Brussels, Belgium - Week 4 & Rating
Updated: Oct 1
Hello Family and Friends,
The highlight of our last week in Brussels is that we attended the celebration of Belgian National Day!
It was a little difficult to get a good spot to see the parade. But it was a fairly quiet parade. Probably the biggest cheer during the parade was for the street sweeper (as it cleaned up the horse poop). However, as a part of the celebration they had food trucks and activities for the kids.
That evening we stayed up late in order to see the fireworks.
I mean, they were cute. Probably the biggest thing about the fireworks was that it was a French company that won the contract for the fireworks display. The Belgian fire brigade was mad and threatened to strike, because a french company was shooting fireworks for the Belgian National Day. If it is in consolation to the Belgians at all, the firework display wasn't great and they can blame it on the fact that it was really a french firework display. And when I say it wasn't great, I have been in D.C. for July 4th fireworks. We Americans know how to blow stuff up! But we got to stay up late and Atlas' attention was captured by the fireworks.
And that is pretty much it for Brussels. Our next big adventure will be surviving a bike ride from Brussels to Amsterdam!
LIVABILITY SCORE FOR BRUSSELS
Food: C
All around average. Nothing great and nothing bad.
Service: C
Again, just average. No one was rude, but also not particularly welcoming.
In home convenience: C
Was able to get quick food, like pizza, delivered to the hotel. However getting services from the hotel was difficult. Even our clothes, the ones that burned up in a fire, it was not a straightforward process to get them picked up at the hotel even though they offered the service. Also shipping times were anywhere from three to five days.
Neighborhood Walkability: B
There are sidewalks, but many of the crossing points don't have crossing lights. One side of the crossway would be a ramp and then the other side would be a step. There isn't a lot of greenery or trees making walking when the sun is high not a pleasant experience. Wouldn't call Brussels pretty.
Pollution: B
It is a dirty city. There are public spaces where food is consumed and no trash cans. And unlike Japan, there isn't a culture of taking your trash with you. The trash is along the sidewalks, streets and parks. We were at this one park, that was more dirt than grass, but I figured I could let Atlas run around a little bit while we waited for Brett in the store. However, once we got closer to the park, there were cigarette butts everywhere, bottle caps and glass. It was the dirtiest park I have ever been too. I couldn't let Atlas run around because if he fell, he was probably going to fall on a piece of glass. Also it would be a full time job keeping cigarette buts out of his mouth.
People: C+
There is a diversity of people and languages in Brussels. Because it is the seat of the EU there are people from everywhere. Couldn't tell you what a stereotypical Brussels person looks like, because it is very multicultural which is a positive. The common language is French, which comes with that French rudeness. We have a joke that the national language of Paris is "Ugh". The staff at our second hotel were super nice, but they were the exception. Even at our first hotel, Brett was trying to remember the name of a front desk attendant and the young lady who was helping him said "That wasn't even close" and rolled her eyes.
Safety: B-
Not fearful walking around town or navigating solo. However, they say that pick-pocketing is bad in Brussels. So we took normal big city precautions with locking up bikes and carrying bags on the front of our bodies.
Driving: NA (See Editor note: C)
Didn't drive once. Editor Note: When we ended up having a luggage problem a few months later Brett did have the opportunity to drive through Brussels twice. It was pretty "American" Stops and lights instead of traffic circles, congestion, sitting at intersections with no cross traffic. Sprawling highways with many lanes but single speed limits for all and large shipping trucks in leftmost lanes.
Infrastructure: B+
The metro/tram system was concentrated to the downtown area and had very limited range. We took the bus or rode our bikes. There were two different bus companies and you couldn't buy a pass that works on both. However they both accepted credit card, but, you couldn't transfer from one to the other without paying again. Buses were commonly early or late. Buses being late wasn't as big a deal as buses being significantly early. If they were early then you were waiting 15 minutes for the next bus. I told Brett, I now completely understand why people who have to take the bus to work are late. When you take the bus you spend a quarter to half of your commute time just waiting for the bus. The bike lanes were decent. Some of the bike lanes were shared with cars. However, the higher the speed and busier the street the more separated the bikes were from the cars, which is positive. I would much rather bike than take the bus.
Children's parks were the worst. They existed, but they did not look used. There would be really tall grass and maybe one piece of equipment. I think we took Atlas to one park, one time and it was concrete.
Mobility within the Country: A
As with most European cities it is easy to get to another city within that country. Can catch a train anytime of the day to any other location within Belgium and even to neighboring countries. The decision to bike from Brussels to Amsterdam isn't because that was the easiest option. The easiest option is to catch a train that will get you there in about two hours. Brett likes to do the most when it comes to traveling. That is why we are taking a three day bike ride to Amsterdam instead of a two hour train ride.
Summary:
At this time I don't think Brussels will be a place we live. The people are a little too French. And if I wanted to deal with French people, I would just go to France so that I could also have the amazing food and beauty of France to makeup for their attitude. Also the public transportation is very bus heavy, which isn't my preference. Biking infrastructure is pretty decent and that would be my primary mode of transportation if living in Brussels. The playgrounds are abysmal which is just unacceptable with an energy filled Atlas. Many of the services are cash based, which is also not my preference. The city is dirty and lacks vibe. However every immigrant who we spoke to in Brussels did say that living there provides a good life...for families (which we have learned typically translates to boring but safe)
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