After roaming around the cobbled streets of the Markt, in Bruges, we rented bicycles to head to Damme, a tiny municipality of 11,000 people located six kilometres from Bruges.
The interesting bit happened right at the time we rented the bikes at the end of the Markt. After paying the rental charges and a deposit at the rental shop, we were guided into a alleyway where the bikes were parked. The attendant there was listening to some recent hot Bollywood numbers. We got curious. Neeti asked him in Hindi - क्या तुम भारत से हो? (Are you from India?)
The guy did not answer the question but said in heavy Pashtun accent - मेरा नाम शाहरुख खान है। (My name is Shahrukh Khan!)
We were flabbergasted...
We kind of judged that this guy certainly wasn't from India. He would have come in, into the European Union, as an (illegal?) migrant fleeing the atrocities in Afghanistan or Pakistan. And that would certainly have been an ordeal for him. But Bollywood seemed to be a distraction from his worries - imagine an Afghan migrant making a subsistence living in the EU, and enjoying Bollywood! This is yet another indicator of India's soft-power!
As we were cycling along the canal in Bruges, we were surprised to see a vintage cars pass by us...
Apparently there was a vintage car rally going on...
The cars from yesteryears caught our attention...
...as we stopped by on the pavement to enjoy the sight of these cars pass by...
On the outskirts of Bruges, people were having a gala time, sitting in cafes and talking...
We took the bicycle route along the canal that runs between Bruges and Damme. There is boat that runs in this canal between Bruges and Damme as well...
The weather was awesome and cool...
And there was an occasional duck in the canal to show us the way...
The route was very straightforward....
A straight 6 kilometre pathway to Damme...
A lovely villa on the way...
A place like this would be an ideal retirement home...
Man, I loved this place...
And in about 30 minutes we got into Damme...
In the 13th century, Damme was the port for Bruges, to which it was linked by the river Reie. This river was converted into this long, straight, treelined and picturesque canal, the Damse Vaart, which continues across the Dutch border to Sluis...
This red windmill is the landmark that tells you that you have arrived...
Clouds had taken over the sky and we were now fearing rain...
On to the centre of Damme we had to go...
Praying and hoping it won't rain...
Houses in Damme looked damn neat...
We relaxed a bit peering at the windmill...
Much of this region - Damme and Bruges (quite like the Netherlands) is quite low lying, enclosed by embankments or dikes - I was to discover that they call this feature polders...
We spent sometime sitting here...
...and reflecting, peering into the reflections!
And we played with "reflections" for a while...
And finally got back on the cycle track...
The boat heads towards Bruges...
Everyone has some place to head to...
Some destination... as vague or abstract it may be...
The Drinkmarket - it appears to be a local tavern...
Where do we head - Oost or Zuid?
In the Damme town square...
The Damme Town Hall...
Tempted to have a Belgian waffle...
So we head to Cafe de Katte...
The view from the Cafe...
Green tea with waffles and strawberries...
Damme is quite a quaint place...
Just as we exited the Cafe, it started pouring...
It was quite heavy and we had wait for half an hour...
And I wondered whether the Hollywood actor Jean-Claude Van Damme belongs to this place?
A horse drawn cart...
What a cool ride...
Rain rain go away...
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