A story is told about a pedestrian bridge in Serbia where, in the days before World War I, a school mistress and her army officer lover would meet and pledge their love and commitment to each other.
But the couple’s love story turned tragic when the officer found a new sweetheart and married her. Grief-stricken, the jilted woman died, and thereafter, young couples decided to change the narrative, by committing not to abandon each other.
From then on, they would go to the same bridge, kiss, write their names on a padlock and lock it to the bridge before tossing the keys into the lake.
Closer home, at the Qaribu Inn in Nairobi, a bridge stands to the left of a half-acre pond, adorned like a pergola walkway. Here, eight padlocks have been locked to the banister, most labelled with two names.
Just a week after its launch, eight couples had stood on the bridge to recommit themselves to each other, and so eight bunches of keys sit at the bottom of the pond. The eight include celebrity couples Terence Creative and Milly Chebby, and Kevin Bahati and Diana Marua.
In a video posted on YouTube by Milly about the night the two couples visited the bridge, Terence promised to forever love his better half while she vowed to always be there for him.
“For every couple who will come here to make a vow, we wish you the very best in your relationship,” said Terence.
Diana prayed that they stay together till death do them part while Bahati promised his wife the biggest wedding Kenya has ever seen.
Speaking about the bridge, George Njoroge, the hotel owner, explained that he realised that the concept has been adopted all over the world except Africa, so he wanted to take advantage of its novelty on these shores.
The bridge was built in December last year and launched in January.
“We do not intend to charge. We have a dam here, so you come with your partner, kiss, lock the padlock and throw away the key. The idea is to tell you that if you have to go and break this love, then you have to come back, swim to the bottom of the pond to retrieve your key and unlock the padlock,” he says laughing. “The pond is 10 metres deep.”
The hotel provides padlocks, but couples are free to bring their own. They can also engrave their names on them.
As lovers await February 14 to exchange cards, flowers or candy, Mr Njoroge urges them to create memorable experiences at the bridge. This, after all, will be the first Valentine’s Day to be celebrated on the bridge.
“We want people to love and to be happy. We are a boutique hotel, and we want people to come and create experiences. I believe that couples who come to this bridge are intentional and serious because if I really have to come and kiss and put the padlock on the bridge for everyone coming after us to see, then I really must mean business.”
“For a long time, the symbol of love has remained the ring. But we want people to come back here in the future and remind themselves that they sealed the padlock because of love.
Mr Njoroge revealed that there are plans to build more kissing bridges.
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