Bruges: Revel in unashamed perfection, and free chocolate if you’re lucky

I was in Bruges (or Brugges) only for a short time – as an excursion from Brussels – but it has a place as one of my favourite cities, despite the persistent rain. I had been to this UNESCO World Heritage Site before – as a 12 year old on a trip round Europe with my school. However, its beauty and character seemed to have escaped me then. To be honest, as pre-teens, we tended to do the same in each city and it didn’t really involve admiring the canals and the houses alongside them. It was about more heading to the first McDonalds and finding shops that sold ‘The Simpsons’ related paraphernalia – hardly the cultural exposé that I’m sure was intended.

In any case, this time was different. From as soon as I stepped off the train and headed towards the eponymous Market Square (Grote Markt), everything about this ‘Venice of the North’ (yes another one) sent a shiver of delight through me. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about Bruges that makes it so appealing. And perhaps that is it. Whilst it is widely regarded as one of the highlights of Belgium, it doesn’t shout about it, and it is this unassuming, private character that perfects the ambiance created by the architecture and landscape. Even the rain couldn’t diminish my smile. Autumn was beginning to take hold, and the damp reds and golds drifting down from the trees into the canals complimented the situation to a tee. 

Like Venice, Bruges and its canals are marketed as a romantic place to be. This is supplemented by scores of swans, which seem to have been placed to complete the scene of overhanging willow trees, stone bridges, and the individually pointed roofs of the waterside dwellings. I breakfasted with the regulars at a café that is clearly marketed at old ladies, not that there’s anything wrong with that – old ladies appreciate good baking, and continued to explore the city. It was then that I began to wonder whether Bruges was too perfect. Added to the picture I described above came a dozen or so windmills, the Benguine convent of bell-ringing nuns, and a gothically spectacular second floor chapel that allegedly holds the blood of Christ amongst its relics. It is also in the details: the park benches are held up by dragons rather than a simple plank of wood and a charming set of net curtains embroidered with Burgeon swans in someone’s window just made my smile even bigger. What more could you ask for in a city: beauty, romance, legend, water and net curtains.

But the best is still to come. Perhaps she sensed my tight budget restraints, but as I went to buy a single chocolate, the lovely Godiva lady not only refused payment, but also handed over some other to try. Now, that is perfection.

It was then, exhausted of superlatives and a face covered in self-satisfying Belgian chocolate that I boarded the train back to Brussels. It is here, at the end of this post, that I apologise if I have made some people vomit with these 500 words of brazen optimism and loveliness. For me, Bruges, is just one of the places that calls for unashamed veneration – and why not. A return will, hopefully, surely occur - let's just hope it wasn't a one-time-wonder.