True, we are attached to Gent but, it was time to leave the city walls and explore Flanders a little more in-depth. The original plan was to rent bikes in Gent and ride to Brugge. That plan fell through as we were persuaded by bike shops that riding a city bike between the two towns wasn't advisable. We did the next best thing and took a train and did short day trips from Brugge.
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| Brugge was scenic and touristy inside the city walls, a definite day trip. |
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| The real magic was renting bikes and riding along the canals. I picked up a couple of maps at the local book shops. The trails were well numbered and easy to navigate. If you are thinking of riding in Belgium visit fietsroute.org |
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| The town of Damme lies about 5 km northeast of Brugge. It must be a law that for every 10,000 residents a brewery is built. |
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| Just peddling along. |
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| One of the villages we rode through. |
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| Our bike rental places was located in a youth hostel where we signed up for a free walking tour of Brugge hosted by a foul mouth wanna-be comedian. We took in the major sights in under three hours. |
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| Sint-Salvators Cathedral |
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| Market Square |
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| Now here is something of importance, De Garre van Kornee is a beer cafe tucked away in an alley. The house beer is almost 12% abv and the sign states that you will only be served three. Get that and a plate of cheese. |
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| La Corne is a Belgium pale ale served in this special glass. |
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| Cholo art Belgium style. Smile now, cry later. |
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| We were warned not to ride to Knokke-Heist situated on the North Sea. We should have rode over to Sluis, Holland. |
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| Knokke-Heist is condo hell. |
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| Cabins and sun worshippers along the beach, only that the sea is several hundred meters away. It looked depressing in the sun, I can only imagine the winters. |
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| Biking through farms. |
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| You wanna run through it! |
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| Our new house. |
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| All that riding makes a person thirsty. |
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| Moo. |
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| We were looking for a farm on one of our rides and saw this sign. Ana didn't want to go to it because she thought it said beware. Bewaaraardappelen means potatoes. |
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| Donkeys resting home. |
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| A little more Brugge |
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| An excellent place to drop off postcards. |
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| Kamarama is an interesting art project, you can learn more by visiting the artist's website. http://www.bruggeplus.be/en/kamarama |
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| If you drink a Kwak quickly be prepared to have it all over your face and clothes. We sat at the community table at De Garre van Kornee and chatted with 3 locals all over the age of 75, they gave me tips on what to taste and claimed that Belgium beer keeps you looking and feeling young. Words to live by. |
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| Ezelpoort |
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| An, our airbnb host took us out for a beverage at a local place near her flat. |
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| An is a journalist covering various conflicts in the Middle East. She is currently in Syria. |
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