Brugge and Out to Damme

The Salvator provided a comfortable stay and coming down to breakfast meant that there was a good meal to start the day awaiting us. Over breakfast we had some decisions to make since we did not actually have a plan of action for the day in place to this point, and we figured we should have some idea of what we intended to do with such a beautiful and sunny day. Steph and I had a good time biking in Koblenz, so we figured that maybe we should try a bike tour, the Pink Bear Bike Tour. The choice was based on the description identifying that it wasn't just of Brugge, but it also took you up along the canal further toward the coast to the town of Damme. A ride out into the country a few miles sounded just in line with what we wanted to do. It also had a good time frame on it, 3.5 hours, so it would leave us with some time in the afternoon.

The bike tour turned out great and we managed to fit in some of the sights on the north end of town before going further up the road to Damme. It was good getting out the hustle and bustle of the city itself and out into a more serene area, where the bikes are the most common mode of transportation seen since the routes really cater to bike traffic. The beauty of pedaling along the canal is in evidence in the pictures we have, including this one.

Our first stop out of town along the route was at an 1800s windmill, evidenced by the fact that only the top turret with the sails had to be moved rather than the whole mill itself.

That is our lovely group, two from New Zealand, two from England, two from Texas, one from Chicago, and the two of us. As we pedaled the last little bit into Damme we found that when the estuary dried up and left Brugge a greater distance from the sea, the shipping port moved up to where there was still water, Damme. Steph took the time to pose as we crossed the bridge into Damme.

Now Damme is back to being a very small, sleepy community because the estuary continued to dry up, leaving even it without direct access to the sea. We stopped in town to get a quick look and then a bit of a nosh, it was mostly about waffles and beer before heading back into Brugge. We stopped at the windmills on the north east side of town, which were 18th century windmills because they were all wood structures that had to completely rotate to find the wind.

We made it back right about 2pm, leaving us with plenty of time to walk about a bit more, especially going down to see the swans and Minnewater. We spent time walking around the green spaces on the  edges of the old town, feeling in no rush to get anywhere specific. The truth of the matter is that we wandered aimlessly taking in our surroundings and avoiding the rush from all of the other tourists for the canal boat tours, the walking tours, the bus tours, and the tour of the available tours. The sun and warmth were so very welcome and we took every opportunity to enjoy having them as constant companions at this point. It just turned out that all the advanced weather predictions were that it would be cool and damp or rainy so we kept our packing conservative and did not add in shorts, which we were now thinking would be a welcome addition to our baggage. By the same token we didn't have much interest in a shopping interlude in order to rectify the situation either, everything we looked at just reinforced the reasons why you see so many overseas travelers in the U.S. wanting to purchase clothes when they visit.

Our feet took us around the Burg and back around again to the front of the Belfort. The way the day was progressing led to the putting off of climbing the Belfort tower to another day, in fact we could make our way to Bruxelles at any point on Friday that we wanted since there were at least two trains each hour. It then just became a matter of how soon we would leave the appealing city of Brugge since the hotel had a noon check out and would hold a bag for the rest of the day if we chose. It was a discussion we waited upon, figuring dinner would give us a good chance to figure out what tomorrow would have in store. 

As the Salvator Hotel was immediately to the west side of St. Salvator's cathedral we had the good fortune to enter the oldest parish church in Bruges. The original sections date back to at least 1200. It is amazing not only the condition but also the understated adornment of the interior as well as the architectural exterior. Such factors led to a view of the beauty in the simplicity of form and function and just how much work it took to make it all come together.

After freshening up at the hotel we wandered over to the 'Zand for dinner. There is a long row of restaurants there and the choice was really a matter of whether we liked the prices of their offerings. They basically offered all of the same options, it was more about ambience and price. Needless to say, we were eating al fresco in the late day sun of post 7pm long days, and we ended up at a typical, run of the mill restaurant, but the special on offer was mussels, which is what we were both after. They were prepared au naturale, steamed and, as always, served with fries. They were satisfying, but not good enough to be the final word on that dish during this trip.

We wandered back to the hotel and had drinks at the bar before going back to our room, which actually had a nice outdoor patio. It was a quirky little space and only two rooms had access to patio space, but in the failing light of the evening it was nice and cool and felt good to spend even more time outdoors. It was here we talked of climbing the Belfort in the morning and catching a train to Brussels at about noon time so that we would have a good chance to wander there. We also had a nice opportunity to pose with local chocolates and beer.