the mainland. On the other hand, it is true the big statue on the top of the memorial looks at the horizon, as it would invite to always go ahead. Oostende is a town projected to the future. It is a quite new town, in constant evolution and transformation. It may not like, and then it could mean that the city, as a sort of mirror of times, suggests us we live no good present times. And, perhaps, this bad contemporaneity will lead to not pleasant future. A sunbeam filters from the dark grey clouds in the sky.
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