Brussels, Belgium: a two year anniversary

Looking back over the two years we’ve been living in Belgium’s idiosyncratic capital has forced me to acknowledge an unconscious bias in our travels around the country. We’ve visited three times as many places in Flanders (21) than we have in the more southerly Wallonia (7). That’s not even to mention Ostbelgien, the mysterious German-speaking region that we’ve passed through on the way to actual Germany but never visited.

What accounts for this imbalance between the Dutch and French speaking regions? It’s true to say that the most famed of Belgium’s historic towns are to be found in Flanders. Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent are not to be missed, but Wallonia has some epic historic towns of its own. Namur, Dinant and Liege are lovely places. Besides, in the Ardennes region, Wallonia is home to the best countryside Belgium has to offer.

The antagonism bordering on hostility between Belgium’s largest regions is well known. Wealthier Flanders resents supporting Wallonia economically and has far right nationalist political leanings. While Wallonia has a faded industrial heritage – coal and steel once made it the second most industrialised region in Europe – bequeathing it a host of social and economic ills and far left politics. I like industrial heritage, so this isn’t the problem.

In the end I’ve concluded that this mystery is the result of train timetables. Belgium is in possession of one of the densest rail networks in the world, and even though taking a bike on a train is a massive pain in the neck, trains are frequent and (mostly) modern. Weekend return tickets even have a 50% reduction, allowing for cheap and convenient trips. It’s just that those trips are faster to Flanders than to Wallonia. Trains south are slow.

Belgium deserves exploration. It’s far more interesting than most realise. Although, when even Jacques Brel, its most famous son, sings of a “sky so gray that a canal hanged itself”, it’s a hard sell. His song Le plat pays is ultimately a backhanded love letter to the country and one I agree with. Outside the trilogy of Flemish gems, places like Veurne, Tongeren, Binche, Turnhout, and Wallonia’s former Capital of Culture, Mons, remain secrets few care to discover.

Meanwhile Brussels, our home, is not an easy city to love. At first it seemed a sort of neutral zone, where in other parts of the world the UN might be keeping the peace. Now I see it more as a victim of geography, one that is derided and abused by the other regions. For example, a quarter of a million people commute by car to Brussels daily, most from Flanders. They make it one of the most congested and polluted cities in Europe.

Efforts to improve things often run into Belgium’s larger political fractures. Flanders in particular objects to anything that might affect its car drivers. Including the city’s plans for a better network of cycle lanes. This comes at the expense of car lanes, prompting claims of prejudice towards the Flemish. The traffic is appalling in Brussels and Belgian drivers are quite literally homicidal. It’s the worst city to be a pedestrian or a cyclist that I’ve lived in.

A few years ago, the Financial Times described Brussels as “a deeply divided city where one in five are jobless”. Not much has changed. A Byzantine political structure – it has 19 separate governments – prevents coordinated efforts to improve life for residents. One result is that Brussels feels dirty and down at heel. Litter abounds and it’s hard to miss the many homeless people, made worse by the current crack cocaine epidemic.

Discussions of progress in Brussels are met by deep cynicism from Belgian colleagues. So it’s no surprise that, while the number of international residents has increased, twice as many Belgians leave the city than move to it each year. Baudelaire, the French poet who tried and almost succeeded in drinking himself to death in Brussels, said that the city and country that gave him sanctuary was “without life, but not without corruption.”

That’s unfair. There is definitely life. Plus Brussels is a genuinely friendly place to live. It’s also remarkable in many other ways. After a tricky start to life in the city we’re starting to see it as a place full of (good) surprises. Things like its wealth of Art Nouveau buildings, the excellent food scene, the Green Ring that brings much needed cycling and walking infrastructure to town, or the tremendous arts and cultural scene. And beer. Never forget the beer.

… and when things get a bit too ‘Brussels’, the rail network can whisk you away for a day or two to explore some of the country’s lesser known highlights.