Kissing Frogs in Bruges

When my sister and I arrived at Hostel Lybeer in Bruges, Belgium they had free maps of the city. These colourful maps, geared at young travelers, have many interesting and often humorous tidbits of Bruges info. This free map is  one of several European city maps produced by Use It Europe, which focuses on local and budget conscious tips for young travellers with a humorous flare. Although my sister and I are not “young travellers” we did use this map both for navigation (we both have a pathetic sense of direction)  and to see much of what was listed.

Some things are not your typical “tourist” places, such at the Kwik-E Shop with its painted pictures of the beloved Simpson’s character Apu and Homer plus  family. Others, such as swans in the canal and brewery tours, are the typical tourist fare. Amongst the map’s list is “kissing the frog”. Aside The Burg square is a park area tha has a bronze statue. At the rear of this statue, on its base, is a small frog. The lore states that if you kiss the frog it will bring you luck. According to the Use It map it is the duty of all tourists to plant one on this frog. The lucky traveller who places the 100,000th kiss will transform the bronze amphibian into the prettiest prince(ss) and carry your luggage forever. Can’t hurt to try. Below is a link to the video of me kissing the frog who, in the end, did not transform into anything. Now I still have to lug that backpack everywhere. Oh well. It was worth a shot.

Video link of me kissing the frog

Here’s hoping I have good luck! PS – Listen to my sister reading the blurb form the map to learn the lore.