Counting daisies

Sunshine was spotlighting our little table when we entered our B&B's breakfast room on Wednesday morning.

Homemade apple and rhubarb juice kick-started a breakfast featuring smooth yogurt and fruit salad, followed by a choice of breads, smoked salmon, and a selection of  local cheeses and meats.

Those with a sweet tooth can sample mini croissants, chocolate buns or raisin rolls. And then there are Veronique's delectable homemade jams, which are also for sale. I'm not much of a jam girl, but Jos bought no less than four different flavours to take home.

After indulging in all these delicious breakfast delicacies, washed down by copious cups of coffee, it was time to depart for our destination of the day.

The sun was out in full force so it was a perfect day for a walk. 

Less than half an hour's drive away, and to the north-east of Bruges, lies a charming little town called Damme.

It is linked directly to Bruges by a perfectly straight canal, the Damse Vaart (Damme Canal), which is one of the most enchanting pieces of nature in Belgium. The canal is lined with magnificent poplars, some of which are over 100 years old, their wind-twisted trunks adding greatly to the charm of the setting.

We left our car in one of the car parks on the edge of the town, on the south side of the canal, where we were instantly blown away by the magical landscape we were faced with. I did a little bit of a double take here ...

We were almost literally blown away too, as a strong, gusty wind was rustling through the trees, almost making off with Jos's straw trilby and depositing it in the canal, so that he swiftly exchanged it for a flat cap.

On the opposite side of the canal, a whitewashed cottage and a majestic windmill could be glimpsed through the reeds.

The walk I'd downloaded took us on a quiet tree-lined path along the 17th Century town ramparts and  moat, the whispering leaves creating a soothing soundtrack. 

We took our time taking in the sights and sounds of nature, encountering a fair amount of wildlife along the way: a cormorant drying its wings after a bout of fishing, a moorhen and her hungry chicks in an island nest of reeds and twigs, a storks nest high up on a pole ... 

Wait ... storks nest? Jos spotted this when a view to the town's church opened up between the trees. After rapturously staring at it, the two birds still in the same position as when we first laid eyes on them, we decided they weren't real. They couldn't be, could they? 

We continued our walk, glancing backwards a couple of times, when Jos suddenly noticed one of the birds was now sitting down in the nest! So, they were real after all!

The church, the tower of which had already revealed itself through the trees, is the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady), and the town's absolute must-see. 

The church, with its characteristic flat tower, was built in 1225 in the so-called Scheldt Gothic style, which is Romanesque with Gothic elements. During the 14th Century, the church was further expanded and embellished, the golden age of Damme reflected in the scale of the church ,which gradually began to take on the air of a cathedral. Still, the decline had already begun before the last expansion works were completed.

The three-faced sculpture on the bottom left is in a prominent place in the church's courtyard. It is called View of Light and is the work of the Belgian sculptor Charles Delporte (1928–2012).

The inside of the church is equally impressive. Above the nave pillars, rare wooden statues of apostles have survived the 16th Century Iconoclasm, but being so high up, they were hard to photograph satisfactorily, so I snapped some bits and pieces which appealed to me instead.

I was rather taken by the religious tableaux under glass, with the houseplant behind it, which would have been quite at home at Dove Cottage. Obviously, I would have used a more imaginative pot!

Proceeding our way into the town, which is little more than a village with a single main street and square, it was Jos again who spotted this stork nesting upon the chimney of St-Johns Hospital, one of Damme's oldest buildings, founded in 1249.

A few decades ago, the stork  as a breeding bird was almost extinct around these parts. An initiative in the Zwin nature reserve (a silted up tidal area further along on the coast) to re-introduce them proved to be successful, so much so that each Spring these birds can be admired in Damme.

Storks seem to feel quite at home here. They find suitable food in the many meadows. While you often see storks foraging on newly mown grassland in Damme, they are not averse to knocking on people’s doors and begging for food either!

After lunch, we strolled through the town, abandoning our original itinerary, and making up our own, aided by a town trail picked up at the tourist information office.

Damme's rich and turbulent history stretches back to the 12th Century when, after a storm surge which ravaged the North Sea coast in 1134, the channel that linked Bruges to the sea silted up, creating a tidal creek, later to be known as the Zwin. The dykes on the right and left banks of the Zwin were connected, creating a dam, and a fishing village called "Ten Damme" was established.

Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders, realized the maritime advantages of this little port and in 1180 granted city rights to Damme. Meanwhile, a canal was dug from Bruges to Damme, and the town quickly turned into a dynamic transhipment port.

The town hall remains as a token to the earlier economic strength of Damme. Built in 1464-68, it is an excellent example of late Gothic architecture.

The stone figures on the façade represent Philip of Alsace, Johanna and Margaret of Constantinople, Philip of Thiette, Charles the Bold and Margaret of York.

Fronting the town hall is a statue of the 13th-Century Flemish poet Jacob Van Maerlant, who lived in the town.

While I was climbing the town hall steps for a better view of the intricate statues and gargoyles, Jos rested his feet sitting on a circular stone bench in the square.

I was wearing one of my floral Diolens, in a favourite colour combo of navy, green and white. The weather remained indecisive all day, with the sun regularly playing hide and seek, and I kept my denim jacket on for most of the day. This time, for a change, I pinned an orange felted flower to it.

The town trail then directed us across the canal, where we followed a country lane towards a small nature reserve, called the Schaapskooi (Sheep's Pen), where the town ramparts have been partly reconstructed. Along the footpath through the reserve, you can learn about Damme's military history as well as archaeological research, while enjoying the precious nature around it.

The grassland, where a small herd of donkeys peacefully grazed, was a veritable carpet of daisies.

These were such a joy to behold that I couldn't help but sit down among them. I only have to look at this photo and feel totally relaxed. I'll be using this as my screensaver at work!

Then I even went one step further and ... aah!  Meanwhile, I could feel those donkeys' eyes on me.

After our circuit of the reserve, we retraced our steps to where we'd crossed the canal, but continued onwards instead of recrossing it.

Accompanied by a darkening sky, we made our way toward that mill we'd seen at the start of our walk.

This is the Schellemolen (molen is the Flemish word for mill), built in 1867 on the foundations of an old wooden mill. 

There is no ordinary wind vane on top of the mill: a mermaid - no less - indicates the wind direction here! She even has a name, Cassandra, and legend has it that she drowned in a well in a nearby village.

Talking of legends, Damme is the setting of the legendary 14th Century prankster, Tijl Uilenspiegel, protagonist of the eponymous book by author Charles De Coster, and published in 1867.

This group of sculptures, which we encountered on our way back to the car, was erected in 1979 to celebrate the first centenary of the death of Tijl Uilenspiegel's literary father.

If you look closely, you can see a droplet of water hanging from the donkey's chin. After we visited the mill, we were just in time to dive into a tearoom, before the sluices of heaven were opened.

But never mind, we indulged in a cup of coffee with a bunny cake while it lasted.

Linking my outfit to Nancy's Fancy Friday!