You know you are in Brussels in the summertime if …

… you see old men strolling along the sidewalks with their hands clasped behind their backs like Olympic speed-skaters.

… all the nice cars with roof racks have disappeared from the city.

… you are not going to French class several times a week but you are still doing lots of homework because you know you will go back in September.

… there are traffic jams on E-40 on sunny days because everyone is headed to the beach.

… in July every store had huge sales but they were sold out of your size.

… in August smaller local stores and restaurants cover their windows with newspapers or sheets and go on vacation for a month.

… there is a music festival somewhere every weekend.

… the metro system is more crowded than ever because the schedule is reduced.

… you don’t go to the city-sponsored outdoor movie because (a) it is raining (b) it is too cold (c) it doesn’t get dark until 10:15 p.m.

… the gore-tex raincoat that seemed expensive when you purchased it in the U.S. now seems like the best investment ever.

… you were, however, able to leave your raincoat at home for two days in a row.

… when the sun comes out you drop everything and go outside to enjoy it because you don’t know when it will be sunny again.

… you see a lot of Italian, Greek and Spanish tourists in town because they are escaping the heat and the crowds of tourists visiting their own countries.

… you see mini motor-homes parked on the street.

… you get to tour the king’s palace because he is at his vacation home in the south of France.