Navigating the city of Brussels is tricky. Not only are all the signs in French and Dutch, but most of the streets change names every block or two. Major thoroughfares are the exception (Avenue Louise, Boulevard du Waterloo, Avenue de Terueren). Side streets and even secondary roads, without so much as a kink, a trivial veering left or right, and without notice, are suddenly called something different. Well there is a notice I suppose if you look up at the blue street signs affixed to the sides of buildings, but otherwise at street level nothing screams that you are now on a different street.
A typical map reading technique of finding a road and following it along the map to see where to turn does not work. And most of the time I don't even notice the name change on the way to somewhere so when I am returning or trying to recreate that route, or describe it to Brian, no luck. Many streets are so short that their names are only on the gigantic, impractical-to-take-anywhere map. To find my way before we head anywhere, I often have to consult three maps: the small tourist map (showing popular sights and many streets in the center of town), my trusted transit map (without much street-level detail but all the bus, tram and subway stops) and the large extremely detailed street level map with all street names. I've managed to make it work well, however.
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