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Christmas lights

Belgium

The foggy view of the town hall from my bedroom windowWith the huge amount of light emanating from the Grand Place Christmas decorations, and the constant requests for photos from those unable to come and visit themselves, I grabbed my aging Sony DSC-P52 and went out into the cold and fog to grab some pictures of this tackiness.

Christmas tree
This year, just the one Christmas tree dominates the square.
Apparently I just missed the light show.
Christmas tree
As can be expected, Electrabel is sponsoring the lights, which is not a surprise considering the intense architectural lighting (looks like Vari*Lite kit, but I can't be sure).
Christmas tree
Just before the show, the square darkens.
The Nativity scene
The Nativity scene on the square has real sheep!
Christmas tree
At the start of the light show, the square comes alive with moving lights and classical music.
Archetectural lighting
Along with the lights, prancing reindeer and spinning snowflakes move around the buildings surrounding the square
Archetectural lighting
The theme cools down to a rendition of Jingle Bells as the lighting changes from warm to cold.
Christmas tree with bubbles
Finally the Christmas tree is re-lit with a burst of white light, and bubbles appear from it, for some unknown reason.
I think the adults here like it more than the kids.
Winter Wonders entrance
The entrance to the bulk of the Plaisirs d'Hiver (Winter Wonders) Christmas Market, down Rue Paul Devaux.
Market
The Estonians are touting Tallinn to become the European Capital of Culture in 2011. This part of the market is just for Estonian stuff.
Carousel
This Merry-go-Round in front of gothic St. Catherine's Church is a little quirky, make of wood and metal, containing weird bugs and machines for children to ride on, with scary carnival music included. I like it! Unfortunately it was too dark to photograph well.
Market and Ferris wheel
The view down Marché au Poisson of the market with the traditional Ferris wheel at the end.
Saint Catherine's Church
Behind me is Saint Catherine's Church.
Ice skating
This year, ice skating has returned (presumably because they have fixed the leaking metro underneath), however the quality of the ice doesn't look too good.
Roasting chestnuts
In Australia, we don't really hear about roasting chestnuts outside of American films with Christmas music. Sure enough, they're actually pretty good, if they're cooked well.
Crêpe being made
I love a nice hot crêpe filled with hazelnut chocolate spread. Mmm!
The MONSTER!
The monster has made its triumphant return this year to swindle small children into begging their parents to fork over hard earned cash to go inside a giant inflatable.. thing..

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