#Bruxelleslife Lessons: Sept Mois Plus Tard and more life-lessons, not Brussels-style

Too-many-months post last blog, and seven months into my BruxellesLife, it’s time to summarize my comings, goings, and observations about this betwixt land. Let me tell you about the rolling greenery, caressed with natural hedgerows, and quaint villages with low-beamed, 18^th century houses… next to the village chippy. Oops, wrong country. Or perhaps the vast greenways leading to the heavily populated urban centres where people from all over the world travel to take selfies in front of the metropolitan architecture. Nope, still almost talking about Brussels, but actually not.

Although Belgium offers both of the above scenic statements; in actual fact, I have spent nearly as much time out of Brussels as I have in the city the past months. Appropriately then, I’ll give you an update, but not in regards to my #BruxellesLife.

Where have I been and where will I start?

Well, I haven’t really been able to shake off the English way of life and tend to spend most of my travel time under the English Channel. Between visiting my UK based counterparts for work, and my favourite English citizen, I haven’t successfully managed to run away completely… I think I always prefer the out-and-back anyway, and running has certainly been the theme of my time spent over the summer.

I was lucky to see two of the most iconic events of the year, and take part in one ourselves…

Okay, we’re taking the video here, not taking part, and by iconic events, I actually mean that we ventured to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, home to the World Athletics Championships to watch Mo Farrah win his 10,000m world title for the last time (and to see Bolt run one of his final races). Of course, it wasn’t all Farrah and Bolt… we also saw the Women’s 800m, Men’s High Jump, both 4x400 relay events, and more (too much more based on the stumbling across the Annual World Naked Bike Ride).

Feeling pumped and inspired by how easy these athletes make it look on the track, it was time for all of my summer running training to be put to the test in the second of only two races I completed in 2017. This is the other reason that I don’t have much to provide in the way of a #BruxellesLife update because I spent any free time in Brussels that I had running… in fact, that amounts to just around 1000km and 90 hours of running. Yup, that means it was marathon time!

Marathon Major #2 of 6 complete after purchasing my Berlin spot through a running/ holiday company called Running Crazy. These guys were great! They arranged everything for us to the tee, which allowed me to spend what little free time that I had training. Solo training this time around meant that I wasn’t as fast as I was when I ran London, but still fared about where I aimed. I think that’s what I love about running- it’s entirely reliable. You get out what you put in. Work hard, stick to the program and you get results, which works for this little achiever.

Where else have I been apart from the parks of Brussels, well pre-marathon I managed to tick off a new country from the list: Welcome to Turkey! One benefit of working for a new company, is that you can visit new company locations! New company locations also enable new sightseeing opportunities, so after work we took to the streets of Istanbul to check off all of the typical touristic demands: the Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, and of course boat tour of the Bosphorus complete with Belly Dancing show and food poisoning! Uh Oh! It was definitely a case of my food-science-brain told me not to eat the weird looking jelly that had been in the sun all afternoon, but I went ahead and ate it anyways! Thank goodness the hotel we were staying in was nice!

Post-marathon was the best trip of the year- USA for some coast-to-coast consumer research complete with a quick visit in NYC with my sisters and Little Miss Adalynn. Oh yes, I’m officially an Auntie and I would like to declare unbiasedly that Adalynn is officially the cutest ever!

My trip started off in San Francisco where I was able to enjoy the west-coast sunshine and walk the interior coastline of San Francisco taking in the sites along the way. Onward to Chicago, where I actually visited earlier in the year (pictures from the summer) to take in the Millennium Park, and of course, The Bean. Oh and on the way, I did manage to find a little treat in many of the major stores across the USA- MY CHOCOLATE! Yup- that’s my chocolate on shelf at Walmart, Target, and other major retailers. Green & Black’s Pure Dark Chocolate … I AM the Taste Specialist who has “expertly crafted this dark chocolate using the delicate character and soft texture…” #smugmuch

Finally, my US trip finished off with some quality time with my sisters in New York. It was one of those things where you pipedream for years “yeah, we should just meet up somewhere” and it finally happened. We spent our first day pounding the pavement from Central Park via Times Square down to the 9/11 Memorial and back up to the Top of the Rock for a sunset view. Day 2 we crashed the mall. Day 3 we spent out at Coney Island on a 30°C day! And as all things come to a close, we spent our last day together on the HighLine and Chelsea Market soaking up the last of the sun before Leanna, Nadia, and Adalynn returned to wintery Edmonton and I returned to grey Brussels.

The best thing about our visit was that it was impromptu-ish, I hadn’t planned to come home until Christmas, and it was super special to be able to spend those few days with my family on a bit of a whim. I realise in my life, that although I have an introverted preference, I definitely prefer to share the journey with one or two (or in this case three) of my MVPs. On reflection, times where I get to share the fun, adventure, and experience are the times that I am most happy and satisfied. So to close, this entry, and the year- I’d like to say how grateful I am to have those who support me in my life around when I have needed it this year. I’ve had a lot of change and many adventures and I am grateful to have been able to share the experience with you.

Bring on 2018! There is certainly more to experience!

#Bruxelleslife Lessons- Matters of the Home

Bienvenue à Bruxelles-life or #bruxelleslife, which I think will be the slogan I will adopt during my time in this interesting land. It’s been just over my first 90-days and as usual, I apologize it has taken me longer to report my resettling than intended. Who thought that getting on a one-way train under the English Channel with your possessions arriving a week later, diving into what might be one of the world’s largest start-ups, training for a marathon, and navigating how things work in a city where you thought you could half-speak the language doesn’t leave you feeling like the last thing you want to do after assembling Ikea furniture for hours is write to your family and friends. Rather, I have a newfound understanding of how Bridget Jones ends up sleeping on the couch in her comfiest of pyjamas with an empty bottle of rosé on the table beside her; except in this mental picture you can exchange couch for cozy nest of a bed, bottle of rosé for a little bottle of Chouffe and imagine that I am pining for familiarity hence supplemented by binge watching inane American comedies #yuppielife

My travel buddy, Mr Mice, waiting to board the Eurostar

And trying to navigate at Gare du Midi

Okay perhaps a little bit dramatic for effect, but really, not far off. What I mean is, don’t feel sorry for me. Everything is so far so good. My new apartment feels like a home and Brussels has a great energy about it! So, let me tell you how I started off.

#Bruxelleslife lesson #1: Housing

Brussels is a melting pot of a city- diverse in nationalities, culture, and architecture, and when you’re wandering around trying to decide where you would like to rest your head at night, there are abodes to suit most. You can choose so uber-trendy that you’ll feel like an extra in a Sci-Fi series at where I like to call Futurama-corner hosting l’Homme de l’Atlantide (Man of Atlantis) and Apple. Alternatively, if you’re torn between epochs, then Boulevard de l’Empereur is the street for you where 12^th century meets the 21^st .

However, most of Brussels is Art Nouveau/ 50’s tile mash-up in style where ornate balconies lie next to exteriors channeling the design of the interior of a public swimming pool- I really mean the interior of the pool! I live on such a street and I live in the latter leaving me with massive balcony envy! Again, don’t feel sorry for me because it’s all about location, location, location. I’m living in the top floor of a simply tiled block, I have a quirky interior, a fantastic neighborhood and views of the balconies that I love.

Balcony envy across from my flat... and ps, behind that wooden door is an alley to a parking lot. and yes, people actually  park there... story for another time.

My less glamorous frontage circa 1950's swimming pool tiles.

Having spent a couple of days looking for places to live, I was drawn most strongly to where I am today and interestingly after unpacking my books one day, I’m just around the corner from where Audrey Hepburn was born (I’m a massive fan and have a lovely souvenir book of her life). Perhaps I was feeling the great creative energy of the area in which she developed into the woman she turned into.

Rue Keyenveld 2017

Rue Keyenveld 1930's

Looking for Tiffany's (which is around the corner)

#Bruxelleslife lesson #2: Bureaucracy

So once you find your potential abode, the process is similar to renting anywhere else: make an offer, ask for a discount, wait for the offer to be accepted, and sign your nine year contract. What?!?! Oh yes, so although Brussels seems like a normal Western city, it’s quirky. Belgians are quirky, and one day I will have enough material gathered to attest. In the meantime, I’ve signed my nine-year rental agreement with both parties knowing full well I’ll never last that long there and initiated the moving process. Essentially, the penalty fees are lower and you get more apartment for your money when you sign the long-term paperwork vs. a 1-yr or 3-yr option.

There are three more important steps in keeping unemployment levels down, I mean when moving, in Belgium.

1) ensure that the landlord has your name registered on the apartment buzzer to prove you are living there, because…

2) you must wait for the police to visit you at your new apartment to ensure you are legit so …

3) you can register at “the commune” (town hall, which is more like a neighborhood hall), pay a fee, and get an identity card.

This government wants to know who is where, and with the problems last year, I’m not surprised. Although, they say the real reason is to make sure that the services are appropriately distributed in the area, such as waste collection of ONLY the specific government-issued-for-purchase garbage bags. At least the service is twice weekly.

#Bruxelleslife lesson #3: Moving

Moving on to moving, and building on bureaucracy, of course there are some extra steps when moving in Brussels. Although I do mean that many of the Art Nouveau buildings come sans ascenseur so there are literally many steps to get your crap upstairs, I actually mean there are steps to avoid the steps.

In my first week in Brussels, I kept seeing these signs on the street- they look somewhat like no-parking signs, but people were still parking by the signs for the most part. Hmmmm??? Well, hmmmm until it was moving day! Apparently, these are no parking signs, usually in pairs, spaced about 30 meters apart. They say the days and times in which you are not to park between the signs to allow larger vehicles, such as moving trucks, to park when required; and in my case, to allow the two moving trucks for my stuff on my move-in date. But wait, I didn’t have two trucks worth of stuff? Ok, 50 pairs of shoes, but that only took two moving boxes.

So how do you get your belongings up three flights of narrow, winding stairs to your nest of an apartment? By using one of the trucks which as a lift and in through the windows- cool, hey?! Everything in the window… well, everything if I had one of the lovely balcony apartments with big French windows (yup, that’s what flat-envy sounds like). In my case, mostly everything came up the lift in through the window except of course the mattress and mastermind chair. After a few stair reps and hours of care and attention from the moving company, it was my turn to get to work and get unpacking.

I won’t bore you with the details of the several Ikea trips where the only foreign language I have managed to excel at is scandi-flat-pack; however, I can assure you though that my empty space is transformed into what is more than a showroom. 

Feeling comfy and cozy and with 85% of my nest complete, I have managed to get out more than a few times and see some sites of the city. I’ve also been back and forth to the USA, Turkey and the UK many times, and importantly have hosted my most special man. I’ll save the travel stories for another time; in the meantime, here are some pictorial reasons for you to come and visit! See you soon!

Atomium- one of Brussel’s most iconic structures apart from the peeing mannequin and the Grand Place. It was designed for Expo 58 and hosts exhibits within the atoms of the structure.

Parc du Cinquantenaire- one of my main running parks commemorating the 50^th anniversary of Belgian independence in 1880

Cafe culture= foodie heaven! So many cute cafes dotted around each neighborhood selling fantastic, trendy, quality food and drinks.

Kr-Exiting to a New Chapter

Say YES to a NEW adventure: Krexit time.

Seven years and nearly 5 months on from my departure from Canada, it’s once again time to create a new chapter, in fact volume, to my book of life. As I have been hinting over the past months, it’s time to make my Kr-Exit from Britain. I am following in true Kristyn-style advice: if you don’t like what’s happening, then get to the root of it and make a change. In this case, I am literally uprooting from the source of the Brexit issue (59% of the West Midlands voted to leave where 51.9% of the UK voted out) and venturing into the palms of the  future decision makers of Brexit: À Bruxelles ou buste. 

I’m not leaving to become European because of Brexit, rather for this plant to flourish, it requires a new environment for some period of time. I’ve triggered my own Article(s) 50, and am on my way! Article(s) 50 in my case are the 50 pairs of shoes I apparently own and are currently being transported with the rest of my belongings to my new Continental abode in Belgium.

For those of you who are still confused about what is actually going on (part of the problem of Brexit), I have taken on a new adventure and am moving to Brussels, Belgium. It’s onwards and upwards in a new job with a new company.  

I’ve kept my chocolate making apron on and am moving to work with another Chocolate Giant based in Brussels. Simply speaking, I’m going to work in the heartland of fine chocolate (Belgium) with one of the world’s finest chocolate brands. I’d elaborate more, but quite frankly, the secrets of the world of chocolate are as coveted as escaping in one’s ingoing physical form from Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. However, I will tease you with letting you know that you can expect some Brussels-Life type entries about my time on “the Continent” over the coming months. 

As I write this last (for-now) UK adventure entry from the perspective of my time in England, I would like to revisit all that is twee about the fine time I have spent on these fair Isles. A few years back I started to work through the book “102 English Things To Do”, and today I will share with you a few more of those happenings. 

I’ve already started with #3: Referring to ‘Europeans’ as if they were from a different continent distinguishing the geographical differences on either side of the Channel. However, the mentality that “English people believe they are essentially alone in the world, and would be downright foolish to rely on anyone else” is potentially part of how this whole Brexit polava was established in the first place. Leading me to #2: Dwell on England’s Failures which is perhaps  subconsciously why I haven’t yet subscribed for true British citizenship. Instead of embracing a persona which chooses to dwell on routine English failures such as consistently  late, overcrowded trains and celebrating tarnished mushy-peas-on-soggy-chips as a national foodstuff, I’d prefer to search out all that is positive. 

Of course, I’m not saying that all English-folk are celebrators of their nation’s mediocrity (#6: Be ironic where “irony might manifest as hyperbole”), rather that #1: Ignoring England’s achievements and the traditional English trait of admiring “‘pluck’ over skill” (#8: Cheer for the underdog) sets the nation apart from the more extrovertedly achieving countries of this world, from which continent I originate. So to my English readers, I would please ask of you to #12: Keep a stiff upper lip in regards to this paragraph whilst I go on to thank you and dote on some of the very makings of England and the English for which I dearly love (#17: Say please and thank you). 

One of my main reasons for loving the English is for their fostering of the unusual, and even further for their high value on #21: Cultivat[ing] eccentricity. Usually this pastime is reserved for the elite of the country where apparently in addition to painting his cows willow patterned, a gentleman named Sir George Sitwell “tried to pay his son’s fees at Eton  by offering the school vegetables from his garden”. I have seen these very eccentric sorts in some of my most favourite escapades in England usually when I have #38: Go[ne] to a finger-in-the-ear folk performance and join in the chorus. 

Live example of eccentricity in Camden Town

Ok, Glastonbury is modestly larger (#6: Being ironic, again) than an actual folk performance that one of our friend’s hosted in their living room last year; however, the former was definitely eccentric and finger-in-the-ear where the latter was, although a creative way to do some fundraising, very ear-pleasing. I suppose the Cider Festivals I have blogged about before have encompassed the elite eccentric, finger-in-the-ear folk performances, in addition to Things to Do: #’s 100: Drink traditional cider and 101: Visit a beer(cider) festival. 

Panorama of Glastonbury

When I look back to reminisce on when I have really felt integrated as an English-folk, definitely “responsibly drinking” many “small 1/3 pint glasses known as ‘nips’” of traditional flat, murky “dung, hay, mud, and bees”-essenced cider in a farmers field during a summer festival, then that is when! And what is the most eccentric of it all is that the word festival in England presumes there will be a good percentage of patrons using the excuse to cultivate there inner child and dress in costume, sparkles, tutus, and whichever clashing colours and patterns they can get their hands on for the duration of the weekend.

My elite festival attire: requires a posh hat and over-priced "riding" boots

This guy probably works in a bank and wears a suite Monday - Friday

Closing on Eccentricity, as has the Patron of the Eccentric Club in London (founded in 1781) HRH the Duke of Edinburgh (news in the past weeks that the Duke will step away from his royal duties), but continuing on with my highlights in England, was one event Robin and I attended a year ago called The Patron’s Lunch. I have always secretly wanted to meet Her Majesty and members of the Royal Family; however, receiving Her royal wave from about 10-feet away at a “classic British ‘street party’ lunch for 10,000 guests is acceptable enough for now. It was a typical British day flanked by hours of morning rain and queuing (#15: Form a queue) to get past security, pick up our picnic baskets so we could eat lunch (#93: Have a nice tea), and #92: Have a nice cup of tea. The Queen herself must have been rain-shy because by the time it was time to watch the parade up Pall Mall, the sun was shining in all it’s glory. 

Queuing in the rain..

Along Pall Mall for The Patron's Lunch

Can you see Her- yes you can!

Official tea (lunch), minus the tea.

To touch on some of the sights that make England such a wonderful place to visit, one trip we made over the past year that took perhaps far too long to arrange because of requirement to arrange correspondence with our MP (politicians are the same everywhere) was when we went to  #84:Visit Parliament. It is possible, with much planning and writing if you are a citizen or planning and queueing if you are a visitor. Robin and I once again ventured down to London for the day to have a tour of Westminster Palace and to climb behind one of the most famous faces in the world, Big Ben. 

View from the inside of Westminster Palace

To the top, and inside, of Big Ben

Admit one. No photography.

And on the topic of time, if ever you choose to visit London, I recommend partaking in #85: so you can Go to Greenwich and visit the Royal Museums. The novelty factor is high as you split East vs West and “see the famous meridian, the line from pole to pole, and jump from one side to the other of it”. Whilst you are picture-posing on this plane, don’t forget to meander a mere 102.5 meters to the east of the historic Prime Meridian of the World as that is apparently where the revised-in-the-80’s-thanks-to-satellite-technology true prime meridian lies… In my time I can say I have visited both the tourist-trap and true meridian lines and equatorial lines as there was a similar story in Quito, Ecuador.

Walk the line: the Prime Meridian line.

Finally what I love most about England, and was struck yet again by on my recent return from a trip back to Canada, is the rolling green landscape. In spite of an estimated 66 million (accounted for) residents crammed into the municipalities, apparently “only around 20% of the land of England is inhabited by people. The remaining 80% is empty.”, and for those of you who have taken a train out of a town or city, you will have seen this. I’ve touched on this before in the past, but by far the best of the English Things to Do is #86: Visit an AONB. Official Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) I’ve visited include recently the Causeway Coastline in Northern Ireland, and over the past seven years, Cornwall, the Cotswolds, Dorset, Malvern Hills, various parts of Devon, Gower, and the Wye Valley. 

The Giant's Causeway - Northern Ireland

The Giant's Causeway - Northern Ireland

The Causeway Coastline at Carrick-a-Rede Bridge - Northern Ireland

Of course there are even more beautiful areas within the country without the AONB designation and for the sake of box-ticking within this book a long while back, I kick-started my British mountain climbing endeavours by taking part in #91: Climb[ing] Scafell Pike- England’s “mountain”; however in the past couple of years I have also clambered around the other “mountains” of the Lake District and visited the UK’s first national park The Peak District. In short, you don’t need to find a coastline of England to appreciate the beauty of the land, such as many of the AONB’s are, rather a good pair of walking shoes and a selfie stick will do the trick.

Thorpe Cloud, Peak District

Milldale, Peak District 

Tenby, Pembrokeshire coastline

Tenby, Pembrokeshire coastline

With that, I will leave you (with another clerihew #50: Write a clerihew) and the fair land of Her Majesty the Queen as I embark on my new adventure in the land of waffles, fries, chocolate and beer. I enter Belgium more English than I wish to admit, where I have not yet in my time off bothered to brush up on my French (English Thing to Do #52: Fail to learn other languages) and will instead depart attempting #53: Speak[ing] in cockney rhyming slang: 

As my Mince Pies look alive 

I shan't be one to Duck and Dive 

Because my life’s Sausage Roll

is to Adam and Eve I’ll fulfill me soul.

As my eyes look alive

I shan’t be one to skive

Because my life’s goal 

is to believe I’ll fulfill my soul

Cheerio!