Yeah, I know. The prologue is supposed to be prior to the main. But it could have been worse. I could have started with the epilogue.
You notice a difference in the people you have seen today as you simply walk from the plane to the luggage carousel at Zaventem airport in Brussels. You're not immediately certain of the difference, but it is definitely there. It's not the same as the difference in people from Pittsburgh airport--which, by the way, is one of the nicest, but most underutilized airports I have ever been in--and JFK in New York City. It is a different difference
Suddenly it hits you. People here are not nearly as overweight as Americans.
You think it must just be the people in your immediate view, so you look closely at everyone around you, at the entire crowd in the luggage claim area. Then at the people buying train tickets into the city. Then at the people on the IR Airport Express train. Then at the throng of people at the Gare du Midi.
Where are they? And then you notice something about yourself. You were not overweight compared to the average person in Pittsburgh or New York City, but here in Brussels--you may just be a tad heavier than the average European. So into the crapper goes the plan to enjoy Belgian waffles, chocolates, and beer. Almost forgot about Belgium fries with mayonnaise. You start to weep.
Yet, everywhere you look, there are numerous chocolate shops and many bread shops with wonderful pastries. And the shops never want for customers. Beer? You want beer? Everywhere there is beer! How is it they can eat fries with mayonnaise and stay so thin. Well, it doesn't take long to acknowledge that the European lifestyle burns many more calories than the American lifestyle, so food and drink can be, and usually is, enjoyed without adding on the belly fat.
Go into a supermarket in Brussels. Two or three aisles for beer and wine. Two more for diary products with cheese and butter in kilo blocks. But try to find the soft drink and chips aisles. It takes a careful search and when you finally come across it, it is about a tenth the size of what you find in an American supermarket. The result is a culture of eating great food, drinking wine and beer, and omitting sugary soft drinks and snacks. Combine that with the exercise the average Bruxellois--or whatever they call themselves--gets from walking to the metro or tram or bus, avoiding the direct attacks from taxi drivers while riding their bicycles, and just walking for the sake of taking a stroll, and they get more exercise from their daily life than the average American who may walk to the curb to get into their car to drive 2 minutes to the fast food drive-thru and eat junk food while sucking down a 2 liter soft drink while still in their car.
Someone mentioned taxi drivers. Brussels is without a doubt the home of the most dangerous taxi drivers of any city in any country on any planet in the universe. I still have the bruise marks on my arm that show my spouse's fingerprints which she imprinted during the 15 minute taxi ride from the Gare du Midi to Ixelles. A ride at any Six Flags could not come close to the danger we experienced during that trip. You begin to believe that you are in the filming of the next Die Hard movie chase scene. It was the last taxi ride we took, quickly learning to depend on one of the best public transportation systems in existence.
That also brings up another great difference between America and Europe. Public transportation in major cities in the U.S., and that would include DC and NY, cannot compete with European systems. The metros (subways), electric trams (trolleys), buses, the ICE and Thalys trains between major cities in France, Belgium, and Germany, and the local train systems are so good that again you start to weep. Weeping for the lack of such systems in America.
Brussels, or Bruxelles, or Brussel (depending on if you are one of the 40% of the population who are French speaking Walloons, 60% who are Dutch speaking Flemish, or less than 1% German speaking I'm-not-sure-what-they-are-called) is only one of nineteen municipalities which comprise the Brussels Capital Region. We stayed in Saint Gilles and Ixelles, where Audrey Hepburn was born. Two wonderful places full of art and nightlife, and where a slow walk across an intersection can easily result in death by taxi. A few weeks in Brussels does not begin to scratch the surface of interesting things to do and see. And an hour train ride to Bruges can provide you with more chocolates, beer, and Flemish fries with mayonnaise, which I suppose differs from Belgium fries with mayonnaise. Try to go during the non-high tourist season so you can walk on the sidewalks instead of the on the streets. Autumn would probably be best.
The issue of a bi-lingual country, French and Dutch, and the conflict between Walloons and Flemish have existed for a long time. I learned about it while living in Burwood, NSW. I became friends with Thierry who was a Belgium Walloon from the Flemish Province of East Flanders, from a city called Ronse in Dutch and Renaix in French. The "competition" between the two groups was very evident. Road signs were in both languages, and often one of the languages would have been spray-painted so only the language of the painter would remain. A few days later, the other language would be spray-painted by those who took offense to the first. Now, no one could read the sign.
Thierry told me another story I have never forgotten about his town. There was one street that had large commercial and light-industrial buildings on each side. On one side were French-owned businesses, and the other side were Dutch-owned businesses. One day a large sign was hung from the windows of a building and on it was written in French "Here we speak only French". The next day the building oppose had a sign which read in Dutch "Here we work, we do not speak".
If there is a truly international city, it must be Brussels. In addition to the European languages, you hear African, Middle Eastern, and Asian languages within a few days. And, of course, a lot of English. Brussels is the home not only to NATO and is the unofficial capital of the European Union, but there are many other international organizations located there.
Yes, there is crime, and as the European economy is suffering the crime rate has been rising. Belgium has a relatively high gun ownership rate among countries in the world, at nearly 20% of the population. Registration is required, although illegal gun possession occurs as it does everywhere. Despite the high gun ownership, you have got to love the number of homicides by handguns in 2004 and 2005. Two each year. TWO! Did you hear that number Congress??
Well, I lied about not taking another taxi, as I reserved one for 5:00am to catch the ICE train from Gare du Midi to Frankfurt. At that time in the morning, there were not many people on the streets for the taxi driver to target. By the way, the driver was Moroccan and actually road on the Marrakesh Express from Marrakech to Tangier. Yes, he knew the song, and said all Moroccans know it.