Christmas lights

With 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.

This year, just the one Christmas tree dominates the square.
Apparently I just missed the light show.

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).

Just before the show, the square darkens.

The Nativity scene on the square has real sheep!

At the start of the light show, the square comes alive with moving lights and classical music.

Along with the lights, prancing reindeer and spinning snowflakes move around the buildings surrounding the square

The theme cools down to a rendition of Jingle Bells as the lighting changes from warm to cold.

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.

The entrance to the bulk of the Plaisirs d'Hiver (Winter Wonders) Christmas Market, down Rue Paul Devaux.

The Estonians are touting Tallinn to become the European Capital of Culture in 2011. This part of the market is just for Estonian stuff.

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.

The view down Marché au Poisson of the market with the traditional Ferris wheel at the end.

Behind me is Saint Catherine's Church.

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.

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.

I love a nice hot crêpe filled with hazelnut chocolate spread. Mmm!

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..