Just when I become one of them, the Prime Minister resigns

King Albert eagerly awaits by window for Prime Minister Leterme to show up and give his resignation

Just when I receive my Belgian identity card, the Prime Minister decides to resign! Coincidence? Probably not. Ironic, just a little bit. This is actually a blessing in disguise since it forced me to google and check who the Belgian Prime Minister is (or was). His name is Yves Leterme. This is the first time I heard of his name. So I googled Belgian Prime Minister. I definitely had a little politics lesson today. Apparently, he went to King Albert to give in his resignation and the King refused. While I am not sure why Prime Minister Leterme wants to resign, I am guessing it has to do with the whole Wallonia/Flanders rivalry that rears its ugly head all the time.

Belgium is one of those countries that is divided linguistically and socially. On one side you have the proud French speakers or Wallonians and on the other there are the prouder Dutch speakers or Flemish. Both sides live their lives as if the other does not exist. There are separate governments, villages, news and even cable channels. Go to Antwerp and try and speak French. It won't get you anywhere. While Brussels is supposed to be the bilingual city, finding a Dutch speaker is like finding a needle in a haystack. It won't happen even though everything from street signs to menus are in both languages.

Back to my new card... It was a very exciting day as I became sort of Belgian. To celebrate I bought myself a delicious waffle at Belgafura. The waffle was warm, dense and chewy. It was the perfect way to celebrate my new Belgian identity. Now I just need to wave the flag from my terrace.

With these uncertain political times here in Belgium, sometimes you need a father's guidance to get you through the day. So I am reviewing a trio of beers from Witkap Pater. Just looking at the old wise man on the bottle should comfort anyone who is scared that Belgium will implode. Remember that we have beer to keep us sane and safe!

I discovered these beers at BeerMania, my favorite beer shop a few streets away from my house. I purchased all three at one time because they looked like a nice little family. The Witkap-Pater Dubbel is a dark abbey beer. While I am not a fan of the dark beers, this one had a nice earthy bitter taste. What I thought was interesting about this beer was the color. It was a dark brown beer with a nice reddish hue. The Witkop-Pater Tripel is a blond. The beer has a nice froth and tasted very earthy. The last in the trio the Witkop-Pater Stimulo is a blond abbey beer that tasted also earthy almost reminding me of chamomile. According to my beer bible All Belgian Beers, the Stimulo is one of the few abbey beers that are not pasteurized or re-fermented in the barrel. All three beers tasted delightful and are great served together so you can get the whole Witkop Pater variety effect.