Brussles Christmas Market

I love Christmas. And not just kinda love it, but really love it. The precious time with family, the smell of pine throughout the house, streets lined with festive lights; I cherish every minute of it. So, when Tim told me that we should attend one of the largest Christmas Makets in Europe, I couldn't have been any more excited. We were to go to Brussels and experience a true European kickoff to Christmas.

When we arrived in Brussles, Christmas was everywhere. The alleyways had decoratice snowflackes hanging above our heads. The streets were crowded with people in anticipation for the first day of the Christmas Market. The market itself covered a great deal of the center of town with several of the streets blocked off. As we walked closer to the epicenter of the Winter wonderland, the smell of gluhwein filled the air. This was my kind of market.

Gluhwein is a beautifully spiced hot mulled wine that warms your body from the inside out. It's perfection on a cold day. So naturally, we started the afternoon with two cups of hot mulled wine. We drank our gluhwein as we explored the surrounding festive streets, stopping at the traditional wooden chalets to check out the trinkets and food.

This nougat was the softest nougat I have ever had. It was nutty with the right balance of sweetness. We bought a slice and nibbled our way through it during the next few days. There were several firepits with teepee like salmon slabs being cooked. The salmon was smoked til flaked perfection and paired with a caper remoulade. The fresh elk sausage was paired with a lingonberry sauce in a bun. Tim and I went through our share of these.

With gluhwein and food in our tummies, we wandered in search of the Christmas tree. Naturally with my love for Christmas, I have an obsession with Chritmas trees. It combines my love for Chritmas and the pine trees of the mountains.

Before we even got to Brussels, I watched the live stream video of the tree being put together and decorated for the market. I knew it would be huge even before I saw it, but I had no idea how magical it would feel seeing it person. As we turned the corner and walked into the center square, my jaw dropped. The tree was stunning. In those first couple moments of looking at it I couldn't speak, I simply squeeled in excitment with the largest smile on my face.

Tim and I shared a day to ourselves at the market before my parents met us from the Netherlands. The four of us had the best of time together! We explored the entire market, drank too much gluhwein and festive Christmas beer that turned out to be 12% abv, and ate all the festive treats. We all felt as though we were little kids running through the streets in aww of all the twinkly lights. I loved sharing this moment with them. I particulary loved seeing their faces when they saw the Christmas tree for the first time. They had the same giddy child-like smile on their faces. It's moments like these that I'll remember for a lifetime.