Where oh Where Wednesday: Mining in the area

The area where we live is historically an area of coal mining. Both in Limburg of the Netherlands (for which Maastricht is the capitol) and in Limburg of Belgium (where our house is situated) were coal mining areas. The cities of Sittard, Kerkrade and more in the Netherlands grew up around the industry of coal. Maasmechelen and Genk, Belgium - just down the road from us - have now turned their coal mining past into tourist attractions. Because the coal has long been gone. 

Genk has a site called “C-Mine” which now houses a cinema and stores, as well as a major cycling race every year, but previously it was simply a mine. In August I will go on an outing on a steam train. It will take us along the historical mining sites and we will visit the coal mining museum. All of this in the area of Kerkrade and Simpelveld in the Netherlands. 

Down by our Bible Camp we also have many old mining sites. In the past we have taken the kids on an outing to Blegny in Belgium. There they can go down into the mine and experience some of the sights, sounds and smells of the mine. The guide is an old miner and can tell stories of how things used to be. How they had to eat their lunch while working - preferably quickly and before anyone relieved themselves (which also had to be done in the same space. 

The mines are also why this area of both countries is so diverse culturally. Maasmechelen has a Greek, Italian, Turkish, Bulgarian and Polish community - all of whom worked in the mines at the time. They came as guest workers and built their families in Belgium - although some returned to their home countries. Many simply brought their cultural beauties (and problems) to Belgium. So now anyone can go to an Italian or Greek restaurant, visit various Catholic and Orthodox churches and be amazed at the diversity in general. 

The mines closed their doors in the 1970’s and the area has been trying to recover since then from the economic impact. Ford (in Belgium) and Volvo (in the Netherlands) both had a major factory, but these also closed within the last 10 years. Tourism remains a strong calling card to the area of hills and valleys (some made from the “trash” of coal mining). Some of these areas have been turned into beuatiful spa resorts with twisting bike paths running through the lakes. Others have disappeared into the background of the hills surrounding - as in our area of camp. 

(Photo of Terhills resort near Maasmechelen)

Whatsit Wednesday: Vlaai

Recently a baker from our town of Lanaken got together with a local Dutch baker from Maastricht to bake the largest “vlaai” in the world. It was even recorded in the Guiness Book of Records. This typical Limburg pie was an apricot crumble version, but there are many different variants. 

A “vlaai” (sounds like “fly”, holding a bit longer on the vowel in the middle: fla-ee) is a pie. Some people might be familiar with an apple pie. It will have a crust, lots of good apples in it, and topped with criss-crossed bits of pastry. You can do this with cherries in the middle or apricots and they will still all be called a vlaai. But the people Limburg (a province in both the Netherlands and Belgium) consider their vlaai to be the most delicious. And the choice is also immense, although everyone has their favorite. There is a pudding vlaai with crumbly bits on top, a rice custard that is just the right consistency topped with chocolate shavings (my favorite), and many others. 

Suffice it to say that vlaai from Limburg is often what tourists come to experience in this area. And now they will be able to try one just like the largest vlaai in the world. It is amazing that this apricot monstrosity (weighing over 1000 kilo and measuring 7 meters across) was made by our local baker. It was exciting that it was done with the help of a French pastry chef with a store in Maastricht and a local baker’s school. Both Belgium and the Netherlands are claiming the honor.