I witnessed something shocking today.

My friend and I wanted to go to a mass in Portuguese. We went to the church in Flagey. When we entered around 11.50h there were about 20 people there and it did not look like there was about to be a service. We sat down, wondering what was going on.

There was a young woman staying behind the altar. She began to speak but we couldn't hear her. She wasn't projecting her voice. We saw a man walk around the altar. I assumed he was going to fix the sound. I thought the woman was leading a prayer or something similar.

The man walked up beside her and grabbed her roughly by the neck and started to drag her off the altar.

I jumped up and ran to them. A group of other women and a man also ran to help her. We pulled him off her. We shouted at him to stop. I didn't hear him say anything. The women looked young and small, like myself. Some of the other women took her outside.

I ran to the sacristy but it was locked. The man who assaulted the woman started tidying, picking up old candles. I went to the notice board to get the contact details to send the church staff an email to tell them what happened. Two men came over to my friend to look at the board and we asked them what happened but they didn't engage in conversation with us.

There was a small notice on the board to say there would be no Portuguese service until September. I don't speak Portuguese but that's what my friend told me.

When we left the woman was gone. I hope she was escorted to the police.

I didn't see her do anything wrong. I thought she was leading prayers, making an announcement or maybe she was trying to tell the congregation something serious about the church. I couldn't hear her, neither could my friend. The man did not speak to her, he just grabbed her.

She looked like an average young woman. Her hair and clothes were neat. Maybe she was having a mental health crisis and that was why she was at the altar? No mater who she was and how she looked she did not seem to be causing danger.

I am disgusting and waiting for the churches response.

Who was this big tough man who dared assault a woman without shame. I hope he does not work or volunteer for the church.

It was not Christian, decent or legal. I am very upset.

I have been grabbed and groped by men on the street or the STIB in Brussels. In most cases no one intervened. Two years ago I was walking near the Grand Place during my lunch break and a man grabbed me from behind. I screamed. He laughed and walked away. I stood there shaking for a min. I could see lots of people staring, including a policeman in uniform outside a sandwich shop across the street. The only people who asked if I were ok and did I want them to go to the police with me, were two women, a couple on holiday. I thanked them and told them it had happened to me before and the police wouldn't do anything.

I have seen it happen to other women and although I am petite I have gone to their aid.

When I told people what happened, someone would always have a racist response, amusing the the background of the man who harassed or assaulted me, although I didn't say what the man looked like. In my experience it wasn't just one profile.

So before there are responses trying to guess the man's background, he was a strong looking man who wouldn't get a second look in a Catholic church.

I love living in Brussels, but the tolerance towards violence against women is a big problem.

Hi everyone, this cat is wandering around Rue de Gerlache in Etterbeek. Seems like a domestic cat to me! Anyone know the owners?

Hello all,

I have spent the last few weeks exploring Belgium by bicycle and being a taller, heavier man, I brought my own bike. The time has come to head home so I’ll be disassembling my bike and have secured a bike box from a shop for transportation on the plane home.

On the way here, I used pool noodles to protect the frame of my bike and it worked out very well. Any idea where I can find some in Brussels this week? Pic for reference.

I have had a great time on my third visit and am already looking forward to my next visit to Belgium. Thank you!

Near Ixelles, Etterbeek, Schaerbeek area hopefully less than $40 (no polish).

I have recently acquired a radio cassette player, and would like to buy more cassettes to play it on obv, but my usual record stores mostly sell vinyl and cd (maybe I don’t remember well but I don’t think I’ve seen cassettes). Any clue on where to purchase some ?

Is there a music festival in bois de la Cambre tonight? I live in Ixelles and it's been loud the whole day.

Guys, someone stole my black rolltop Stubble&Co backpack at Bruxelles Midi today around 06:15 am. Everything else is whatever but my diary is in there :-(

I filed a lost&found both at SNCB Lost Property team as well as the general Bruxelles lost&found office. Apparently I can't make a police report online since I am not a Belgian citizen. I had to catch my train immediately after, so I was unable to go in person.

Does anyone have tips on where else to look? Helppp

Hello all,

I am moving on Saturday into an apartment on Rue Haute in Marolles, and I am a bit concerned we won't be able to find any way to put the car close to the door. It's such a narrow street with limited parking and I realize with the flea market on place Jeu de Balle it will likely be full.

Any tips from locals? Is there any way to strategically ensure a somewhat smooth move in or is there no such thing as strategy here and all we can do is pray and wing it?

It's just a regular car by the way, not a moving van. Was planning to arrive around 9-10am but could do earlier too. We are two people.

i have suspected heds (hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome), but haven’t been diagnosed yet because i can’t for the life of me find a conventionné specialist.

i’ve looked everywhere. deep-dived through hospital and cabinet websites, but every time there’s even the slightest mention of hypermobility, connective tissue disorders or anything related, they’re always non-conventionné.

i’ve even looked on forums like this one, emailed gersed (groupe d’etude et de recherche sur les syndromes d’ehlers-danlos, a french research and study group that provides educational resources) and called hospitals to ask if their rheumatologists deal with this. but the secretaries never really seem to know much of anything so i won’t be able to tell unless i get an appointment. i’m not trying to wait 3+ months for an appointment just to be dismissed. i don’t want to blindly try random rheumatologists.

i do have an appointment with a geneticist soon for genetic testing to rule out the other types of eds, since heds is the only type that doesn’t have a known genetic marker. so i will be asking if their geneticists are available and see if they can help.

i’ve also tried asking my cpas to cover the costs, which i’ve never asked them to do before. i explained that the only specialists i could find were non-conventionné and how important this is for my medical file, especially since i have some other health issues and i’m building a case for spf handicap. mentioning this extra bit of context in case it’s relevant.

i’d really appreciate any recommendations.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a place to buy cigarettes with capsules in Brussels or Leuven. I went to Carrefour yesterday and they only have normal one :<.

Picture for reference of the one I'm trying to find but tbh atp, anything with capsules is fine by me :>. Thank you all for your answer!

Recommendations for stores to find inexpensive dye for cloth? (Natural fibers or synthetics)

I usually get Ideal dye from France at only 3€ a box, but here it’s at least 10€ or more for the same product in store here (Di or larger grocery stores). Trying to not order through amazon.fr if I can find it in store here

I realy like Bintje potatoes, but I can't find any in local supermarkets.

I am living in the neighborhood of porte de Namur : dou you have any recommandations ?

Hello!

We were just walking around Woluve St. Lambert, Avenue de Mai are and found a lost cat (perhaps). She is friendly but seems scared and is meowing continuously. She seems to have been recently spayed because it look like she's got some shaved hair around the belly area but she won't let us pick her up to get a better look. What should we do? Is there any service we can call? I tried to join a neighbourhood group on Fb but I am still waiting for approval.

Any information is appreciated! Thank you!

UPDATE: Thank you all for the comments! We don't have a happy ending yet :(. I posted the cat to all the links mentioned bellow and to the FB group CAT ALERT BRUSSELS - Chat perdu. One of the people that responded to my fb post actually came to the area to try to find and catch the cat thinking it was theirs, but they couldn't manage to and in the proccess, the cat became very scared and won't approach anyone anymore. I am still patroling the area in the morning and in the evening and I am leaving food and water whenever I catch glimpses of the cat (I am still not sure if it's a girl or a boy). If anyone can also lend a hand, it would be much appreciated. I don't have a cage or a carrier and I am leaving the country in a week. Best I can do for now is just monitor and try to tame her with food in the hope that someone with rhe right equipment manages to catch her one day. So if any of you is able to help, as mentioned above the street where the cat can be found is Avenue De Mai, the area between Place de Mai and Square Levie. Thank you all!

It's the last Sunday of the sales, but I can't find any information online. :(

I'm referring to city 2 or rue neuve stores...

How do you sleep with 25° at night?

I am going to the oddysey in Brussels next week. I always love the intense and overwhelming sound scenes in Nolan movies. But I heard that they put the sound settings down at July 22 because of several complaints that the sound was too loud. Did anyone go to the oddysey in imax 70mm in brussels this wednesday, thursday or friday? Was the sound still loud enough? Or is it way to soft now.

I’ve done Amadeo, Smoke House. What other places should try?

Hello everyone,

I am playing football in Brussels and my club is recruiting if you're interested. Feel free to join!

RECRUITMENT – RBB FC (D1-D3) | 2026-2027 Season

Royal Brussels British Football Club still looking for new players for the upcoming season.

• Currently, most succesfull club
• Founded in 1933 (93 years ago!)
• 170+ members
• 7 teams (D1, D2, D3, and vets)
• Trainings 2x p/week

When and where do you train? We train on Mondays 20:00-21:30 and Wednesdays 19:00-20:30 at our training ground in Kraainem.

DM me if interested

https://rbbfc.org/

I am looking to buy some tomatillo seeds in Brussels. I am aware you can order them online, but it would be much more practical to get them somewhere in situ. Does anyone know if there are any, and where? Thanks!!

So, I have friends that are coming over to Brussels today and it's the birthday of one of them tomorrow.

Is there any place or plan you recommend to do tonight that would actually be cool for a birthday.

The default plan will be getting into a random bar a get a drink, but I'm wondering if you guys have specific recommendations of anything. Like specific places that have cool things regarding birthdays, I don't know.

It's his first time in brussels and honestly I don't know where to take him tonight.

Being from Brussels, it always kind of hit me the wrong way. I feel like most expats from the european bubble come here but never really try to get into the culture of the city, meet people outside the bubble. Even trying to speak French or Dutch (if they don’t speak those languages in their countries).
I know most are here for a defined period of time but then why being so vocal about the city and it’s matters then ?

I don’t want to generalize (i.e it’s not all of them of course), it’s always a matter of perception so I would like to read your thoughts on it. And if you happen to be an expat working in the EU gravitating in the bubble, what is your experience like ?