All you need to know about the European Quarter in Brussels

Everyone in Brussels knows the Berlaymont (sometimes called the Berlaymonster by its critics). But how many of you know the history of what we now call the European Quarter? Have you ever studied the history of Brussels? Can't remember your courses? Here is a quick summary of ‘Europe in Brussels’, published in 2007 by the Publications Office.

Stage & the City: The secret diary of a blue book stagiaire IV

Yoga one on one

To focus on something other than my boss and my misfortune here in Brussels I started intensively exercising. Every other day I was running in the Parc du Cinquantenaire. A friend of mine had told me that she goes for yoga every week and I decided to go on a Thursday before Place Lux. Perhaps this could give me some other kind of focus than running.

And yes, I did focus on something else. This time it was the yoga instructor.

Last chance to swim…

If the concrete jungle of Brussels is getting to you, if you're tired of noise and traffic, or if you just want to do something out of the ordinary, then there's still time to check out the Belgian coast before the end of the stage!

A fairytale Euroball: fancy dresses, delicious dinner and a great time!

On the day of the Euroball, you could either hear people getting overly excited (“I have the perfect dress!” or "Wait 'til you see my shoes!") or complaining about their work, the tiring week and their lack of motivation (and a 10am fire alarm in the Berlaymont didn't help!).

Stage & the City: The secret diary of a blue book stagiaire III

Mission possible

I know most stagiaires don’t get to go on missions, so I guess I should consider myself lucky to have been sent on a mission. But to be honest I wasn’t that eager to go because my boss is quite arrogant and Iceland is such an isolated place.

The meeting with stakeholders did not turn out the way I was expecting and I was very disappointed. The one good thing was the hotel, which was nice. After returning to my room after a boring dinner with boring stakeholders I got a bit lonely and started thinking about my ex-boyfriend and the happy times we shared when we were in love. I wished he was there with me, comforting me. But reality struck and instead of going to bed I decided to go to the nice hotel bar, which I had noticed when I arrived, to get rid of all those crazy thoughts...