Safety Tips in Brussels

They have a beer by this name in Belgium. The logo is a pink elephant.

I drank some when I was at the VT Meet in Fredericksburg, VA a couple of years ago.

Be very careful if you decide to take it on.

In some districts of Brussels women dressed in occidental clothes are not welcome (this is a soft euphemism). A documentary film "Femmes de la rue" showed how in Brussels women dressed in occidental clothes were insulted, sexually harassed by a certain type of men.
Many reactions in the media and in the political world. Read the Belgian newspapers to learn more about what appears as a "civilization shock".
I know that many tourists like Brussels. First they stay in the safe tourist areas and don't live 365 days/year in Brussels so that statistically the risk of bad experience is lower for them than for the inhabitants.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.
The documentary film "Femmes de la rue" from Sofie Peeters has now also made uproar in countries like France and the Netherlands where the same type of men have the same insulting attitude toward women.
There is now a reaction from the authorities from the City of Brussels (elections are approaching!) to fine the authors of these insults toward women: 75 - 250 Euros.
The practical question being that of the application of these fines; now already in some areas Brussels' policemen are aggressed by groups of men who don't want to see policemen entering what they consider as their territory.
Brussels' policemen are so fed up being aggressed in these areas that they intend to go on strike on 13 - 17 September!

Being capital of EU, you'd think Brussel is an elegant city. But it is far from being as such, in fact the city is dirty, unsafe. The city is filled with concrete block buildings that is soviet union style, which is truly ugly. The railway station is shabby. The ticketing system at their railway station does not respond well as you touch the glass screen, it is slow and inaccurate. The closest metro to old cityhall is dirty, it is filled with urine smell. The old city hall looks dirty too although key statues are gilded with gold. The metro station or train station does not offer maps to tourists. The city is not safe either. On the street it is full of people who stealthily at tourists as if trying to figure out whether you are worth a robbery. In my short stay of 2 days, I have witnessed tow instances (1) shop lift being chased by store clerk (2) man beaten up by police at rail way station. I have not even witnessed such in New York city metro after dark. The waiters at restaurant are snobbish. This attitude is also observed from attendant from city hall. I have no idea what reasons they have to behave as such. The food is fatty, mainly composed of steak and french fries, or waffel topped with cream. I went into a carrefore express store, I cannot find censodine toothpaste, store display is old and dusty. Food has very few variety. Overall, this city is a big disappointment to me !

I found that in both Brussels and even in Milan, and I am sure a lot of other places in Europe, there is a network of scammers who stand around metro kiosk machines. Because the directions for getting a ticket are almost impossible to understand, a benevolent local comes up to help you, takes the money out of your hand and feeds it into the machine. The first bill in not enough for the ticket and the second bill you give her/him produces the ticket. The helper keeps the change as their service fee, but the total price is way more than expected with two bills inserted.
What I encountered (as told by the metro police who are aware of these people), where gypsy con-aritists.
The first bill is actually "palmed" and not even inserted into the machine, and the second bill buys the ticket with the change taken by the good Samaratin. Cost me three times more for the price of a one-way metro ticket. Live and learn the expensive way!

This is so sad.
Moaning about Belgium. For example, no HSE in Belgium or the cobbled streets making pulling a suitcase difficult. Have you not considered that these differences make it what it is? If I might offer some simple advice; If you want everything to be just like at home, don't travel.
I love Brussels. The unwelcome approaches from the scruffy Albanians, the scams, the businessmen relieving themselves in shop doorways while on the way home, the truly fabulous food, stunning beers and where do I start with the museums and galleries?
Katie

Long, long time ago, and I am speaking from Middle Ages and after, water was very dangerous to drink. Unless you lived right next to the well, or you boiled it, it was ok.

When monks from the South came to settle here, they wanted to import the winemaking as they did so in their monasteries. The wine was a good alternative for water and safe to drink.
However, grapes were difficult to cultivate here so far North and the harvest not sufficient enough to provide them the wine necessary.

By special permission of the Church, they were allowed to brew beer instead of wine.
Yeast, one of the most important elements of the beer, was to each monastery a treasure to be kept secret. But I guess espionage and stealing are of all ages, so it happened that someone took a part of the (living) yeast and took it with him to another monastery. Slowly also others then monks were brewing beer and you could find a lot of microbreweries all around.
I think in Bruges there were over 300 of them some centuries ago!).

If you see the water on the picture (taken at Brussels), then you see it is “not drinkable water” as the sign says! So… you will have to taste one of our beers instead!

I would recomend you to visit my Belgium page and have a look at the "tourist trap" tips if you want to make some choices.
It will be time I update that chapter because I have tried out many more beers since!

We were surprised upon arriving at Gare du Nord, with our baby stoller and luggage, that the elevators at Gare du Nord--to get into the station off the platform (at least the one we arrived at) didn't work and that there were no elevators to get down to the pre-metro trams--my husband had to end up hauling all our stuff and breaking out into a sweat--I think it took three trips each time--6 times in like 30 minutes!! I later figured out, as Brussels isn't very big, we could have just gone onto the Central Station and (I would hope) things would have been more functional/up to date.

Perhaps not the best name for a driving school, but do note that they offer payment facilities!!

Actually this is just me being a bit naughty with a carefully chosen camera angle. The company is actually called Escam and by all accounts is pretty good.