What can you expect when you visit the Friendship Force of Limburg?
About the exchange
About the club: The Friendship Force of Limburg, Belgium, was chartered in 1986. We have approximately 20 families (husband, wife, children) and about 8 single people in our club. We can host between 15 and 20 people. We like to welcome two incoming exchanges each year and send two outgoing exchanges. Belgium is subdivided into 10 provinces, of which Limburg is the one in the north east, close to Germany and the Netherlands. In the northern part ("Flanders"), Dutch is the first language. In the southern part ("Wallonia"), French is the first language. Most of our members are bilingual and speak Dutch and French fluently. Moreover most of them possess a fairly good knowledge of English and German.We arrange transport from Brussels National Airport (Zaventem) to Hasselt, Limburg by coach (about 35 euros per person, estimate based on a group of 20 persons). The Exchange Director will be at the airport upon arrival. But... you save at least 20 euros if you walk a bit and take the public transportation (we agree... it's less comfortable). Hosts greet their Ambassadors at their arrival in Hasselt. Most houses are built with sleeping-rooms upstairs and living-room downstairs.
It's obvious that walking is the best way to discover the historical centres of our art cities Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp... .
Limburg is by excellence the green province of our country and it is a beautiful place to walk and hike around. Moreover it is known to be the biking paradise of Belgium and we are eager to show you the most picturesque corners on a relaxing bike ride.
Our primary emphasis is of course for the host family to make friends with the Ambassadors, but we do have at least 2 or 3 group activities in addition to a farewell party.
Neighbourhood dinners give the Ambassadors an opportunity to meet other persons and see their homes. Our Exchange Committee plans the week creatively balancing their budget. Should the Ambassador group request a special activity not planned by the Committee, this could be arranged in advance at an extra cost for the Ambassadors. This could be worked out with the Exchange Directors.
The host and day hosts assure opportunities for the Ambassadors to visit points of interest. The climate is good in summer (20°/30°C). Also around Easter it can be quite good (15°/17°C), but it might also be rather chilly (10°/12°C).
Some photos. Click on the first one to enlarge.
The province of Limburg offers a great variety of activities and many places of interest for our visitors.
The things unique to our province are:
• Hasselt, the capital city of our province. It has a famous gin museum and a lovely japanese garden.
• Tongeren, the oldest town of Belgium. It celebrated its bimillenium in 1985. It has a very rich Roman and medieval history. There are a Roman and a medieval wall, a famous basilica and a very good Gallo-Roman museum.
• "Bokrijk" : a beautiful open-air museum which reflects the way of living in Belgium in the past two centuries.
• "Alden Biesen", a grand castle that dates back to the 15th/16th century.
Some photos. Click on the first one to enlarge.
Other potential choices for the week.
• Our capital city and at the same time the European capital city, Brussels.
• The art cities Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp.
• The Belgian Ardennes, known for the terrible battle against the Germans at the end of World War II, "The Battle of the Bulge".
• Flanders Fields: World War I.
• Liège, the capital city of the southern province of Liège.
• Monschau, an old and picturesque German town just across the border.
• The lovely town of Maastricht, just across the boarder in Holland.
Photos always tell more! Click on the first one to enlarge.
