Bruges: Enjoy the Damme scenery

France turned into Belgium and the hot clear weather turned into rain. 

We took a short detour from our route to Bruges to catch a glimpse of Veurne and its medieval square. Some sort of festival was taking place, covering the cobblestones with food trucks and bright umbrellas to shield the rain that threatened to dampen spirits. As the posters were in Flemmish, we weren't sure what the festival was about, but we felt a sense of Belgian pride pressing us from all sides as cyclists sped past and church bells sounded the hour. 

Bruges

I wanted to watch the film 'In Bruges' once more before visiting so I could quote some choice scenes. Instead, Yannick and Fabienne had to endure ramblings about alcoves as we browsed the sights. The most iconic was the thirteenth century belfry, looking magnificent in the evening light. 

Dinner comprised of a meat and cheese platter alongside a sundried tomato and feta salad. While Yannick and I have no taste for beer, Fabienne tried a Bruges special: Zot - featuring a grinning jester with minuscule pupils. The wijnbar (or winebar) was cosy and we were lucky enough to enjoy an evening of live music, the tune flowing down from the mezzanine floor above. 

The many canalways were calm and and gave off an air of antiquity. Though all the touristy horse and carriage rides kind of spoilt it, you did get a feeling you were in an ancient city. 

This happy dog was living it up dozing in the sun a few meters above the canal. A boatful of tourists also spotted him as they drifted past and all turned to take his photo. Perhaps he's accustomed to being in the limelight, as he glanced their way and then promptly resumed soaking up the rays. 

I have limited patience for art galleries, but this one stood out for the historic significance. It featured an array of Flemish Primitives, all of which were either gruesome or merely unsettling. This famous artwork depicts a man having his skin removed. Another illustrated a tragic scene in which bodies lay decapitatied, and those who are praying over them are also about to be hacked to pieces. Lovely. 

A point of difference was this realistic portrayal of Archimedes. Look at how soft his beard looks! 

Many buildings in Bruges towered over the streets, and I admit I didn't know what most of them were. I enjoyed this one for the fearsome lion statue at the doors. 

The architectural style had changed significantly even though we were less than sixty five kilometres from the French border. I thought that the stepped brickwork on top of buildings was to save the annoyance of cutting bricks to conform to the roof shape, but it seems that they did it that way on purpose. The people also seemed a bit friendlier than over the border (though I suppose the French are purported to be an arrogant bunch especially to foreigners, so perhaps the Belgians were a normal level of nice comparatively). As well as touring, we had an epic picnic in the park comprising of charcuterie nibbles, fresh bread, ripe peaches, yoghurt and chocolate. 

The streets were rife with chocolate shops, often selling novel shapes to stand out. These bolts and pliers were novel. After rubbernecking along (the window displays were built to turn heads), we completed some boring chores at the laundrette and then ventured deeper into Belgium. 

Damme

We also laid out a (slightly less epic but still sufficiently chocolatey) picnic in the nearby town of Damme, with one main road and a few long canals sandwiched by poplars. The still water reflected the trees beautifully.