In Bruges

This post has nothing Collin Farrell's movie. I always devote significant time in thinking for an apt title for my posts, but this one came pretty easily. Apart from the fact that I actually went to Bruges, the article is likely to have more hits with this title.

So it all began with I getting a nice deal for the company, and to my delight, the project kick-off meeting was scheduled in Brussels. Thus, I got respite from the dusty plains of Middle East countries, and was totally looking forward to visit Europe... yeah.

The only problem was that the temperatures in the first week of November have traditionally always been in single digits (deg celsius). But thanks to global warming, even at 11 in the night, the temperature never went below 14 deg celsius.


The famous Belgian lace work

I went with my colleague, and we were determined to finish our meeting as soon as possible. We successfully concluded the meeting in 1.5 days, and secured 2.5 days for bhraman. Work wise, this was an excellent learning experience. The project consultants admitted that they were not in favour of working with Indian suppliers, as they have not heard of good experiences. But, they were quite happy (at least they said so) to see our preparation and clarity on the project. My 'french' also played a major role in getting really good terms with them. The unofficial minutes of meeting finally had the names of 6 brands of beer which one must taste in Brussels.


KWAK in the KWAK glass. They have different serving glasses for different brands of beer.

In Brussels, I experienced the rich European culture. It was so good. The climate itself had a very fresh feel to itself. My friend Srideep told me of US, "if you plan something in US, things will work, you will never have to worry about a plan B". I experienced something similar in Brussels.


Automium in background of a model structure in Mini-Europe

Even with my broken french, I could swiftly negotiate with people, get to stations, travel in buses / trams / metros, without getting lost. It was all so smooth. In Brussels, we saw the Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Grand Place, Mini-Europe, Automium, and Casino Viage. I tasted almost more than 10 brands of beer, and KWAK and BELLE-VUE stand out of the lot. The restaurants were all so warm, with excellent ambiance.

The last day, I was determined to go out of Brussels, on my own. I did not want a guided tour. I visited a local vegetable / cheese / meat / fish market in the morning, and then started off to Bruges. We reached there in about a couple of hours. No inconvenience at all. Bruges is known as the Venice of north. I have not seen Venice, but Bruges was impressive in it's own spirit. Not so big town, great restaurants, plenty of tourists, canals and boating... and yes musicians. In my four days in Bressels, I saw a violinist play mozart, a guitarist playing the nylon strings at the Grand Place, a group performing in a corner in Bruges, and a couple playing harp and guitar on the banks of canals in Bruges. I had never heard harp playing, but the sweetness of sound was magical.


Couple playing harp and guitar


The most outstanding thing to drink in case you have cold - Vin Chaud (Hot Wine)

For details, you can call me up, because I don't think I will ever be bored of telling in detail about this trip of mine to people. I am glad I had this opportunity, and look forward to a better and stronger European connection in the future... fingers crossed.