Week Three

Week 3 saw a bustling bunch of Belgians swarm our little chalet. Initial confusion was not limited to remembering and applying the names of 12 Belgian lookalikes. Naming guests is normally a tough task, especially on day 1, but it was even more so this week due to the fact that they have names with sounds my brain, mouth and tongue collectively cannot achieve. As I mentioned earlier, oral dyslexia was not the only issue causing uncertainty; 6 double beds, 10 blokes and 2 girls. After doing the math this little quandary caused quite a stir amongst our trio of hosts. Belgian sleeping habits obviously tend towards laissez-faire as it was later revealed they are all married with children but didn’t mind sharing a bed with a buddy.

I admit that I did not know a lot, well nothing really, about Belgium. Ever the professional, I thought I’d do some research. So here are some facts about Belgium you may not have known;

1) In 1885 Belgium’s King, Leopold 2nd, bought Congo and ran it into the ground. Not just to a point where the exterior needed a sand and paint, it is estimated that in his search for rubber, ivory and world domination 10 million people died needlessly in 23 years. Mostly due to horrendous living conditions. In 1908 the Belgian State took Congo off the King, gave him a slap on the wrist and sent him to the naughty corner.

2) Eddy Merckx, 5 time Tour de France winner and possibly the best cyclist ever is Belgian.

3) You say Belgians not Beligiums when referring to a group of Belgians.

4) Euthanasia and gay marriage are legal in Beligium.

5) There is a linguistic divide that carries both culturally and politically between Belgium’s Flemish people and the French speaking Walloon community. A lot of Belgians consider themselves Flemish or Walloon before Belgian.

6) Belgians on average dine out more than every other nation in the world. And a ‘fact’ I wish to add, they are also the fastest eaters in the world.

Our Belgians loved a drink, thrived on it and practically drunk us dry each night. We spent a couple of evenings hold up in a bar of their choice enjoying après ski drinks, songs, dancing and more drinks with them, an interesting experience to say the least. It is amazing to witness how music is such a global phenomenon. All the words to songs by The Beatles, The Police and U2 were accurately sung at full volume by our Belgian Baritones. Then you try to ask them how they would like their eggs in the morning and all you get is a blank look of utter confusion. Maybe if The Beatles had of written a song about eggs in the morning we would have had more success.

One last, but very important fact is that Beligium have about 350 varieties of beer. With invitations offered by our guests coupled with this fact Belgium is now very high on the travel list for summer.