Shopping in Brussels used to be a very frustrating experience for me: I spent hours in crowded streets and chain stores without finding anything. Something was missing: the small, cool boutiques. Maybe I just didn’t know where to find them?
People in Belgium live in two (or more) different worlds. Some even say they don’t want to live in the same country with the rest of its population. Or is it only something the national media and some crazy politicians want us to believe? I admit that I didn’t realise until now, during the current crisis, how deep the linguistic divide in Belgium actually is. Or is it? Why are media and politicians exaggerating things?
I thought I’d share some personal observations and impressions about living in Brussels. But first, let me make myself clear that I’m only talking about the city and people of Brussels, not Belgium as a whole. I believe Brussels is like Paris in that it’s like a small country within a country. It seems to be quite different than the rest of Belgium.