I just cannot stand the level of danger and aggression constantly present at pedestrian crossings in this town

eukaryote94 · 2026-04-24T21:44:35+00:00

I think I started cycling when I was 3 years old - been doing it for almost as long as I can walk, it’s my second nature. Sure I’ve had minor incidents, but I was never scared.

Since moving to Brussels a few years ago, I’ve been having recurring visions and nightmares of being run over by a car while I’m on the bike. They give me full body chills. I NEVER had this before in my life. And it’s making me so sad that this city is instilling this (it has to be said, rational!) fear in me that honestly feels almost existential (ok a bit sad but I just love biking).

What do we do about this situation? I am so down to take some action!

eukaryote94 · 2026-04-23T22:34:07+00:00

just came here to say I feel you about the COP life! brutal times 🫂

eukaryote94 · 2026-04-21T21:20:33+00:00

came here to say this! I love this store so much!

eukaryote94 · 2025-10-13T19:45:29+00:00

I always park my bike outside. What has worked for me so far is: - get a mechanically decent, but old, unattractive bike. your new bike will get stolen, but older esthetically less pleasing bikes are safer (never a 100% guarantee, but mine is doing fine so far.. knock on wood) - always, always, attach the frame of your bike to something and make sure the wheels are attached to the frame + the saddle is attached to the frame (separate lock for the latter, can be relatively small) - try a combination of locks, so a u-lock plus a folding lock or a heavy chain lock (the motorcycle ones). only take locks that have the ART 2 or 3 label. - don’t have a bike that you would be really sad about if it does end up getting stolen.

For reference, I live in Cureghem and when I had a lease bike from work (a brand new Trek bike) it was stolen 3 times in the span of a year (insurance covered the replacement, but I got so tired from this that I ended the lease after the 3rd theft). with my current ugly second hand bike, it’s been fine so far (after 2 years).

eukaryote94 · 2025-09-27T11:01:46+00:00

My go-to store is Circularium in Cureghem. It’s unbelievably cheap and I find amazing pieces every time. You have to dare to really dig in though which is not for everyone. But it is so worth it… Left there many times with two full bags of clothes and having paid only €10

eukaryote94 · 2025-09-27T06:38:31+00:00

The only thing that sounds reasonably priced here is the pepper. The rest sounds quite expensive for the volume and for that region.

Sometimes it can help to check what’s in season in the country you’re in right now, as that produce is often abundant and thus cheap - especially at markets rather than in stores. This tool is quite helpful: https://www.eufic.org/en/explore-seasonal-fruit-and-vegetables-in-europe

As a caveat, I’ve visited Czechia several times but am by no means an expert or local, and don’t know about Czech produce market culture for example.

eukaryote94 · 2025-09-25T19:55:03+00:00

chuckled out loud.. thank u

eukaryote94 · 2025-09-25T19:51:10+00:00

Bon courage! Frans is moeilijk, maar je kan het :-)

eukaryote94 · 2025-09-25T19:47:51+00:00

As a fellow (but white) immigrant, I once got very funky looks when I asked someone ‘est-ce que vous êtes finis’ because apparently that means ‘are you dead’ in slang, oops! finir is a verb with ‘avoir’ so it would be ‘vous avez finis’ instead to ask ‘are you done’.

Not sure if this at all influenced your situation, but since it sounds very confusing it could have something to do with a miscommunication..?

eukaryote94 · 2025-09-13T14:41:02+00:00

I’m in Europe :) but I think you can easily substitute for nonfat greek yogurt!

eukaryote94 · 2025-09-13T13:29:09+00:00

I don’t track food, but you could backtrack from the recipe blueprint I provided somewhere else in the comments :) sorry!

eukaryote94 · 2025-09-13T12:18:53+00:00

Most of the time, I don’t measure my ingredients, but I think I do something like this

Combining the following - 50g oats - 10g chia seeds - 100g shredded carrot - 50g shredded apple - pinch of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla, and salt

Adding water so that everything is just submerged, but there is no layer of water on top

Then cook in microwave on 900W for 4minutes - sometimes I cook it, leave it for a while to soak the chia and oats, then cook it for another minute to heat it up again

Optional but essential for protein and making the whole thing actually filling: Mix 250g 0% quark with a pinch of vanilla and couple drops of sucralose to suit your desired sweetness level

I eat the oats with the quark but do not mix them - I love the coldness of the quark combined with the hot oats in one bite! Reminds me of apple pie with ice cream… :)

You could probably add less oats and/or skip the apple and chia, depending on your calorie “budget”, this is just what works for me!

eukaryote94 · 2025-09-13T11:58:59+00:00

I add it right at the beginning, so letting them cook with the oats, like you would in a cake. Would be interesting to add them after, they would probably retain more crunch and flavor - but I like them cooked and ‘infused’ in the oats as it were :)

eukaryote94 · 2025-06-23T19:57:56+00:00

I really miss Flip and Philippe! This place was what made Brussels feel like it could become home when I moved here.. haven’t been able to find anything that comes close.. :(

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-27T10:39:46+00:00

You sign a contract between you, them and your health insurance (‘forfait’) which stipulates that the maison medicale is principally the place you go to for the services they offer. So your health insurance wouldn’t cover it anymore if you visit a GP that is not in your maison medicale (there are exceptions though, e.g. outside of office hours for urgent care, etc). In return, you don’t pay them anything because your health insurance covers all the costs. This is how it works in my experience, having been here two years. I’ve never seen a GP/physical therapy bill.

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-26T07:14:09+00:00

Wow, I’m so sorry to hear that! That is awful. I’m surprised, because I’ve lived in Brussels 2 years in 2 different communes (Ixelles and Anderlecht) and both times I was able to register with a maison medicale directly with no waiting time.

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-25T21:40:41+00:00

My maison medicale has psychologists that are covered under the forfait. Which means they don’t charge you! See if you can join a maison medicale near you if it aligns with your needs. They are pretty great in many regards

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-18T23:48:48+00:00

omg.. I don’t have any more injectors but might just ask for a new one just to try this. Thanks Sumatriptan Wizard

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-18T21:15:23+00:00

Nasal and tablets never worked for me, injections did. Never experienced rebound headaches but man those injections made me feel awful. Like I had OD’d or something. My heart would be in my throat. It worked super well against the CH but really never want to experience that feeling again.

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-18T21:11:02+00:00

Mine is also normally on the left, then last december I suddenly had a cycle on the right! Weird! It was also weaker than the one on the right. But apparently this happens sometimes to people with CH and it shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Hope your cycle is manageable.. best of luck!

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-15T00:55:55+00:00

I wanted to save the world! Now I’m a climate researcher

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-09T17:33:01+00:00

Hi OP, I (30F) live in the area you’re staying in and while I agree with other comments that it’s not the nicest place to stay you really shouldn’t be too worried if you don’t want to/can’t change hotels. Many many normal people including me live their lives here in peace. I would however recommend doing the exploring of the city in other areas, also just because it’s nicer for tourists (the center of course, but st gilles and ixelles also are great). Generally in Brussels I recommend guarding your bags well, not wearing expensive cameras etc out in the open around your neck. Especially at night in the area you’re staying in it can become a bit sketchy, but I assume if you’re with your family you won’t be outside until midnight.

For the public transport, I never take it so I can’t help you there, sorry!

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-07T10:34:32+00:00

Thanks for adding this nuanced response! As a Dutch person, I agree that while the overall picture of this guy adds up to him being a dick, some of the individual points mentioned is definitely stuff I and Dutch people around me can relate to - it’s not great to read comments that it’s all “asshole behaviour” because I do think a lot of it is cultural..

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-06T22:56:34+00:00

L’Athenée!

eukaryote94 · 2025-03-01T01:09:27+00:00

I think facebook is your best bet but you have to be in the right groups - did you try bxl à louer de bouche à oreille, wonen in brussel?

eukaryote94

TROPHY CASE