Belgium Bonus

Welcome, blog followers, to my little piece of the internet. The main event is over, but the first bonus is here! This bonus episode is a collection of tidbits that I missed on my first blogs on Belgium.

First off, I've selected a few photos showcasing the Dutch language. It can get pretty ridiculous at times.

This place had the best framboos and zeebars I had ever tasted. Or why not try the fijne vleeswaren met tirenteynpickles?

Next up, a random tale from a Belgian town. Specifically, about Damme, a small city near Brugge.

Note: this story is not necessarily fact. We are unsure if this is truth, fiction, or a blend of the two. (Probably the third one.)

Damme was once a town frequently struck by floods. To counteract this, the townspeople built a dam around the whole town.

The project went very smoothly, except for one thing: several builders reported hearing loud howls, similar to what one might expect from a wolf. Many said it was a bad omen, and for once, they were apparently correct.

On the day of the dam's completion, a celebration was held. However, the loud howling was once again heard, and immediately afterwards, the new dam burst from a torrential flood. The townspeople spotted a black dog, identified it as the source of the noise, and immediately blamed the flood on it and chased it around the city. Instead of, you know, fixing the dam and stopping the giant wave of water.

Eventually, they caught the dog, killed it, and stuffed it in the dam's crack, stopping the flood and saving the town. Yay?


So, that story was interesting. Anyway, to wrap things up, we have two miscellaneous pictures:

All of those rows of gray are actually bikes. Apparently, a lot of people cycle for transportation here.

We ordered nachos at a pub and got... "Doritos". I guess this is what you get when you go to an Irish pub in Belgium and ask for Mexican food.

Thanks for reading! Remember, we still have one bonus blog left (the extra-special one that I promised you earlier) so don't tune out just yet. See you next time.

Bonus!

I have one more fact I wanted to throw in, even though it's about Italy and not Belgium. During the production of olive oil, olives are poured into a large matching that mashes them into paste. The paste is then converted to an oil in another machine. The most interesting part of the process, in my opinion, was that the first machine crushes up the olives with the seeds still in them!