Four bedroom, two bathroom house with self-contained studio at top, on five levels (lots of stairs!) dating from 1934 but extensively (and expensively!) renovated in 2009 in Schaerbeek area of Brussels. The 2009 renovations involved completely gutting the house to make it a low-emission dwelling, so that it is now completely new, with new hot water and heating, solar panels, a controlled ventilation system (not air conditioning!) recycled water for toilets and washing machine, new insulation throughout, new electricity, new plumbing, and all triple-glazed windows.

10 minutes by car from Brussels National Airport (BRU). One hour by car or coach from Brussels Charleroi Airport. Sleeps up to 10 people. Lovely large new Miele eat-in kitchen with all mod cons (dishwasher, microwave, huge pantry space) and glass roof facing south which gets morning sun. Comfy living room with three big sofas and HD digital cable TV (BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, BBC Prime, BBC World, CNN and many European language channels - German, French, Dutch, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese), DVD and video. Stereo CD/cassette player. iPhone/iPod docking station/recharger/speakers. Broad band wireless internet connection means internet is accessible throughout the house and in the garden, either using wi-fi or with a cable. Laundry with washer and dryer and lots of hanging space in basement. Extra toilet with handbasin on home office/laundry basement level. Small but pleasant walled garden with BBQ, which native birds visit (e.g. European green parrots and great spotted woodpeckers.)

Two bus lines run right in front of the house (routes 64 and 65) with a tram line 2 minutes around the corner (route 7). 5 minutes from NATO headquarters by car or bus. 5 minutes by car to a very large supermarket/hypermarket or a short bus ride or walk. 10 minutes by bus to the EU institutions (European Parliament, European Commission, Council) or a 30 minute walk. 15 minutes by public transport to the famous Grand Place in historic Brussels centre, the Manneken Pis, the Sablon Square, the Royal Palace, major art museums (e.g. works by Belgian 20th Century masters Magritte & Delvaux), the Belgian Comic Museum, Autoworld Museum at Cinquantenaire Park, the famous "Atomium" built for the 1958 Brussels World Fair, and many other attractions, including various Art Nouveau houses (e.g. Horta Museum) and other buildings of interest, as well as many good restaurants to rival the best in Paris. Sample Belgian chocolates, Belgian beer, and Belgian waffles!

20 minutes by car to the historic 1815 Waterloo battlefield. One and a half hours from Flanders Fields World War One battlefields - e.g. the Menin Gate in Ypres/Ieper and Paschendaele, the largest Commonwealth war graves cemetry in the world. One hour from Belgium's "Venice of the north" - the medieval canal town of Bruges. 1 hour 51 minutes from London St Pancras-Kings Cross station on the Eurostar channel tunnel train. One and half hours from Paris Gare du Nord on the Thalys high-speed train with hourly connections. Two and a half hours by car or high-speed train to Cologne in Germany. 50 minutes by car or train to Antwerp, the diamond capital of Europe. Two and a half hours by train or car to Amsterdam.

Schaerbeek is one of Brussels' 19 "Communes" or suburbs, with this particular area dating from the 1930s. Middle-class family Belgian neighbourhood. Various small local shops available within a five minute walk, including small grocery shop right next door as well as pharmacy just down the street. Nice large park and sporting fields 5 minutes by foot.

Note: potential exchangers for this property must be prepared to share common areas with one or two housemates.

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Interested in long weekend exchange opportunties around Europe as well as one, two and three-week long exchanges in other parts of the world.

Anne is a single Australian expat lawyer who first moved to Brussels in 1993. For six months a year every second year (usually March - October) she is visited by her retired father John ("Sid") from Canberra, Australia and father and daughter like to take trips together from Brussels to all sorts of destinations. Anne also travels without Dad in years when he doesn't visit from Australia, sometimes with a friend.

At any one time, one or more of the extra bedrooms may be rented out to short-term stayers who work in Brussels on contracts for several months, so for most of the time the house runs as a "group house" of adults in their 40s and 50s.

At least two bedrooms would be made available for the home exchange if mutually agreeable dates can be found..

The back bedroom on the first floor has a double bed (140 cm wide) plus flat screen HD digital TV on the wall, DVD player and built in robe. View from window over gardens at back.

The front first floor bedroom has a bay window looking over the street and one or two single beds plus large desk in bay window.

This floor has its own separate toilet and master bathroom at the back with roomy shower and separate bathtub with view up through glass roof to the stars. The area into the dressing room, toilet, bathroom and back double bedroom can be closed off from the rest of the house with a separate door onto the landing.

On the second floor, there are two further bedrooms. The back 2nd floor bedroom has two single beds and is generally sub-let for 3 weeknights a week, three weeks out of four to a German friend in her 40s, who works in the European Parliament.

The front 2nd floor bedroom is sometimes rented out as well. It contains a 160cm wide double bed, flat-screen TV, and DVD player.

There is a new shower room and separate toilet on the second floor, so 2nd floor occupants do not share bathroom facilities with those on the first floor.

The third floor (attic) level is a studio, periodically rented out on a short term basis to single professionals, sometimes on secondment to NATO. It has its own bathroom and kitchenette and is a fully self-contained space. It has a 140cm wide wardrobe bed so can sleep a couple.

Potential home exchangers for this property will need to be prepared to share main kitchen and laundry with 2nd and/or 3rd floor occupants of the house, depending on who is there when the exchange takes place. The 2009 renovations were designed specifically to make it a very comfortable house in which up to 5 adult professional singles/couples can peacefully co-exist. Hence each bedroom level has its own toilet and bath/shower room.

The home office in the basement also has a drop-down wall bed 140cm wide which can accommodate a single person or couple, as well as a wardrobe, and there is a toilet with hand basin with hot and cold running water on that level.

A 2002 5-door VW Polo is available as part of the exchange and is housed in a garage across the street from the house.

The house is cleaned from top to bottom twice a week by a cleaner.

A medium-sized very cute dog, called Julio, is also in residence most of the time when he's not on holidays. He is collectively looked after, adored and walked by all house occupants and is quiet and well-behaved. He likes to be around people and spends his time mainly inside, because he prefers to be able to monitor everything that's going on!

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