It always surprises me that in countries where it rains a lot, so many of the roads/footpaths/walkways are made of marble, which when wet is probably one of the slipperiest surfaces you could find. In Brussels (like many parts of Europe) it rains 200 days out of the year, which is a lot. Not all day, but I have only seen dry roads on one day in the week I have spent here, and I have seen many people slipping and sliding in shoes that are not fit for the conditions. It is good that my boots have good grip! The men in business suits with their slippery-soled shoes are the funniest, as they stride around looking important, only for their feet to slip a bit, then they grab their heads (??) and swear a little bit in French, looking quickly around to see if anyone saw them, before adjusting their jackets and moving on. One man slipped next to me and I held out my arm to catch him, and asked him why he didn’t wear more practical shoes. He said “they are handsome” and looked at me as if that explained everything.
The other tricky thing in this city is the technique used by people begging for money, which is new to me. Here, the person sits on the ground (or on a suitcase if it is raining), with a small clear plastic cup (usually the bottom of a plastic drink bottle, making it super-lightweight). The cup has a few coins in it, and it sits about about half a metre in front of them. Perfectly positioned for people innocently walking past to ‘accidentally’ kick it , which of course sends the coins flying, at which there are cries of dismay “what have you done, my money!” and crocodile tears and desperate pleas to compensate for the hurt and humiliation they have suffered not just from begging, but having their hard-earned coins kicked away. Football players around the world should come here to learn how to put on a display. I had observed this on my first day, and was extra careful where I put my feet. Until the day I wasn’t careful enough, and the toe of my boot connected with the plastic cup and the coins went flying. Oh there was cursing (from us both) and crying (from them), and pleading eyes, so I bent down to pick up the coins, only to discover they are not real! So I handed the two I had collected back to the person, told them they knew very well it would be kicked, and they would get nothing more from me. It is harder to ignore the pleading eyes of people who bring their children or their dogs (!!) out into the cold and wet to ask for money. When I have offered food or clothes instead of money it is always spurned. In Helsinki, Prague and Copenhagen I have come across groups of people being briefed by their leader before they set off into the city to beg for cash, and I doubt the people themselves are allowed to keep much of it.