We can all hear the music as we read the words. It was the song that won ABAA the Eurovision Song Festival and catapulted them into international attention. Interesting that a song about an epic defeat became their victory. It was definitely not their “Waterloo”.
We still use this term for all sorts of situations. As in the song, if you have to face your Waterloo, you must face the fact that you are finally and ultimately going to be defeated (ro you will finally give in). This one battle, and one could make the argument that it is because of the song, has entered our collective vocabulary. Many will understand immediately what you mean if you talk about your Waterloo.
But do people know anything about Waterloo? It is after all a real place. It was a real historical event. As the new film on Napoleon comes out, perhaps the interest for this place will peak once again. But it has been here all the time.
Waterloo was, at the time of the battle for which anyone remembers the place, a town in the United Kingdom of The Netherlands. It is actually in Belgium - now. Remember, Belgium did not become a recognized country until 1839 and the battle of Waterloo took place in 1815. This was a battle of coalition forces where the armies of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, together with three others clashed with Napoleon until the Prussian forces, who were allied with the others against Napoleon, also arrived and put an end to Napoleon.
The battlefield was at the crossing of two major roads. It is less than 10 kilometers from Brussels and just outside of the village of Waterloo. Tourism began the day after the battle, it seems. Bodies and remains were found for years afterwards. Today there is a great mound with a statue of a lion at the top and groups stage a re-enactment of the battle regularly.
The town of Waterloo itself has a population of less than 30,000. It is just south of the language border, lying in the French-speaking area of Wallonia. The name of the town is, however, from the Dutch language and is a combination of “water” and “loo” (which means clearing in a forest).
In the nearby town of Braine-l’Alleud is the only major disc golf course, where the Belgian Open is played and anyone can meet their own personal Waterloo. I learned disc golf years ago (before the millennium) from good friends in the church in Minnesota and have continued to play whenever I can. I have set up a small course at our Bible camp. But I have yet to visit the course near Waterloo.
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