Brussels, and how to survive there.

No. A drip instead.

Ah – can’t hold your drink, eh?;)

Can’t you use a straw?

Flood.™

Kwak. Great stuff. Bugger to hold when ****ed.

Looks like a yard-of-ale thing.

Probably best not to use it in a fight…;)

Flood.™

Here is a photo of Kwak and its glass. It is brewed by Bosteels, who also brew the Karmeliet Tripel (harsh aftertaste, not for beginners to Belgian beers!)

To prevent people from steeling this glass, you have to give one shoe to the waiter 🙂

Eat lots of their eponymous sprouts?

Here is a photo of Kwak and its glass. It is brewed by Bosteels, who also brew the Karmeliet Tripel (harsh aftertaste, not for beginners to Belgian beers!)

A beer called “Kwak” ????

Marvellous…! 😀

Yes, and that’s not all, you should see the glass that Kwak is served in 😀 (I will try and find you a photo!)

Steve , don’t try to compete Comet on Belgian beer …. 🙂

A beer called “Kwak” ????

Marvellous…! 😀

And yes, you are all cordially invited round to Chez Youngy for a Leffe when I get there. Even Snapper and his goat. 😉

Leffe – is that the best you can do??? Belgium ain’t like Britain where the only Belgian brews you can find are Leffe and Hoegaarden (even the Stella here is not geniune!)

What about Ciney, Ename, Tongerlo, Sloeber, Hakpin, Piraat, Augustijn, Primus, Gouden Carolus, Straffe Hendrik, De Koninck, Kwak, Bush, Rochefort, Westmalle to name a very tiny selection.

You have a great deal of beers at your disposal in Belgium – once you start with them you will forget all about Leffe 😀

You lucky b*gger!!!!!!

I am off to Belgium in September for 10 days and in November for one day. Belgium is one of those places I hate to leave!!

Vilvoorde. Yes, it’s not actually Brussels, it’s Flanders, but certainly a decent city to live. If you’re not convinced, our former PM lives there so he’ll make sure he doesn’t live in a dump. 🙂

The airport is in Zaventem actually, 15 kilometers away from Vilvoorde. But, in Belgium there is a special arrangement so that flights are divided between Flanders and Wallonia.

Taxations are indeed, very high in Belgium, compared to the UK. However, I do think foreigners have special arrangements because there are so many of them in Brussels.

here’s some info on Vilvoorde
http://vilvoorde.lokaal.be/statistiek/

Thanks very much for that Tenthije, that’s brilliant!

Anyone have any idea about income tax in Belgium? I’m hearing horror stories about it being 50%!! 😮

What level of rent would I be looking at paying for, say, a two bedroom apartment?

This is a real estate agent in Vilvoorde. You may find it to be of use (has some english pages). Tomorrow I may look for more, although I suspect that others will have added to the list already.
http://www.verstraeten.be/

Also, remember that your company wants you to move! The least they can do is help you with finding a decent place. If your company is large they probably got a good inside source with real estate agents, social housing agencies and even hotels for in case finding a house/appartment takes a bit long.

When you step into the housing agency you are a number. When a big company steps in on your behalf you are a big customer, with all perks that go with it!

Thanks very much for your help so far everyone. The area of Brussels that I’ll be working in is Vilvoorde, quite close to the airport. So a few more questions:

Is Vilvoorde a decent area to live in? (Airport noise notwithstanding!)

What are the taxation levels like in Brussels?

What level of rent would I be looking at paying for, say, a two bedroom apartment?

If anyone could give me some ideas on those (ideally before tomorrow lunchtime, when I’ll be negotiating the package I want! 😉 ), I’d be eternally grateful.

And yes, you are all cordially invited round to Chez Youngy for a Leffe when I get there. Even Snapper and his goat. 😉

Where do you libe in Leuven Ben? Leuven or Louvain? Maybe the answer was in the question?

Louvain is just french. However, since 68 the Dutch and French have sepperated universities and the city of Louvain-la-neuve was created. As a Dutch-speaking belgian, I study in the original city.

Problem with those waffles is that they smell great, but their taste gets boring after a while.

rue des Bouchers ? You are lucky then… Btw, did you notice some “6 legged life” in the vicinity? 😀

As for ches Leon, granted, but it is still a chain… Better eat at real restaurants. 🙂

Chez Leon is okay when you haven’t alot of time and want to eat fast – I agree that “real” restaurants are much better when you want to really savour a good meal. Falstaff is nice, that is near the Bourse and has a superb interior, very ornate. I can recommend the “lamb chops” (not chops like you get in England but two racks of lamb, and it is really cooked to perfection and pink inside like lamb should be).

I cannot recommend my favourite waffle place because it has closed down 🙁 but it was the first Brussels cafe I went in, and had some superb French onion soup in there.

When we go to Brussels on holiday we tend to head for Falstaff, when we are only there on a day visit from the UK we have to eat quick so we go for chips or mussels (which we will certainly have when we go in November!)

I have eaten in rue des Bouchers and never had food poisoning yet. The Chez Leon there is good.

rue des Bouchers ? You are lucky then… Btw, did you notice some “6 legged life” in the vicinity? 😀

As for ches Leon, granted, but it is still a chain… Better eat at real restaurants. 🙂

I too think Gent is pretty grim. Brugge is best, Mechelen is good, Oudenaarde if you are a connoisseur of the golden beauty which is brewed near there, Kortenberg is good for spotting on a Sunday, Oostende is great.

I have eaten in rue des Bouchers and never had food poisoning yet. The Chez Leon there is good.

The chip place is not so close to Schuman Station, I was just given directions to it from there by a Belgian friend who works in Brussels who gave me directions to it when I asked about somewhere to get good Belgian chips. We saw the Europrats near that area, all dressed in black suits with their name tags on, like bloody clones. That is the only thing I don’t like about Brussels – the political association.

And of course Brussels is served by a very good airline flying from the UK 😀

Where do you libe in Leuven Ben? Leuven or Louvain? Maybe the answer was in the question?