A TWO WEEK VISIT TO BRUSSELS AT CHRISTMAS
MY CHRISTMAS 2009 IN BRUSSELS [NEW YEARS DAY WAS MY 60th BIRTHDAY]
In 2009, I decided to visit Brussels for two weeks over the Christmas holiday. As I was planning to devote at least six full days to photographing the city, I was very disappointed to find myself housebound for much of the time due to snow. When I tried to return to Dublin on Wednesday (6th January), my flight was cancelled due to snow at Dublin airport, and I did not arrive home until 2 AM on Friday (8th January). My photography was also constrained for another three days because of adverse weather conditions.
But looking back, there is something profoundly remarkable about how Brussels handles a winter crisis.
A City That Refuses to Freeze
When the heavy snow descended, the sub-zero temperatures gripped the city in a vice. For a street photographer relying on a handheld workflow, the conditions became an immediate battle against physics. The biting cold did what no amount of rain could achieve: it caused my primary camera gear to fail entirely. Batteries that usually lasted a full day died within minutes, and the mechanical shutter components simply seized up in the frost.
Yet, step outside the frame of my failing viewfinder, and a fascinating contrast emerged. Back home in Ireland, a dusting of snow of this magnitude would have brought the entire nation to an immediate, grinding halt. Infrastructure would have buckled, transport would have vanished, and the streets would have emptied. (in fact it did)
Not so in Brussels.
Even in the depths of this extreme weather, the civic clockwork of the Belgian capital kept ticking. The STIB metro and tram networks ran with astonishing resilience. Clearers were out, tracks were swept, and the city’s lifeblood kept moving. If you could brave the elements, the city was entirely open for business.
The Magic of Winter Wonders (Plaisirs d'Hiver)
It is this exact resilience that makes Brussels such a wonderful place to spend the festive season, even when the climate turns hostile. The Plaisirs d'Hiver (Winter Wonders) festival transforms the historic centre into a winter landscape that feels entirely immune to the bleakness of the weather.
The Grand Place: Standing in the centre of the Grand Place, surrounded by the soaring, illuminated gothic facades, the bitter cold is easily forgotten. The massive central Christmas tree and the choreographed sound and light show bounce off the snow-covered cobblestones in a way that feels cinematic.
A Culture Built for Winter: Brussels is a city uniquely designed to combat the cold. When the frost becomes too much to bear, refuge is never more than a few steps away. The historic cafes, heated market chalets, and traditional taverns offer an immediate escape.
The Ultimate Defrost: There is no better antidote to a frozen camera and numb fingers than a steaming bowl of carbonnade flamande (Belgian beef stew), a fresh, hot Liège waffle dusted with sugar, or a robust, high-percentage Belgian Abbey ale enjoyed in a wood-panelled corner.
Turning 60 on New Year's Day in the heart of this frozen, beautiful, stubborn city was a milestone I won't soon forget. My photography may have been severely curtailed by the elements, and my return journey to a snow-paralysed Dublin became an exhausting, multi-day saga, but the trip cemented a lasting admiration for Brussels. It is a city that doesn't just survive the winter—it celebrates it.
Metadata & SEO
Keywords: Brussels at Christmas, Winter Wonders Brussels, Plaisirs d'Hiver, street photography Brussels, extreme winter weather, Brussels transport resilience, Grand Place Christmas light show, travelling over Christmas 2009, Sigma DP!, Legacy. 60th Birthday, Streets Of Brussels, William Murphy, Infomatique, Photonique, The Urban Cartographer, Legacy, Streets Of Brussels,
In 2009, I decided to visit Brussels for two weeks over the Christmas holiday. As I was planning to devote at least six full days to photographing the city, I was very disappointed to find myself housebound for much of the time due to snow. When I tried to return to Dublin on Wednesday (6th January), my flight was cancelled due to snow at Dublin airport, and I did not arrive home until 2 AM on Friday (8th January). My photography was also constrained for another three days because of adverse weather conditions.
But looking back, there is something profoundly remarkable about how Brussels handles a winter crisis.
A City That Refuses to Freeze
When the heavy snow descended, the sub-zero temperatures gripped the city in a vice. For a street photographer relying on a handheld workflow, the conditions became an immediate battle against physics. The biting cold did what no amount of rain could achieve: it caused my primary camera gear to fail entirely. Batteries that usually lasted a full day died within minutes, and the mechanical shutter components simply seized up in the frost.
Yet, step outside the frame of my failing viewfinder, and a fascinating contrast emerged. Back home in Ireland, a dusting of snow of this magnitude would have brought the entire nation to an immediate, grinding halt. Infrastructure would have buckled, transport would have vanished, and the streets would have emptied. (in fact it did)
Not so in Brussels.
Even in the depths of this extreme weather, the civic clockwork of the Belgian capital kept ticking. The STIB metro and tram networks ran with astonishing resilience. Clearers were out, tracks were swept, and the city’s lifeblood kept moving. If you could brave the elements, the city was entirely open for business.
The Magic of Winter Wonders (Plaisirs d'Hiver)
It is this exact resilience that makes Brussels such a wonderful place to spend the festive season, even when the climate turns hostile. The Plaisirs d'Hiver (Winter Wonders) festival transforms the historic centre into a winter landscape that feels entirely immune to the bleakness of the weather.
The Grand Place: Standing in the centre of the Grand Place, surrounded by the soaring, illuminated gothic facades, the bitter cold is easily forgotten. The massive central Christmas tree and the choreographed sound and light show bounce off the snow-covered cobblestones in a way that feels cinematic.
A Culture Built for Winter: Brussels is a city uniquely designed to combat the cold. When the frost becomes too much to bear, refuge is never more than a few steps away. The historic cafes, heated market chalets, and traditional taverns offer an immediate escape.
The Ultimate Defrost: There is no better antidote to a frozen camera and numb fingers than a steaming bowl of carbonnade flamande (Belgian beef stew), a fresh, hot Liège waffle dusted with sugar, or a robust, high-percentage Belgian Abbey ale enjoyed in a wood-panelled corner.
Turning 60 on New Year's Day in the heart of this frozen, beautiful, stubborn city was a milestone I won't soon forget. My photography may have been severely curtailed by the elements, and my return journey to a snow-paralysed Dublin became an exhausting, multi-day saga, but the trip cemented a lasting admiration for Brussels. It is a city that doesn't just survive the winter—it celebrates it.
Metadata & SEO
Keywords: Brussels at Christmas, Winter Wonders Brussels, Plaisirs d'Hiver, street photography Brussels, extreme winter weather, Brussels transport resilience, Grand Place Christmas light show, travelling over Christmas 2009, Sigma DP!, Legacy. 60th Birthday, Streets Of Brussels, William Murphy, Infomatique, Photonique, The Urban Cartographer, Legacy, Streets Of Brussels,