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KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 05:04 PM Jun 2014

Belgium? How can Belgium beat the U.S. at anything?

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/a-matter-of-national-insecurity--why-u-s--cannot-lose-to-belgium-185014675.html

Belgium should not be favored over the United States of America in anything but waffles and windmills.

Yes, it's a nation of superior life expectancy, literacy and general happiness … but who cares about those things? Listen, Belgium: You're going to have to step up your senseless homicide and childhood obesity rates before we take you seriously.

This is a complete disgrace to the United States. Sure, soccer hasn't traditionally been the primary sport in our country – even if it was, half our team is from Germany. There has to be a bare minimum standard, however, and having to cower in fear of the mighty Belgians is it....

These guys are Canada-Lite, one of these perfect, nice, polite, pretty countries that take pride in the fact they all ride bikes and recycle and don't unilaterally invade other sovereign nations.




Plus. they brew beer with fruit. Fruit! And that vaunted chocolate of theirs? They couldn't make it without cacao from Ghana, whose ass we already whupped. And the most famous Belgian? In fact, the only famous Belgian? Jean-Claude Van Damme!
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Belgium? How can Belgium beat the U.S. at anything? (Original Post) KamaAina Jun 2014 OP
I'd love to go back to Belgium NightWatcher Jun 2014 #1
Well, for Pete's sake, don't go until next Wednesday! KamaAina Jun 2014 #2
waffle house calls for the boycott! big_dog Jun 2014 #47
Belgium gave us... dixiegrrrrl Jun 2014 #3
Um, no, England did. KamaAina Jun 2014 #4
I beg to differ. dixiegrrrrl Jun 2014 #5
So he's going to vanish on Tuesday afternoon? KamaAina Jun 2014 #6
little grey cells and all........ dixiegrrrrl Jun 2014 #7
If only Belgium would play him at goalkeeper KamaAina Jun 2014 #8
I thought he was French. El Supremo Jun 2014 #10
Nope, Belgian. KamaAina Jun 2014 #11
That was a running joke in the novels. El Supremo Jun 2014 #13
Here's one for the homies in Bruges. bluesbassman Jun 2014 #9
Let's fan the flames a bit here: Ron Obvious Jun 2014 #12
There's a nasty dark side to Belgium the tourist posters don't show you DFW Jun 2014 #14
The trumpet? KamaAina Jun 2014 #15
That's it!!!! DFW Jun 2014 #19
And there's this KamaAina Jun 2014 #16
Not surprising, but not the same DFW Jun 2014 #18
Oh yeah, Belgium is totally corrupt RainDog Jun 2014 #20
The Antwerpen train station is an architectural gem DFW Jun 2014 #21
Well that was awesome. CanSocDem Jun 2014 #27
Agreed. countryjake Jun 2014 #31
Here's another one for you and countryjake RainDog Jun 2014 #33
And a smile on every face! How refreshing. Paper Roses Jul 2014 #50
On the contrary. Iggo Jun 2014 #41
You win the award for "The Most Gratuitous Use of the Word 'Belgium' in a Serious Screenplay." Xipe Totec Jun 2014 #17
René Magritte is paper to Van Damme's rock RainDog Jun 2014 #22
The sad thing is, none of those people are "famous" KamaAina Jun 2014 #36
Django Reinhardt's famous, in a Miles Davis kind of way. Iggo Jun 2014 #42
word RainDog Jul 2014 #53
And also, the Belgian Malinois meow2u3 Jun 2014 #23
Thank goodness we advanced over Portugal KamaAina Jun 2014 #25
Pommes Frites. vanlassie Jun 2014 #24
The ones they serve with mayo? KamaAina Jun 2014 #32
I KNOW!!! Yuck. But they're so good, and they don't need mayo. vanlassie Jun 2014 #34
The only famous Belgian? No. countryjake Jun 2014 #26
If being born in Brussels makes her Belgian, KamaAina Jun 2014 #28
Those guys should be considered men without a country... countryjake Jun 2014 #30
Django Reinhardt, Toots Thielemans, and Jacques Brel aint_no_life_nowhere Jun 2014 #29
I've got buddies in Belgium, my wife speaks Dutch MrScorpio Jun 2014 #35
Many are bilingual to be sure but the National language is Flemmish. mackerel Jun 2014 #38
Just about everyone there speaks Flemmish (Dutch), Wallonese (French) or English MrScorpio Jun 2014 #39
Wikipedia says there are three official national languages, French, Flemish, and German aint_no_life_nowhere Jun 2014 #46
My ex is from Belgium RainDog Jul 2014 #52
I think Hercule Poirot is the most famous Belgium mon ami. mackerel Jun 2014 #37
63% Of Americans Think Belgium Is A Beer Company T_i_B Jun 2014 #40
Belgium IS a beer company, silly KamaAina Jun 2014 #43
Daily Currant is satire NewJeffCT Jul 2014 #49
I know T_i_B Jul 2014 #51
Belgium can also beat the U.S. in Jenoch Jun 2014 #44
The chocolate here* is scary DFW Jun 2014 #45
We'll soon find out. lovemydog Jul 2014 #48
Beer and chocolate for starters. hobbit709 Jul 2014 #54
Belgian... MrMickeysMom Jul 2014 #55
Belgium is the Ned Flanders of Europe (without the religious sanctimony) Yavin4 Jul 2014 #56
The northern, Dutch-speaking half of Belgium is, in fact, called Flanders. KamaAina Jul 2014 #57
What do you call people from Belgium anyways? NewJeffCT Jul 2014 #58
Losers. KamaAina Jul 2014 #59
DUzy+ truth sakabatou Jul 2014 #62
Thanks NewJeffCT Jul 2014 #64
Claude Van Damme... ailsagirl Jul 2014 #60
oops n/t RainDog Jul 2014 #61
A country known for beer and fries and chocolate IronLionZion Jul 2014 #63
It's not fruit in the beer. It's fermented fruit RainDog Jul 2014 #65

NightWatcher

(39,343 posts)
1. I'd love to go back to Belgium
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 05:16 PM
Jun 2014

There's this little restaurant around the corner from the Basilica of the Holy Blood that's a great place to spend an evening.

I enjoyed my little bit of time there.

 

big_dog

(4,144 posts)
47. waffle house calls for the boycott!
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 09:36 PM
Jun 2014

Waffle House Calls for Boycott of Belgian Waffles Ahead of U.S. vs. Belgium World Cup Game
by Jenna Mullins Today 3:53 PM PDT

Loading...
Waffle House/Getty Images
If you really want to support the United States team in tomorrow's big World Cup game, don't just wear red, white and blue. That's weak. Go above and beyond and boycott the famous food from the country we are playing, damn it!
That is exactly what Waffle House has in mind, because the national restaurant chain for groups of drunk people looking to eat eggs in the middle of the night is calling for a boycott of Belgian waffles, because the U.S. team is playing Belgium tomorrow in the top 16 round of the 2014 World Cup. Also known as the knockout round. Or the "one and done" round. Or the round that nobody though the U.S. would even make it to.
NEWS: Rihanna is rooting for everyone in the World Cup except Team USA
.Now most teams would stick it to their opponents by training hard (lame), playing the game well (gross) or showing good sportsmanship (awful), but the United States is hitting Belgium where it really counts: batter-based breakfast food!
So if you put a Belgian Waffle closer than one inch to your mouth on Tuesday, the Patriotism Police will immediately be alerted and they will come find out. The PP will bust down your door, rappel through your windows and replace those foreign breakfast items with good ol' American pancakes (which are almost definitely not originally American, but whatever). They will be red, white and blue colored and a whipped cream American flag will be on top.
And since this is about being truly American, nine pounds of bacon will be served on the side.
GO USA!
http://www.eonline.com/news/555772/waffle-house-calls-for-boycott-of-belgian-waffles-ahead-of-u-s-vs-belgium-world-cup-game

El Supremo

(20,365 posts)
13. That was a running joke in the novels.
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 06:30 PM
Jun 2014

Such as:

The Alphabet Murders (1965)
Hastings: Where have you been? What have you been doing?
Hercule Poirot: Arranging a little extra insurance my friend.
Hastings: Oh really? Personally I always feel perfectly safe with British railways. Mind you its very different in France, isn't it?
Hercule Poirot: I wouldn't know. I am not French, I am Belgian.
Hastings: Well it's the same thing, you both eat horsemeat.

 

Ron Obvious

(6,261 posts)
12. Let's fan the flames a bit here:
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 06:24 PM
Jun 2014

In order to get into the proper spirit of things in time for the match:

DFW

(54,050 posts)
14. There's a nasty dark side to Belgium the tourist posters don't show you
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 06:31 PM
Jun 2014

I'm there a lot for work, and speak both French and Flemish.

It is one of the most corrupt countries in western Europe, with an old boy crony system in place and corrupt cops like you only see in films about small southern towns. There is one brigade that goes around accusing every business they can find of "money laundering," uses that as an excuse to confiscate everything the business has, and then takes their time stealing/exchanging what they can out of the confiscated goods, since there is no time limit on that in Belgium. They once took 15 kilo bars of gold from some small precious metals dealer, waited years and then returned his "12" kilo bars when he was found innocent (DUH) of money laundering. The guy got nowhere with his protests of being shortchanged because the cops have a rubber-stamp "examining judge" who, contrary to Belgian law, doesn't look at the dossier presented to him, but rather just stamps and signs whatever the corrupt cops put in front of him. Every lawyer in Belgium knows of this guy. This particular scheme only saw the light of day when the girlfriend of one of the corrupt cops broke up with him and told some other cops where in his apartment they could find the stolen three kilos of gold. There are many other cases similar to this one, but this one is one of the rare ones that made the papers (there is de facto press censorship of "sensitive, i.e. embarrassing" matters), so I'm not revealing anything I am not supposed to know.

The child molester/murderer Marc Dutroux was identified ten years before he was actually put away, saying "you can't touch me, I have friends in high places." They couldn't, because indeed he did. This was a huge scandal, but Dutroux continued defiling and murdering young girls because the word came from on high to leave him alone.

Belgium is not all chocolate and waffles, no matter what the pretty posters say, or how nice it is to take a boat tour through the canals of Brugge.

On the positive side, their chocolate and their waffles ARE pretty amazing, and there is always Adolphe Sax who invented a musical instrument that is derived from his name and is pretty widely used still today (bet you can't guess which one, right?).

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
16. And there's this
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 06:54 PM
Jun 2014
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024720221

A Belgian newspaper is under fire for an image it printed showing President Barack Obama and the First Lady as apes.

The progressive newspaper De Morgen is being accused of racism for the image along with an article it published just prior to Obama's visit to the Netherlands Monday morning.

The image clearly depicts the couple as two apes-- an editorial decision that has been slammed as "stale racist drivel."

The article was reportedly a satirical piece that also joked about Obama selling marijuana. The newspaper packaged the photos as if they had been submitted by Russian president Vladimir Putin, Metro said Sunday.

DFW

(54,050 posts)
18. Not surprising, but not the same
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 07:34 PM
Jun 2014

Protecting a child molester/killer for TEN YEARS is nasty stuff.

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
20. Oh yeah, Belgium is totally corrupt
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 08:34 PM
Jun 2014

but they still have a better social safety net than the U.S., higher educational standards/results, and you can buy flowers and excellent chocolates on every other corner block in a city. Tax evasion is a national sport, even so, among the wealthy. The language fights are just ridiculous, and Vlamse block - whatever it's renamed, is shameful.

They're very protective of their status as hdqtrs for Nato, and I heard from some who think the Dutch are too concerned with flaunting "liberalism" because, you know, those Protestants... LOL. The cannabis coffee shops are just sooo protestant.

Kriek lambic is wonderful. Never could get used to seeing horse meat in the deli - just a personal thing.

But Rubens' House and Art Nouveau architecture in Antwerp and Museum Mayer van den Bergh... I liked Antwerp much, much more than Brussels. Much easier to get around in, as a city, or was when I lived there. I recently read, tho, that's it's now hipster paradise and has the highest rate of cocaine use in Europe. oh well.

The train station is also lovely.

DFW

(54,050 posts)
21. The Antwerpen train station is an architectural gem
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 08:39 PM
Jun 2014

From another era, alas....

With their tax rates, I get that tax evasion is a national sport. A friend of mine there has a business, and at one of his audits a few years ago, the government accountant started in with "OK, let's see where you've cheated here." My friend asked what kind of attitude that was from an auditor? The guy said, you can't possibly be 100% honest and survive under our system, so you have to be cheating somewhere.

countryjake

(8,554 posts)
31. Agreed.
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 02:59 PM
Jun 2014

Except I don't think that loving a surprise like that is pathetic. I'm a sucker for flash mobs, too, and I especially love the ones that include kids, like that one.

A fantastic flash!

Paper Roses

(7,468 posts)
50. And a smile on every face! How refreshing.
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 07:21 AM
Jul 2014

I love flash mobs. Brings good feelings when other things overwhelm us.
Wish we had a special Flash mob group. Find one? Start a new thread and keep it going. Post your video and let us smile for a while.

Iggo

(47,487 posts)
41. On the contrary.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 11:02 AM
Jun 2014

Flash mobs are one of the most beautiful things going these days.

I get e tear in my eye every time I watch one of those videos, thinking "People do this."

Xipe Totec

(43,872 posts)
17. You win the award for "The Most Gratuitous Use of the Word 'Belgium' in a Serious Screenplay."
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 07:24 PM
Jun 2014

In today's modern Galaxy there is of course very little still held to be unspeakable. Many words and expressions which only a matter of decades ago were considered so distastefully explicit that, were they merely to be breathed in public, the perpetrator would be shunned, barred from polite society, and in extreme cases shot through the lungs, are now thought to be very healthy and proper, and their use in everyday speech and writing is seen as evidence of a well-adjusted, relaxed and totally un****ed-up personality. . . . But even though words like "joojooflop," "swut," and "turlingdrome" are now perfectly acceptable in common usage there is one word that is still beyond the pale. The concept it embodies is so revolting that the publication or broadcast of the word is utterly forbidden in all parts of the Galaxy except for use in Serious screenplays.

There is also, or was, one planet where they didn't know what it meant, the stupid turlingdromes.


http://io9.com/5931788/how-american-delicacy-turned-belgium-into-a-dirty-word

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
22. René Magritte is paper to Van Damme's rock
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 08:52 PM
Jun 2014

Audrey Hepburn

Django Reinhardt

Toots Thielemans

Marguerite Yourcenar

Peter Bruegel the elder and son.

Jan Van Eyck

Peter Paul Rubens

Hergé (Tin Tin)

Alphonse Sax

Frans Masereel

James Ensor

Georges Lemaître, inventor of the Big Bang Theory (science, not the tv show)

Jacques Brel

Father Damien (who lived with lepers in Hawaii)

The GREAT 16th c. printer and free speech advocate Christophe Plantin... whose printing shop is still intact.

....just a few who are more famous than Van Damme, unless the only place someone gets information is from the imdb.

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
36. The sad thing is, none of those people are "famous"
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:34 AM
Jun 2014

except for Audrey, who was really English.

Iggo

(47,487 posts)
42. Django Reinhardt's famous, in a Miles Davis kind of way.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 11:06 AM
Jun 2014

And yeah, I always thought Ms Hepburn was a Brit.

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
25. Thank goodness we advanced over Portugal
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 12:20 AM
Jun 2014

It would have been him against the Obamas' Bo, a Portuguese water dog.

countryjake

(8,554 posts)
26. The only famous Belgian? No.
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 03:27 AM
Jun 2014

Obviously, you've forgotten Audrey Hepburn.

Nice post, til you got to that last sentence.




(My favorite actress, Audrey.)

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
28. If being born in Brussels makes her Belgian,
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 01:02 PM
Jun 2014

then Ted Cruz is Canadian. And John McCain is Panamanian. And Mittwit's dad was Mexican.

countryjake

(8,554 posts)
30. Those guys should be considered men without a country...
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 02:44 PM
Jun 2014

but Ms. Hepburn never forgot where she came from.

Hey, I was born, raised, and started out in Ohio; now I've lived up here in Cascadia longer than I ever did back there, but I still consider myself an Ohioan. Dual-statehood, that's the ticket.

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
29. Django Reinhardt, Toots Thielemans, and Jacques Brel
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 01:19 PM
Jun 2014

All giants in the field of music. And as a fan of classic films, I can't imagine a world without British actress Audrey Heburn, who was born in Belgium and raised in both Belgium and England. The phenomenal jazz guitarist/harmonica player Toots Thielemans' composition "Bluesette" is one of my very favorite jazz tunes.




MrScorpio

(73,626 posts)
35. I've got buddies in Belgium, my wife speaks Dutch
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:30 AM
Jun 2014

Plus I've been there plenty of times, I know of a house in Maastricht NL, right next door, which is a dream house of mine... I'd go back in a heartbeat.

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
46. Wikipedia says there are three official national languages, French, Flemish, and German
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 07:45 PM
Jun 2014

plus I have an old copy of the World Almanac that says the same thing. French speakers make up 41% of the population.

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
52. My ex is from Belgium
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 08:08 AM
Jul 2014

Last edited Wed Jul 2, 2014, 01:11 AM - Edit history (1)

I lived there for a while and visited family there often.

My ex also played for the junior national soccer team there, too. He is or was a forward midfielder. Now that he's older, he still plays but I think he's fallen back to defense b/c defense doesn't require running the entire field. He chose to come to the U.S. to study rather than to go for a professional soccer career. He broke his dad's heart, because his dad was a working class guy. Soccer is a working class sport in Europe - unlike America.

Anyway, Belgium is divided into two parts. The Northern half speaks Flemish, a dialect of Dutch (softer, not as gutteral). The southern half speaks French.

Both the Flemish and French speakers are majority Catholic. The reason the northern part of Belgium stayed with the southern part is because The Netherlands is protestant... at one point, when they liberated themselves from control of all the different nations that had controlled them... Belgium is considered the footpath of Europe b/c it shares borders with The Netherlands, Germany and France, and Germany and France were at war with one another more often than not until the end of WWII, in various iterations (Holy Roman whatever, etc.)

Before WWII, the southern part of Belgium was wealthy because of heavy industry. But the northern part has since gained more wealth. When the southern part (Wallonia) was wealthy, they made fun of the north. Anyone who spoke Flemish was looked down upon. Flemish was called the language of peasants and farmers.

France, of course, was a great national power for a long time, and was the language of diplomacy - it was the international language, as English is now.

If you want to piss off someone from the northern part of Belgium, claim French is the majority language.

They have govt. CRISES over language and have portioned off the nation to exactly equal language divisions. any time one part gains a language area, they have to give another one to the other side.

Before this arrangement, people in Brussels, who were born to Flemish-speaking families, would pretend they didn't know Flemish and would only speak in French because French was considered the language of those who were connected. Political life was conducted in French. Flemish speakers have derogatory names for people who do that.

When the northern Flemish-speaking population gained enough power, financially, to demand equal time for their language, the political partitioning started. Every interstate sign in major city areas, like Brussels, are in both Flemish and French. In the northern part of the country, however (this includes the major or notable cities of Ghent, Antwerp, Brugge (both major ports at different times until silt), Ostende (which is the passageway to England), Leuven (fr: Louvain - one of the oldest University towns in Europe), all the suburbs north and east of Brussels etc... all are Flemish speaking and if someone speaks French there, people often react rudely unless it's obvious you're a tourist. Universities in Brussels exist as both French and Flemish-speaking versions.

Students in the northern, Flemish region begin to learn both English and French in elementary school (in addition to Flemish, which they hear at home.) In Wallonia, because the area is more depressed now with the fall of their major industries, or, the Flemish say, because they're so rude, students generally are not required to learn Flemish, but do learn English... at least that's what the Flemish portion of the nation thinks.

The Battle of the Bulge was in Wallonia, in the Ardennes. Waterloo is a city in Wallonia. After the defeat of Napoleon, the legend was that the people there brought buckets of dirt to build a mound to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon. Whether it's true or not, you can climb up a human-made mound and view the battlefields where Napoleon was defeated.

Southern Belgium is like other industrial belts and is hurting, while Flemish-speaking northern Belgium has prospered. So, sometimes the Flemish half talks about separating from the French half.

In the corner of Flemish Belgium, where Limbourg is located, there's a German-speaking population, too. But German is a minor language there. The two major languages are Flemish and French.

T_i_B

(14,734 posts)
40. 63% Of Americans Think Belgium Is A Beer Company
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 07:11 AM
Jun 2014
http://dailycurrant.com/2014/06/27/63-of-americans-think-belgium-is-a-beer-company/

A new poll published today found a majority of Americans believe that Belgium is a beer company rather than a country.

The TDC Opinion Research survey was designed to probe American attitudes towards the small European nation, which the U.S. will face in the World Cup tournament next Tuesday.

The poll first asked respondents if Belgium was a company that makes beer, a country in Europe or neither: 63% responded that Belgium was a beer company, 28% replied that Belgium was a country and 9% said neither.

“We were really shocked by the findings,” says Ted Baxter, the lead pollster on the project. “Americans have never been very good with geography."

DFW

(54,050 posts)
45. The chocolate here* is scary
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 05:53 PM
Jun 2014

*Of all days to HAVE to be in Belgium, I have to work around a train strike, but I finally made it to Brussels this evening.

If you're ever in Sprout City, go to the Sablon/Zavel and check out the chocolates (and pastries!) at Wittamer. Forget the sticker shock, the cholesterol and the calories--unless you're here as often as I am (once a week)--just load up.

Then, at Café Tasse on the Rue Marché aux Herbes/Grasmarkt, get a box of "minis" of the white chocolate with finely ground coffee running through it ("blanc-Café&quot . Your cardiologist will hate you, but at least you'll die happy.

MrMickeysMom

(20,453 posts)
55. Belgian...
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 09:31 AM
Jul 2014

Here's what I understand about it….

Two different cultures and languages that don't fit together in any standard way, and a government that doesn't really function.

Oh, and Marouane Fellaini with that big afro…

Yavin4

(35,355 posts)
56. Belgium is the Ned Flanders of Europe (without the religious sanctimony)
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 04:36 PM
Jul 2014

We're the Homer Simpson of the world.

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
57. The northern, Dutch-speaking half of Belgium is, in fact, called Flanders.
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 04:39 PM
Jul 2014

And half the towns in America are called Springfield.

IronLionZion

(45,256 posts)
63. A country known for beer and fries and chocolate
Wed Jul 2, 2014, 06:27 AM
Jul 2014

and waffles, should not be having lower obesity than the US. Something is not right about that. Americans are getting screwed somehow. Maybe its the fruit in their beer, it must make it healthy!


Americans have greatly stepped up our game in recent years when it comes to beer from microbreweries.

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
65. It's not fruit in the beer. It's fermented fruit
Wed Jul 2, 2014, 11:45 AM
Jul 2014
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic

Cherries (traditionally) are fermented separately and then combined with hops-fermented beer. Kriek is traditionally served with a meal with potatoes and spicy/peppered meat.

It's also "bubbly" and comes in a bottle with a champagne-like top.

Belgium has over 300 different kinds of beers.

My sister-in-law attended cooking school there, after she got her licensiate in art history. Her thesis was about the use of food in Belgian art, most medieval.

Anyway, Napoleon's chef was Belgian, so a lot of food that's considered French is Belgian, so they like to say - like vol au vent, french fries (they were pre-cooked then fried when it was possible to eat them), chervil soup (which is the "peasant" version of vichyssoise - i.e. without the cream) -- and this non-cream version is the base for at least three different soups.

Belgians make a large pot of soup then change it to different kinds of soup each day, until they make a new batch - b/c everyday they generally eat a meal with soup, then breads and cheese and meats. Meats and cheeses are never combined - they're eaten separately with a piece of bread, with butter on the bread with the cheeses and maybe a mustard for meats. The soup tastes better if it's made a day ahead of time before eating - the basic chicken stock, leeks, onions base with potatoes as the binder, all pureed until smooth, then thinned, then with chervil (or parsley) added.

Belgians walk a lot, like people who live in other major cities with good mass transit.

They didn't have fast food restaurants as we know them for a long time, either.
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