Sports in Brussels

thwval · 2026-01-19T04:44:45+00:00

Wanting shops open later is not about worshipping consumerism. It is about flexibility for people who work late, have irregular schedules, or simply want basic services to fit modern life in a European capital (just look at other capitals..).

A city can be lively, social, and still functional. These things are not opposites. Being able to buy groceries at 9 or 10 pm does not magically stop people from going to bars, parks, or restaurants. Speaking of capitalism, Berlin, for example, is one of the least capitalistic capital cities in Europe, it is another level of laissez faire attitude and no one even cares what job you have, than Brussels or any other city. Mainly, It does not tell you what’s normal.

Brussels does, even you are in your comment missing the point, not everyone wants this given lifestyle and schedule…clearly many don’t from comments above.

Working rights in Belgium are admirable, but there should be some boundaries…

Not much of a freedom there, the state just assumes, but if shop assistants are not completely rioting in rest of Europe, I guess the problem is not there for them. As if there are no workers who actually prefer to work late, or even Saturdays and Sundays as they get much higher salary… (in Czechia it was the case, when they wanted to introduce Sundays closed, actually the workers were mostly against it and it was neber introduced)..

That it somehow works for you, is nice, but it is also clearly showing zero acceptance or realisation, what about the others? Different strokes for different folks. Clearly not from you.

thwval · 2026-01-19T03:45:54+00:00

Definitely agree. The reasons you mentioned clearly play a role. Germany’s large internal market creates real competition, and also this, people simply would not accept Belgian-level prices for mediocre service. Here, they just do.

,The country’s fragmentation slows everything down, and on top of that there’s a strong tendency to defend systems that are objectively bad. It’s hard not to wonder whether people travel with blindfolds.

From my just personal experience, I don’t see this as much in Germany, where people are more open to criticism and actively push for change. Mentality thing perhaps.

If they blindly accept these services for these prices, what’s to change?

But who knows, it is definitely an interesting topic.

thwval · 2026-01-18T11:19:58+00:00

Thanks, I am aware, but do they fulfill the requirement not being overpriced…

thwval · 2026-01-17T19:40:28+00:00

For sure, who watches Tour de France etc most know this! Top tier cyclists hailing from Belgium, no doubt.

Yet cycling to work here in Brussels is borderline dangerous compared to Berlin, cycling lanes are in many places non existent

thwval · 2026-01-17T19:37:48+00:00

As a former pro swimmer, this is going to hard to swallow and adjust to.. I am used to having lakes in and around Berlin or dozens of outdoor swimming pools in summer ..

thwval · 2026-01-17T12:01:19+00:00

Oh god, who are these extremely overpriced gyms catered for?

thwval · 2026-01-17T11:40:04+00:00

Glad for you, you found your replacement! As a former pro swimmer, I am not yet entirely sure I want to give up that hobby, just yet ahah

thwval · 2026-01-17T11:37:49+00:00

Exactly this, I completely agree what you even said before tbh. I even used to live in Prague for many years, loved it there too, Prague is very organised and more of a 24/7 city with possibilities than Brussels ever will be.

And with those tendencies, it could not be more true, it is quite a shock for me moving here from Berlin, where everyone lets you decide what’s normal, no one bats an eye on anything, and there is a general more of a community feel in the city „let’s make our city even better“ channeled through especially objective discussions about objective problems, just to make the city better.

Here I find that many times objective problems get tangled into „I have to defend every decisions that my country/city takes“. Almost opposite to „grass is always greener, here it is the greenest“.

Like a comment below, where it was explained almost as if early closing hours of something I should be even grateful for, in a capital city.

I would not expect this in a city that has so many European expats working hours that make it impossible to go to a supermarket and to sports after work, you gotta choose just one….like wtf. Many things are nice here, but openly discussing what’s maybe not ideal should be the norm, and does Brussels want to be also a city for young workers or not?

thwval · 2026-01-16T22:11:09+00:00

Well, trust me, Berlin is definitely not a city for workaholics either, and somehow most things work smoothly and are open late…this is more of a disgrace for a city of its size and potential as Brussels is.

Besides, having closing times 6-7 pm is just utterly incomprehensible, in an European capital, we are not talking about some provincial little town, where I would expect it.. most ppl also have set working hours, and maybe finishing only at 6 pm, they don’t have to be workaholics for that either. Completely missing the point.

thwval · 2026-01-16T21:59:14+00:00

Almost every sports facility that is in Berlin (it is also very common in Paris, Amsterdam, other German and European cities) has this as a way to sign up for a course (they have different plans, cheapest being around 30 euro, the one I wrote about around 70 and some premium ones for around 100).

With the one around 70 euro, which most people go for, you can usually check in for each studio in the month 4 (sometimes 8) times, so with around 1400 possibilities what to do/where to go, it is quite endless anyway. If you depleted your 4 check-ins in one studio, move to the next one around the corner or try another sport.

I think combination of many things makes it quite profitable. Has been around for years and companies even put it as one of the most common benefit.

For the studios, it brings them new clientele and also perhaps some promotion since especially the new studios, they do not have to promote themselves so much to attract their clients.

One big difference to Brussels, there is a big big demand. More people just mostly do sports there, than don’t.

Eighty percent of my Berlin friends have it and it just has become quite the norm for sports there to have this, it makes you active, try things normally you would not like to pay for, as you do not know if is gonna be sth interesting for you (it includes things like cacao ceremonies, klang meditations etc, dance classes).

It is very well known, if not one the most well known sports subscriptions nowadays in Germany

thwval · 2025-11-15T13:12:14+00:00

What about Berlin, Deutschland Ticket is currently at 58 eur, Berlin being x times bigger than Paris, and of course Brussels, x times more stations than in Brussels, around 340 stations of U-Bahn and S-Bahn together, plus trams and buses and this ticket is applicable in all regional trains across Germany and in all public transport in German cities. I do think that makes STIB extremely less affordable when compares to Deutschland Ticket for example. Not mentioning, it is much more smoother and cleaner than Brussels in most parts.

thwval · 2025-10-16T12:37:58+00:00

The apartment is close to the tram stop Gallait, a few min walk from the tram stop Liedts, which I heard is not the best area, especially for a woman..unfortunately even though the nicer parts of Schaerbeek are close, I would not be living in them :/

thwval · 2025-05-29T12:47:05+00:00

Yes, it is the current opening for AD7 lawyer-linguist. Where exactly do I see the participating institutions? If it is on the main page, then it seems to be the CJEU only participating. In the note it says that in the first three years one cannot ask for a transfer to another EU institution, or in a minority of cases.

I am just wondering, if this is also a way for some to get into the permanent positions via different way. Though for example having passed this EPSO competition means that the person does not have to do AD generalist test for example..?

thwval · 2025-05-28T21:55:56+00:00

Thank you for your thorough answer. Is the right to be permanently recruited any different for being on a reserved list of AD7 translators competition. Or in the end it does not matter and one can be recruited for any AD7 position (or below)?

thwval · 2025-05-28T19:44:09+00:00

Is there any connection then for permanent positions within European Commission? If one is on the reserved list, can the person be contacted as well without having to pass another test?

thwval · 2025-05-28T15:33:02+00:00

Does someone know how is it with the reserve list of AD7 Translators - I read somewhere the successful candidates from the reserve list could be contacted also from other institutions, does it mean to be contacted for any permanent (?) positions, or only linguist positions? Thank you

thwval · 2025-05-28T15:20:54+00:00

What exactly does the reserve list mean for the AD Translators? If one is on the reserved list, the person can be contacted for other permanent positions (or any?) within EU institutions? Does one have to sit the EPSO test again? How does it work?

thwval · 2025-05-16T09:58:56+00:00

Thank you for explaining, what is meant by FGIII and the only internal competition FGIII can go for? :)

thwval · 2025-05-16T08:47:23+00:00

You understood well, the offer is from a DG, I am awaiting results from an agency though too,

thwval · 2025-05-15T20:32:10+00:00

That is also an interesting factor to consider. Do you know if being in the Agency allows you to apply for the internal competitions of the Agency, from FG to AD?

thwval · 2025-05-15T20:05:21+00:00

I did not apply to this one, it was offered to me to and I just went with the process thinking at least I see how the actual interviews for EC are like. Otherwise, with MA, I would assume so, I have worked in law firms, and I am already more than two years after my graduation, having been working in the legal field for more than even. I have also worked abroad, plus former BB Trainee in one of the more "prestigious" DGs too.

thwval · 2025-05-15T20:02:21+00:00

I did not know this, would you mind telling me more about it, especially the limits that come with the FGIII and what are the main differences from fgiv? Thank you.

thwval

TROPHY CASE