While we’ve been living in Belgium for over four months, I realized that I haven’t posted much about the country.
Belgium is known for medieval towns, Renaissance architecture and as the headquarters of the European Union and NATO (aka the capital of the EU).
Food and Drink
Belgium is world-famous for its chocolate, waffles, and beer.
Belgium is also known for moules frites (mussels served with French fries).
Language
People in the country speak either French or Dutch (Flemish), which is why signage typically includes both languages.
Weather
Belgium has a temperate, maritime climate (which means mild winter temps and warm summers) with frequent rainfall, largely influenced by air masses from the Atlantic. However, the more inland you go, the weaker the maritime influence gets.
I feel like the weather here is similar to WI, but more mild (the average temp. here in January is 35 degrees vs. 20 degrees in WI). Additionally, rain is more common than snow during Belgium winters.
Religion
The majority of Belgians are Roman Catholic, and nearly one-third of Belgians are nonreligious.
Government
Belgium is a constitutional monarchy, their King shares power with an organized government. The King’s role is really ceremonial, and the prime minister is the effective head of government.
Belgium has A LOT of political parties, each with language and regional differences. This makes government challenging, since there are deep regional divides.
All citizens 18 and older are required to vote in national elections and elections typically happen on Sundays.
The Jo Show 