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’A
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 50th 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.
