In 2006, hubby and I went to Europe for Christmas. It was kind of strange not being home on Christmas day. In fact, our Christmas day consisted of driving from Luxembourg City to Esch-sur-Sure, then on to Leuven in Belgium, where we had Chinese food for supper :-)
We took a bunch of pictures, but a lot of them were at night and didn’t come out too well. Here are some of the better ones, starting with this super-huge ornament hanging from the ceiling of the airport in Zurich:
Santas hanging from window sills or crawling through windows or sticking out of windows were popular…
Christmas lights in the square in Bruges. This is where the Christmas market is—do you see the little wood huts?? There’s also a skating rink.
Here’s a much better picture from Flickr:
Lights on a street in Luxembourg City…
A shopping mall in Ghent…
Decorations in Damme, which is just outside of Bruges… this guy sang a Christmas song when you walked by him :-)
Festive doors…
I love the architecture in Bruges.
The city is over 700 years old, and a lot of the buildings date that far back, including the B&B we stayed at. Some simple and pretty decorations at the B&B…
Shop windows in Bruges… I LOVE these hanging balls!!
Simple but elegant lighting display with a Christmas tree…
More trees…
And I just love these colourful trees…
I HAD to buy one!! Well, actually, I started out buying a little bright pink one…
…then a friend convinced me to go back and buy a little bright green one too :-) I did that the next morning while hubby was still sleeping :-)
I love the itty-bitty balls, especially the pink disco ones :-)
So there’s a little taste of Christmas in Belgium & Luxembourg for you :-) Have you celebrated Christmas in another country or in an unusual way?? Or is there somewhere you’d like to go for Christmas?? Leave us a comment and tell us about it :-)
What gorgeous pictures! I love the santas climbing in and out of windows - too cute -- I want to do that in my own house next year! Doubt Matt would go for it though. And those little trees you came home with are so pretty! I hope we get to see them in your house this year!
ReplyDeleteWe've celebrated Christmas in Wales a couple of times. It's much quieter, and simpler there. But equally as festive and happy as at home. Because it's Matt's homeland.
I'm happy we're here this year - can't wait to head to Virginia next week!
OMG, are these colored trees adorable!! And thanks for throwing in that ceiling ornament at the Zurich airport..., I just love when I see something posted from my hometown..., and I must assume that you did that just for me!! Hi,hi.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are wonderful. Starting to feel the Christmas spirit now :)
ReplyDeleteI especially love the shop windows, gee wonder why? My favorite has to be the shop with all the coloured trees. I've never seen anything like them. You are so lucky to have not one but two.
Merry Christmas.
Luxenburg was one of my very favorite cities in Europe. So luck you to spend it there at Christmas time! No purple tree?
ReplyDeleteI just posted photos of the tile in my kitchen that's just like yours. I swear it is!
Wow, thank you for taking us along so to speak. Love the Santas, to cute and amazing architecture, enjoyed the show!
ReplyDeleteLinda
Stunning pics, I'd love to spend another Christmas in Europe, especially Luxemburg
ReplyDeleteSarah
What wonderful pictures you have of your trip.
ReplyDeleteThe one and only time I have left Canadian soil,Christmas 1991, my now husband,flew me over to Lahr, Germany where he was posted, for three weeks. This was before the days of digital and all I had was a crap Black's plastic camera.
We actually spent Christmas driving to Amsterdam with another couple through Berlin (from East to West) We spent Christmas Eve at the HardRock Cafe and Christmas morning we took a Canal boat tour.
On the drive back we stopped by the Canadian war cemetary at Nijmegen, where our friends great uncle was buried, and drove over the "bridge too far"
Overall some great memories, but its true that saying that youth is wasted on the young LOL
My 21 yr old eyes were not open enough to see all I wish I had seen, looking back.
And damn, I wish I had taken better pictures!
Lovely to see the great pics of your Belgian Christmas!
I would love to spend Christmas here, it is gorgeous!!!
ReplyDeleteLove those miniature Christmas Trees. Very Avant Garde and very unique!
ReplyDeleteRe the mantel with the Xmas Wreath.....ah....inspiration. Dressed mine this year with a selection of Reindeer, trees, candles and sheet-moss, however disappointed in the latter as was too flat so to speak. After seeing this picture, trimmed some glitterd branches and now have the look I was striving for. THANKS Kell!
WISHING YOU AND BRIAN A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON and A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Hugs -Brenda-
I really enjoyed this post, Kelly!!!
ReplyDeleteVictoria
I always love to see - Christmas decorations from other parts of the world. Great images! and very inspirational moments.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that was wonderful. Nothing like Christmas paired with wonderful old architecture. :) Also, the Santas in the windows are a kick!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful holiday! :)
The colorful trees are fun. I got some mini mirrored disco balls as well for my tree, it's great how they reflect light. I would love to find some colored one!
ReplyDeleteFABULOUS place... merci for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas.. ENJOY!
Fifi
So fun to see how other cultures decorate for Christmas!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful holiday!
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Oh my what wonderful pics! Love the ones of the buildings with the lights. Actually they are all fabulous. We were in Luxembourg many yrs ago, but would love to go back. Little slow reading blogs lately, but hope you all had a very nice Christmas!
ReplyDeleteHere's to a GREAT 2010!
marcie
hey these are wonderful pictures, very candid. Good insight into Christmas in Europe :)
ReplyDeleteHi! I found you looking for "hanging santas from windows europe" ha! What are the chances? I live in Luxembourg and am going to write a post on my blog about the popularity of the hanging santas around here. Would it be okay if I used one of your hanging santa photos (with a link to you, of course?)
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed your trip here - Luxembourg is a beautiful little country! Where did you see those colorful xmas trees? I've never seen anything like that before.