Living in Brussels and Exploring Belgium
About the author: Jenna Bowsher ’26 is a Global Studies/FSI The Europe Center Intern with the Bruegel in Brussels, Belgium. Jenna is studying Economics at Stanford University.
Living in Brussels
I loved living in Brussels for the summer, with four of my fellow interns and friends in our Airbnb, the Family Home. Located in Ixelles, we were in a nice more residential neighborhood, conveniently located walking distance to the center and where we were working. I loved becoming locals at nearby Cafe Caleo and our favorite take-away Korean restaurant Iyagi that were both just minutes away. Most of all I loved living with many friends, making dinners or picnics together after work, and watching the sunset from our rooftop. While we initially struggled learning to use our dishwasher (without flooding it) and still never really found out how to use the dryer in a cycle shorter than three hours, I feel this only added more character to our lovely abode.
One of my favorite things to do in Brussels on sunny days was to explore nearby parks like Leopold, Cinquantenaire, and my personal favorite Tenbosch and Bois de la Cambre. I loved vintage shopping in the center, going to the farmers market on the weekends at Flagey, and trying the many different chocolate and waffle shops around the city that are certainly worth their reputation.
Exploring Belgium
While in Brussels, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel and explore Belgium and the surrounding areas. As Brussels is quite cosmopolitan, hosting many residents from all over Europe, it made me feel quite comfortable living there. However, I felt like traveling outside of Brussels in Belgium, I was able to see and learn more about Belgian culture.
First, I did a day trip with one of my fellow interns to Bruges. This fairy tale town hosts quite a lot of tourists like us on the weekends, filling its cute and quaint town streets. The architecture was beautiful, especially as seen from the canal boat ride, and we loved stopping in all of the little chocolate shops. We learned about the Belgian train system and how you don’t have to reserve a specific time (particularly as we stood in the aisle with many fellow visitors on our way back).
After watching the Belgian Netflix series Knokke Off, I decided to visit the town and see the Belgian coast with one of my friends. I loved spending the afternoon on the beach, walking and shopping the downtown area, trying some delicious food, but most of all, the very entertaining people watching and observing the town that was eerily similar to the series and the characters in it. I would highly recommend doing this on a nice day.
