Bruges, Belgium

In which I seek out Michelangelo's Madonna, cry at the tomb of Mary of Bruges, and wonder how swans can not be somebody's thing, anyway?

It’s a fairytale town, isn’t it? How’s a fairytale town not somebody’s thing? How can all those canals and bridges and cobbled streets and those churches, all that beautiful fairytale stuff, how can that not be somebody’s thing? Is the swans still there? How can swans not be somebody’s thing, eh?

-In Bruges

{Bruges, Belgium}

Do you remember the movie In Bruges from a few years back? (Ok, I checked and it’s about 17 years back. Where does the time go, anyway?) In it, two hitmen, Ray and Ken, are sent to Bruges by their boss Harry for a few weeks after a hit gone wrong. Ray has been tasked with the murder of a priest, and he accidentally kills a young boy in the process. It’s an unacceptable mistake, and Harry tells Ray and Ken that he’s sending them to Bruges for a while - to lay low and to enjoy some sightseeing in the meantime.

Ken loves Bruges, but Ray, it turns out, is bored out of his skull. Soon enough, boss Harry tells Ken that he’s actually in Bruges to kill Ray as punishment for his mistake - and that he’s only sent them to the city so that Ray can have a beautiful experience before he dies. To which Ken responds that it’s a nice thought but, unfortunately, Bruges isn’t really Ray’s thing. Outraged Harry, played by Ralph Fiennes, responds:

“It’s a fairytale town, isn’t it? How’s a fairytale town not somebody’s thing? How can all those canals and bridges and cobbled streets and those churches, all that beautiful fairytale stuff, how can that not be somebody’s thing?

Is the swans still there? How can swans not be somebody’s thing, eh?”¹