Genk spent most of its life as a quiet heathland village that painters liked to visit. Then, in 1901, André Dumont found coal beneath it, and three mines—Zwartberg, Waterschei and Winterslag—turned the place into a boom town almost overnight. For seventy years the pits defined everything: the skyline, the workforce, and the mix of nationalities that still shapes the city. When the last coal came up at Winterslag in 1988, Genk did not linger in nostalgia. It turned the old mine into C-Mine, a creative hub inside the lamp rooms and winding towers, and set about becoming something else. The result is a city whose history is industrial rather than medieval, and whose most interesting buildings once pulled coal out of the ground.
So onto the fun part… This has been awesome. We got to see one of our favorite world travels, Belges, and overall great persons Dorien. You all may remember her staying with us in San Diego, NWA, and Steamboat when she was touring the world and doing her Architectural internship in San Diego. She has more international experiences in her 30s than most in multiple lifetimes, including visiting 11 countries in 11 months on multiple continents and staying another year in South Africa. She’s also a great hiker doing trips to the Balkans, across Portugal, and just back from Italy.
I have great memories of teaching her to shoot Cowboy Action in Arkansas, and swimming in San Diego.
It was a God sighting as we call it to have her on Summer break while we were in the area.
It’s amazing what she has become. She is now a Fire Fighter Captain here in Genk, responsible for about 120 fire fighters, EMTs and the station. She gave us a great tour of town. Genk has a great coal history and we were able to go underground and see it!
Teena and her are on a girls hike while I do laundry… Hm. how things change.
Super fun time, a high-light.
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