Sparkly Winter nights

One of the ways to get into the ultimate Christmas spirit is undoubtedly visiting a good old Christmas market. I went to one in Leiden in the late afternoon after a serious shopping session. The market is held for 13 days in December. Besides all the Christmas stalls, plenty of food/drink options & live performances, it’s possible to book a canal tour and even test your ice-staking skills. It’s situated in the city centre at the Nieuwe Rijn, and the most jaw-dropping part: it’s floating! Yes you heard it right, they actually managed to install both the ice rink and the Christmas market in the canal. Pretty awesome, right? It’s the first floating market in Holland, and no worries, you won’t feel any movements 😉

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world

and behold, everything is

softer and more beautiful…”

When entering the market around 4 pm, I felt like I’d arrived just in time. The sun began to set and all the lights slowly became more vivid and sparkly. Standing on the Koornbrug overlooking the crowds and sea of lights was absolutely a magical experience. As you can probably imagine, my photography-loving heart started to beat a lot faster…