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Nov 28 2009

A cold December

Posted by: Lydia in Brussels, tags: , , , ,

In Australia, December means the beginning of the long Summer holidays. It means coast trips, and barbecues, and ice-cream picnics. I must slip on a hat and slop on some sunscreen to avoid becoming burnt under the harsh sun. Mosquitoes haunt me as I try to sleep in the sweltering heat.

In Belgium, December is like stepping onto a movie set. Tonight we visited the Brussels Winter Wonder festival (plaisirs d’hiver / winter pret) with Laura and Ben. It was magical. It is still hard to comprehend that so many exotic experiences are now so close to home. The cathedral, town hall, opera house, and other majestic builders were lit up by pastel lights. Red and blue fairy lights were strung through the trees. Carols drifted over the crowd. There was an ice-skating rink where couples skated hand-in-hand through a tall tree, behind a giant Ferris wheel. Children rode in carousels full of grotesque and fascinating creatures out of the world of Tim Burton.

We warmed ourselves with hot chocolate, mulled wine, nutella crepes and frites. A long boulevard of tiny wooden houses offered us a range of hand-crafted goods for the winter season. Hats, scarves, chocolates, biscuits, wooden toys, and candles were all on display. I am starting to understand the strange joys of the European holiday season.


Photo by Kmeron

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This entry was posted on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 8:56 pm and is filed under Brussels.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “A cold December”
  1. Ellie says: November 28th, 2009 at 11:19 pm

    So funny that you find this ‘exotic’ – i’m just jealous of the barbecues and trips to the beach !!!!!!
    PS Cologne Xmas market will be much bigger, better and more authentic. :-)

  2. Cedric says: November 29th, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    The best christmas market of all, in my opinion is Vienna. Allthough Nurenberg is probably the most famous one and Heidelberg, where I used to live is great as well.
    Brussels and Bruges are usually amongst the better ones in Belgium, avoid the Leuven one like the plague, it’s overcrowded and there isn’t even an ice skating rink :-)

    ps. oh And I’ve been to both Brussels and Cologne and although it’s very nice, especially around the Dom, I prefer Brussels :-p but to each his own

  3. kmeron says: November 30th, 2009 at 1:43 am

    heya :)
    just a quick thanks for actually crediting me, you wouldn’t believe how often people dunnot care at all hehe :) this was “plaisir d’hiver” xmas market last year in brussels, and this same xmas market just opened friday i think, got to got there to take some new snaps hehe :) anyway, just thanks :)