Dr Pepper solves all your problems!

When we lived in Belgium years ago, we were visited by Amy’s brothers and brother-in-law who have a particularly strong attachment to a certain kind of soft drink: Dr. Pepper. We knew that the grocery store we frequented in Belgium carried Dr. Pepper, and we decided to pick up a six-pack or two. Long story short, the Dr. Pepper we purchased tasted nothing like what they were used to in the U.S. In fact, it tasted rather bad… So bad, that “European Dr. Pepper” became the brunt of many family jokes.

In June, a Belgian friend of ours came to visit and brought with her several packs of Dr. Pepper. We were a little leery at first, but lo and behold, it truly tasted like good ol’ U.S. Dr. Pepper! We were especially tickled by the European packaging, which is why we wanted to put it on our blog to begin with. So guys… you can come and visit us again. We’ve got the good stuff!

Dogs, dogs, dogs

Germans love dogs. And many Germans have adopted one into their family. So you can imagine our surprise to discover this particular difference between living in Germany and living in Belgium: how much cleaner pedestrian walking areas seem to be. A large part of this unexpected phenomenon can likely be attributed to the German system of cleaning up dog “waste.” The little doggie waste bins (pictured here) come with a stash of little plastic bags and a sealed off place to dispose of the mess. The bins can be seen scattered here and there, particularly in parks and places where people tend to frequently walk their dogs. It has been satisfying to be able to walk on various trails and sidewalks and not have to worry about accidently stepping into and then carrying home a nasty, smelly surprise. Germans think of everything!

Mad Cows in Switzerland

You’ve probably heard of Mad Cow Disease, and how it was originally linked to England. Well, last week we witnessed a few mad cows who were not diseased and who were living in the alps of Switzerland. We were staying in Saas Grund, Switzerland for a retreat related to our work, and we happened to be there the same time that Saas Grund was having its annual Cow Fighting contest. We were fortunate (?) enough to be able to witness this very interesting event. Here’s how it worked: Around 40 cows were chosen to participate. They were all painted with varying numbers (so that they could easily be identified) and then enclosed in a large pen where they could just go at it! For you animal lovers out there, it was really just a horn-locking and shoving match. A few brave referees were also in the pens with the animals to ensure that only two cows fought at one time and no cow could come at another cow from the side. At the end of the day, the winner was the one who did not back down from any of her adversaries (these are COWS, not bulls!). The owner of that particular animal – which turned out to be #38 – has bragging rights for the year. For more on this, go here.