Maja is off on the Thalys heading for Brussels to “meet Belgium”.
Here is her take on the country: Belgium is a little like Europe in miniature, a nice idea but a little complicated to put into practice!

With half of the inhabitants who speak in a different language than the other half, with more governments and parliaments than actually needed, the country’s unity seems to be on a precarious footing. And when the money runs out and the well-off are reluctant to pay for the not-so-well-off, the desire to go separate ways becomes ever more pressing.

But without waiting for an eventual implosion of the country and for Wallonia to the attached to France, a great many French have made Belgium into a sort of subsidiary…
They come to work, to study and pay fewer taxes. And they’ve discovered that – compared to Paris, housing is 3 times less expensive in Brussels… an international metropolis that represents all the qualities and defects of this strange little country!

AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING: French version only.