Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing is a great way to travel. How else would I have met a local like my first host, Johan? I was one of five guests he hosted over four nights, as it's high season. He helped me rent a bike and led a bike tour through some of the parks and an abbey in the city's greenbelt. Lunch was on me, bien sur.

Languages and people from from all over the world swirl around you in the Brussels streets, but there is a strong local culture. The city joins two distinct regions, French-speaking Wallonia and Dutch-speaking Flanders, in an uneasy union. It is a bi-lingual city, but French is more dominant, to the dismay of Flandern like Johan. He is one of the 35% of locals with EU-related jobs.

The photo is me in front of the European Parliament, which is a surprisingly bland modern building, unfortunately.