Travel Note #2: Bruges is a fucking fairytale

I remember way back in 2011, I was sitting in my dimly lit hostel room watching this great movie called In Bruges, where the actor says “… I’ve got to quite like Bruges, now. It’s like a fucking fairytale or something.” I chuckled at the thought and for the briefest of moments wondered if I would every get to see the place.

Fast forward to 2015, I am in Europe and one morning I find myself on a bus to Bruges. And the minute I step out, it all comes rushing in. The place really is a fairytale land. For a minute, if you just crop out all the cars and bikes on the street, boom! you can expect to meet a tall wizard right around the block.

The cobbled street, the towering buildings, the looming bridges and the creeping canals all add to this wonderful charm. It is really difficult not to admire every pub you pass, every shop with a display and every elegant duck swimming by.

Of all the things I experienced, the one that stands out the most would be the chocolate. I had heard many praises of Belgian chocolate, but while walking around the town I stumbled across a shop that proudly boasted in a board outside to serve the best hot-chocolate in the world. I put it to the test. Walked in. Put down the money. Ordered a glass of their finest. Within a minute the old lady behind the counter came back with a smile and a small paper cup.

I took the first sip, and it was only then did I truly understand the meaning of the Dutch idiom “Alsof er een engeltje over je tong piest” which translates to As if an angel is pissing on your tongue. It was a perfectly thick concoction of the smoothest chocolate that engulfed your tongue and clung to it like long lost lovers. I still feel it amidst the valleys of my mouth at times and find myself waking up in the middle of the night dreaming of that magic potion of that fantasy land.

As a new addition to my travel stories, I am trying to make a One-Minute Movies of the places I visit. Here’s the first one about Bruges, which albeit a little short, tries to cover the best of the experiences. Let me know what you think of it.

Karthik 
March 2016