Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year.  I love the lights and decorations, and of course all of the delicious food. I also enjoy the craft fairs that pop up around the city. While Calgary has its charm around Christmas, I absolutely love Europe at Christmas. They really do Christmas well over there. Typically the decorations and Christmas markets start popping up around mid-November and last until early January. When I lived in Copenhagen, one of the best days was when Carlsberg released its Christmas beer. The Carlsberg trucks would drive around the city handing out free cans of that year’s batch. I also love the mulled wine served throughout Europe, each area has its own special brew.

I have spent New Years Eve in England twice before, once in Bristol, once in London, and will be doing so again this year. There are events all over the city of course and the fireworks over the Thames at midnight are amazing.

Below are some pictures I’ve taken in Europe over the years during the holiday season. First is pictures from London.

 

This picture is in Bath.

I spent a day in Windsor in early January.

These pictures are from Copenhagen on Stroget. At the end of the street they have a skating rink set up in the winter and a Christmas market. Sadly my pictures of the rink didn’t show up very well.

Starting in November, Tivoli in Copenhagen is completely decorated for Christmas and it has Christmas markets set up throughout. There are also areas to have desserts and glog, the mulled wine with cinnamon and raisins traditionally served in the winter in Scandinavia.

I was also in Amsterdam in late November. Such a lovely city.