The Milky Way

The European headquarters for Mars (not the planet) is in Brussels so I suppose that's one of the reasons we're able to purchase these yummy products here. Mars makes all the good stuff - M&M's, Twix, Milky Way, and my personal favorite, Snickers.

Mars is still a family owned business, owned by, of course, the Mars family. The company was started by Frank Mars in 1911 and after some initial failures, became a huge success.

They also own Whiskas cat food and Pedigree dog food. And if that weren't enough, along with Berkshire Hathaway, they now own the Wrigley, Jr. Company which, as you may know, produces Skittles, Juicy Fruit gum, Lifesavers, and my personal favorite, Starburst.

It's gotten to be a regular occurrence, but I often remark when I eat something new here . . . "this tastes like something else". Jim thinks it's ridiculous, but if given long enough, I can figure it out. Like the speculoos spread here. It's actually a spread, similar to peanut butter, made with hazelnuts, but it tastes just like peanut butter mixed with Steen's ribbon cane syrup. I'm sure of it.

But back to the good stuff . . . the chocolate.

This says it's a Milky Way, but it is in fact a Three Musketeers.

This says it's a Mars, but it is in fact a Milky Way.

I can't find an explanation for why the Mars company would go to the trouble to package these candy bars differently for Europeans.

I've read up on the Three Musketeers and it's only a novel, albeit historical, about 4, not three, friends in France. The main character, d'Artagnan goes to Paris to fulfill his dream of joining the Musketeers of the Guard.

This Guard was an actual fighting company of the Royal Household of the French Monarchy from the early 1600's to the early 1800's, but I still can't figure out the Mars candy bar name-change.

Anyway, I don't even like Three Musketeers bars and you imagine my disappointment when I bought a whole bag of Fun Size "Milky Ways" only to discover they were not . . . Milky Ways or Fun.

But all is right with the world because . . .

This says it's a Snickers and it is in fact a Snickers.

Mijn Hobby?

Often our Flemish teacher will call on people in the class to read aloud. It seems pretty equal and I'm not bragging, but when there's a long passage, he seems to call on me. I know! I find it hard to believe myself.

For those of you who know me pretty well, you know I have an awwwful Southern accent that would rival any Arkansan. Who knows where this comes from, I mean, other than growing up in Louisiana. My parents and grandparents weren't originally from the South and they definitely didn't have an accent like mine. I don't seem to have passed this on to my children so perhaps it will stop here.

But back to my Flemish class . . . when Jim reads aloud, he's really good at making all those gutteral sounds when pronouncing a "g" or an "r" - indicative of Flemish/Dutch and of coughing up a hairball. We used to have a cat so I know that sound when I hear it. Sometimes our teacher will even "help" Jim by correcting him and asking him to say it again.

Now I'm not bragging, but he never does this with me. He never asks me to repeat anything or feels the need to assist in my pronunciation.

So this past week we've had a substitute teacher and after we read aloud a time or two, she asked if any of us were learning Flemish as a hobby. I hadn't thought of it as a hobby, but I suppose I don't really need to learn Flemish so I raised my hand.

Apparently this confirmed her suspicions because she proceeded, in Flemish, to say something like "my accent would probably prohibit me from speaking proper Flemish anyway so it's probably a good thing I don't really need to use it to get a job . . . blah, blah, blah". Something like that.

And this confirmed my suspicions that our regular teacher has likely been calling on me to read purely for amusement and furthermore, not bothering to "help" me when I fail to cough up a hairball. Since apparently it's obvious . . . I cain't be helped.

Elektrische Auto

News in Hasselt - a world premier event:

13/01/2011 - Wereldprimeur in Hasselt: SMS-opladen

ThePluginCompany lanceerde vandaag in Hasselt samen met haar partners de stad Hasselt, Infrax, Mobile-for en Interparking een OPEN MOBIEL BETAALPLATFORM (4242). Een wereldpremière!!

Bovendien wordt er een project uitgewerkt waar 100 gezinnen elektrisch kunnen gaan rijden en opladen op de oplaadpalen van de stad Hasselt.

Actual GoogleTranslation:

ThePluginCompany launched today in Hasselt with its partners the City of Hasselt, Infrax, Mobile-for and Interparking an OPEN MOBILE PAYMENT PLATFORM. A world premiere!

In addition, a project for which 100 households with electric ride and charge at the charging points of the city of Hasselt.

My Best Effort at Translation:

The Plugin Company has partnered with the city of Hasselt and other entities to launch the first-in-the-world electric car charging points that are controlled completely by your cell phone. With just a simple text message, the charger begins to charge. This project also involves making 100 electric cars available, for one year, for ordinary families to drive, charge the batteries and get a feel for real-world driving.

You've got to watch this short video. It's filmed a couple of blocks from our house. It is so typical of our daily life here. The city we live in, the language, the people, the weather!

Listen closely and you will actually hear some words similar to English. Because they are almost the same. It's hard to believe, but I actually understand most of what's being said. I guess after all this time I should. The woman with the short hair is our mayor. And you can't miss that huge windshield wiper. There's probably a spare in the trunk. Windshield wiper, that is.

News Video

Nice Weekend III

We had the pleasure of showing our new American friend around two of the most beautiful cities in Belgium - Ghent and Brugge.

This is Ghent.

You can snap pictures in any direction and it's like a postcard.

This is the beautiful St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent.

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And this is Brugge.

It would be hard to decide which one of these cities is more picturesque.

This is the Church of our Lady in Brugge.

It has this nice statue carved by none other than Michelangelo himself. It was purchased and given to the church by Bruges merchant Jan Mouscron. Wonder what he paid for it?

Brief history lesson . . . Michelangelo (1475-1564) - Italian painter, sculptor, and architect. His most famous works are the statue of David (Biblical King David), the Pieta (Jesus & Mary after the crucifixion), and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. He was also one of the architects of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

That little church tucked in the corner of the square in Brugge is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. It houses a vial of Jesus' blood - hence the name. Every Friday between 8 am and 3 pm, you can have a look at it. Ross and his friend Erica just happened by there on a Friday and they even got to touch it. Well, they touched the glass case that the vial was in, but still. Sooooo, if you are ever in Brugge on a Friday . . .

Then we headed to Zaventem and had to say "tot ziens en veel succes".

Nice Weekend II

Since our new American friend (we'll call him Steve) was still visiting, he agreed to accompany us to Cologne and then to Aachen - both in Germany.

We visited the Kolner Dom.

Amazing and huge.

The most famous relic at the Kolner Dom is this sarcophagus that holds the remains of the Magi - aka Three Wise Men - gold, frankincense, and myrrh - those wise men.

Then we visited the Aachen Cathedral.

You may remember from my previous post on our visit to Aachen that that little gold box in the back holds the remains of Charlemagne - aka Charles the Great - King of the Franks - Emperor of the Romans - that Charlemagne. Overshadowing his shrine is the Shrine of St. Mary which contains Aachen's four great relics: Mary's cloak, Christ's swaddling clothes, Christ's loincloth, and the beheading cloth of St. John the Baptist. Every seven years they are taken out and put on display. You can catch the next one in 2014.

When we got home, we tried a few of our favorite and famous Belgian beers, then decided to get something for dinner. As luck would have it we had locked our front door with the keys on the outside. That may not seem like a problem, but it also opens with a key from the inside so when there is a key occupying the space, another key won't go in. Anyway, the only way to open it is for someone to pull the key out from the outside. But we were all inside.

We live on a busy street and I was hoping someone would walk by, we could knock on the door and ask them to let us out. This key debacle isn't the first and we've actually had this good fortune before, but this time no one happened by. I decide to text the neighbors to see if they can come and let us out. Ironically, as I scroll down my cellphone for their number, I realize the very last text I sent to them is almost identical to this one - "is it possible for you to come over and let us out of our house?". Our door locks are a challenge. Naturally Jim figured out how to rig a coat hanger and somehow got the key out.

The restaurant was no longer serving by the time we made our way down there. We got some takeout, but probably shouldn't have. I had already eaten plenty that day at this Brauhaus in Cologne.

I am reminded of a guy I once worked for in Magnolia, Arkansas. He was a few pounds overweight and he said he felt like a tick. I know just how he felt.