A Belgium Headache, Damme It!!!

Thurs, 5/28
Well, those strong Belgium beers get to you after awhile... Nothing like a long bike ride to clear the head. We rented bikes from a small shop in the southern part of town and set off towards the town of Damme, 4 miles away. We circled the northern part of town along the path I ran yesterday and then headed northeast towards Damme. Most of the trip was along tree-lined canals through farmlands -- quite scenic! Got some good video of some sheep blaa'ing...they didn't seem to be happy that I was filming them. We ended up going a mile or two past Damme and then headed back, stopping into town for a waffle lunch and coffees. The skies were cloudy all day, but luckily we never got a drop of rain.

We rode back along the western section of Bruges--and I figured out where I went wrong the day before. So at least now I know, in case I ever go back. We dropped off the bikes around 2:30-3:00 and headed towards the de Halve Moon brewery--the only active brewery that still exists in the city of Bruges. They brew Bruge Zot beer, pretty tasty! The tour was light-spirited--their "museums" contained relics from the days when they churned out larger volumes. I guess Belgiums used to be really short, because all of their doorways were 5 feet tall at the most (do the conversion to metric if you really want to be European) and their staircases were ridiculously steep and narrow. The best part of the tour might have been the view from the rooftop! You could see most of the town from there.

After the brewery tour, we decided it was time to do some serious laundry. At that point I had worn all but one article of clothing. After a little searching, we found a laundromat, and with the help of a local, figured out how to use the Damme things. (see, I can say that now and not have it be profane) Two hours (and a large fry) later, we once again had clean clothes! After ditching the laundry, we went back and ate at the same restaurant as the first night--most places stopped serving at 10, and it was 945 so we couldn't afford to search around. After dinner we just crashed...to end another long day and prepare for the trek to Germany.