Winter Floridylle – an Enchanting Light Festival

On a winter’s night, the grounds of the botanic gardens in Meise become a magical fairytale forest. The garden is full of colourful lights and amazing projections illuminating the plants and trees in the gardens.

On this tour, I will take you around this amazing Belgian light festival, which will brighten up even the darkest night. As we wander we will discover 20 unique light installations that take their inspiration from the plants within the garden. Our journey will be accompanied by a musical soundtrack, specially composed by Piet Goddaer for the light festival.

So join me on an enchanting walk through the magic and fantasy of Winter Floridylle.

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Ah hello everyone hopefully you can see me already and can hear me you can see Maria my face is completely red under my Christmas hats let me know if you can hear me it’s still I think to pre tour uh it’s about 10 minutes before we

Officially start so hi Mika hi Sarah hi Mark hi hiar I what do we have more I think see the same name Sarah M of course Joan I see uh I think I have everyone but if not just let me know if you can hear me so that is a

Uh oh you can see my head that’s good hopefully you can also hear what I’m saying so and my hat is now even a little better when my uh when my face is so red because a I think I should have done a tour about how to come over here loud

And clear that’s really good I should have done a tour to get in this Botanical Garden because that was uh I checked it I checked it earlier I’ll I’ll tell you a little uh because I had I had another tour and sometimes also doing private virtual tour and I had one

Until almost 9 so and then I thought like okay I have an hour to come here and during daytime there’s a good uh public transportation there’s public transportation and that’s taking you here in about 30 minutes but not at this time anymore so what I thought like okay

Maybe I can rent like a scooter kind of things so I checked that today and basically nowhere in the area of Brussels you could get one only if you had like a a subscription for a whole year I thought like yeah a whole year I’m coming here just one day so then I

Thought like okay I have to think about something else I checked to get a taxi over here W that was one way already $60 and then $60 back I thought okay that’s not going to work uh that’s a little too much then but of course I’m Dutch maybe

I can find the bicycle a bicycle distance 45 minutes w okay I can handle that I’ve done more than that uh and maybe if I’m lucky they even have electrical bikes well no no electrical bikes also I found two rental bike rental shops in Brussels and uh W the

First one well Clos the second one oh yeah oh is it still on the website we had some B rle over here but yeah the last three years not every more but we have another shop you have to walk for 10 minutes and there we still have

Bicycles so I got there finally find a bike and then they only had one model only one model no electrical just normal bikes like okay and then that normal uh normal model I thought like okay that’s quite heavy it’s it’s a little more like a mountain bike like okay I can of

Course I can have a mountain bike so I was asking like okay you don’t have lighter ones and more like City bikes no no no this all what we have yeah we have some here I’ve seen these HS I’ve seen these HS and I also Now understand while I’m here

While they’re giving bik rentals that keep people on bicycles why they give them a mountain bike because okay let’s let’s keep it nice for the people here in Belgium but compared to the Dutch infrastructure of bicycles they’re over here still in the prehistorical time so I got cobblestones I got unpaved roads

Uh I almost got over some rabbits I got a dog running behind me but not only bad things also got under uh on beautiful streets with Artic Co houses um I got under the the big balls that you can find in Brussels and then Google was sending me almost on the highway and

Then was like no no no no I I’m fast on a bike but not that fast so I just got around the highway and then I got over an industrial part and then the road was somewhere going to the right and was like there is a tunnel a tunnel for a

Train so Google almost sent me into train tunnel in the dark and everything so I thought okay I’m not going to do that that’s a little too risky but finally one minute before it was time I made it even security over here said like okay it’s just you’re the last one

Who can go inside so I made it thank you and welcome but next time I will do the pre- tour to get here because I think I experience more than normally in a tour of 45 minutes just on a bicycle in Brussels so maybe that should be my next

Tour All Aboard sa bike um in and around Brussels H welcome welcome Joanne and Natalie and Corin and a lot of a lot of other people so you see that my face is still a little wreck that’s from all the cycling over and by the way I forgot

There also a lot of heels so to go up down up down up down up down so that’s why I’m a little almost out of breath but I made it over here I am in a beautiful garden I’m I think almost the only one over here there’s still Light

Art uh for the coming hour so we have one hour to get through I don’t know what will happen because I thought I still have some time to prepare but with all these things that were happening on the way I didn’t even have time to prepare so hi Stephanie hi GW so welcome

Let me uh I think let me help me a little bit of time when we when we start so then we can start immediately at the good time and by the way I’m maybe thinking that I’m going to remove my earphones because on some uh on some

Parts there is music it’s not only light of the music so just going to remove this and let me know can you still hear me yes or no you can see already some lights it is beautiful it is beautiful what I’ve seen hi Julie also welcome I see about 50 people already

Just looking at my face that is uh ah windy okay is it too is it too windy if it’s too windy just let me know then I’m getting my earphones again wind winds just uh give me a can hear the music though oh I can okay um

Bre you see it’s it’s too much we okay place this back okay come on stay under my thing partly hopefully you can now hear me again normally it should be better because inside these things there is a even uh uh a away that you cannot hear all the wind and everything so it’s

Starting to rain little little drops also had some uh ah yeah I’m not going to switch no no no I’m not going to switch musical parts no no it’s or the microphone or this one so okay just then the last thing is help me with the time

And uh if the uh if the tour starts then we’re just going to walk around uh we’re just going to enjoy this evening so I’m not going to tell millions of stories that is not uh that is not this is not the tour for that we’re just going to enjoy some light

Works we will see some of the gardens but of course it is dark so not too many things but of course the theme is a little always a little related to to the gardens itself so uh okay three minutes I see that’s now two and a

Half just good you know just know and it is is wonderful here already very windy I reading in the news that in the NE land I’m now sou of the Netherlands that there was a big storm here I think earlier today that Anna Anna was now Anna lefina was doing a tour in

Amsterdam today she almost uh went into the canal so that’s uh that’s that’s a lot of wind but over here it is it is not it’s not that bad so uh but yeah it is it is a little windy but it’s also part it’s part of the season so I’m getting my

Bread little by little back still little rats as you can see but I’m excited uh really excited to be here to walk around and to see what they made so uh and yeah is is Al okay in Germany it’s also a pretty stormy okay I think that’s is the

Whole uh it’s the whole area then then over here so and of course I’m hoping that you all have a good preparation of uh of Christmas it’s almost uh it’s almost almost there and um it’s almost there and um in I have to I have to say

That earlier today and I will still add some more information but I decided to do um to do a tour on Christmas day so for people who like I’m going to do a tour I don’t know exactly what it uh um what it what it will

Be uh but I will be in France in southern France on the kour um in the city that is called n you’re writing it as nice so and I think it is also very nice I’ve never been there so uh we’re going to see what will happen and uh but I’ve

Seen already some uh some uh some some pictures and that will be uh that will be amazing and it’s of course the Mediterranean so uh not that I can walk there in my t-shirt most probably but it’s a little better than storm Pia in the nland so uh and uh also welcome an

Of course I think it’s almost the end of the pre- tour just uh just let me know and I’m hearing the the time I don’t know if you can hear it but there’s music a little further away at the next next light art piece so welcome everyone and I hope you uh

You enjoy or you like my uh my hats in my collection my collection of Christmas hats this one is quite warm if you’re cycling with a even more so uh um Christmas Market were close to storm in Colonia ESS oh wow then it’s even then

It’s even more then it’s good that I did a Christmas Market uh uh the last days the last two days in uh at least in Len yesterday and yeah two days ago in Len it was partly Clos because of the rain so 10 p.m. yay okay there we go welcome

In Belgium I am uh very nearby Brussels just as inside of Russell some kilometers I know that because I came here on my bike it is about 10 kilom of cycling normally 10 kilom I’m doing that in uh what about 25 minutes but now it was 45 minutes because uh one there were

Hills two Google sent me over unpaved roads cobblestones and even into a train tunnel that was not a bike bot so uh I said already before the bike infrastructure over here in Belgium compared to what I’m used to is a little prehistorical so we need still to help

Them a little to get it to get it better over here but they’re getting there they’re getting there so um welcome over here on the winter Floy deal and it is a light festival and you know that I love light festivals so that’s why I’m taking

You over here so this is also by the way um the moment that the tour starts so uh uh hopefully everyone has said hi to everyone because during the tour I prefer that we’re just focusing on the tour and that we’re getting into the light works so okay I’m going to change the

Screen and then we’re going to see oh wait I’m just going to you see that my camera is a little sorry I’m just uh making sure that my camera is a little better I don’t know if the worked I don’t know if that worked wait this is this already beautiful but

Maybe it can be that there’s some dirt on it so hopefully it is getting better now it’s also in the dark yeah this is clear this is clear again okay while getting here on the terrain this is I wiped it yeah I wiped it and now it’s

Good again isn’t it I do have a little mystical but I also love this look at this there is a um there’s an Old Farm over here you can recognize that because of the high doors at the left side so there is a little further here on the terrain I don’t know if

You’re going to see that later but there is little castle and next to the castle there was this Farmhouse um oh it’s very uh swampy also over here um and you can see at the left side that’s the place where the horses and the carriages were placed nowadays

It’s all just a place where people are living but magical already isn’t it to see this and I’m just letting you to the next one so we’re going to see several light Works Especially for this Festival they comp compos the music This Is Magical already isn’t it they made a for all of us because it is so wet it has been raining the last two months yeah these are Bells they’re all Bells but they’re composed by a Belgian artist and I

Can I was reading it just one minute before I started this tour but I was so still uh searching for my breath that I didn’t uh that I don’t remind the name as you can hear is in the meantime also here and there you can see some of the statues that are

Not part of the light face but there’s a big Angel standing over there on the side I think it is your angel how beautiful this is oh thank you Kine P so and Linda did I arrange a private tour yeah almost almost isn’t it that you’re lucky because in a lot of

Situations I’m trying to to do this kind of festivals as late as possible and uh because then more people also outside of Europe can enjoy so and today was a rainy day so assume that not a lot of people wanted to go to see a live Festival they

Already love this right the way look at this there little chapel over here of course it is still Christmas time I just give you an idea I mean it’s not part of the Light Festival that I still love it how they just used some other elements too so here’s

One we going to see more we’re going to walk around this on this windy day sometimes there will be music sometimes it’s just imagination so wow and I see already there’s more to come even it’s little hard to see the pot it’s so hard yeah fits the festival I agree to

That I agree to that like oh next one this looks really beautiful what do we have over here hanging above us it is it’s getting more and more windy I think it is stronger and oh talking about the big castle in this area I don’t know if you can see it but there

In the middle you have the building that is the CLE okay let’s get into here you can maybe see on the grounds how wet it is and there’s music All made with black light by the Way This black light you can even see that because this tree over here is warmth whoa W it is getting more and more windy okay let’s get a little further all for the terrain over here following the blue lights it’s feeling a little like I’m back in Bru whoa it’s very slippery on the

Road I can hardly see I already had that pre myself I was really almost I almost run over some rabbits when I came here some parts were pretty dark so and I’m not scared very easily but this was a little like w almost but yeah thinking about figures

Standing here I don’t know if you can see it but next to us there is a statue it’s very dark so hard to see okay I see some lights at the end of this wood it’s good that at least there are several Works in rows and I I also just

Found out they have some lines here and there to make sure that you’re not getting the wrong way okay see more got Parts over there look how beautiful this is I mean during daytime this would already beautiful but with the lights like this that’s even nicer okay I hope you all enjoy

This let see some more more colorful things coming and here and there I’m seeing even the names of the trees because of course this is a Botanical Garden but it’s not completely the time now to start talking about types of trees it’s a little area is a

That is a little so but I’m always thinking I’m place is like this why would someone buy a ticket to come on this terrain to rob me I’m hearing some music and that is for that’s for later that’s I think on the way back oh it’s

Again I have to be very careful because it’s very I think my shoes tomorrow will be Brown from the mut but okay Fin it’s really well done isn’t it it’s with these lights that are normally used for comcerts his head right now just place them on some trees and you’re getting magic oh but there’s also something at the other side oh look at than for getting look in front of

Us like lasers over what is it I don’t even know no worries I love to do these kind of things otherwise I’m just sit home that’s one of the things that you have to realize that because of doing these tours that I’m coming on locations and places in the Netherlands

And in Belgium where normally I would not go to so it’s also for me something unique and in the last three years I’ve seen so much more of my country than before okay I’m just going to see if we can come more nearby oh yeah over here there’s a road to the right

Wow okay let see if we can more mut it’s mut everywhere okay wow this is magical okay just going to see if I can come a little more Nearby Look at this w m going a little too far Wow this is cool isn’t it Wow All Sh Sh wow I’m going to leave this magical landscape it’s really a unique thing to see over here thank you Colleen I love to do this I forgot already the whole route to get here then let’s go to the next one this is a nice way I think it is not a

Willow tree but it looks a little like a weeping willow with all these lights that are hanging from this tree this is magical again good to hear that the sound has also good okay it’s going under the tree over here and then to the next insallation sometimes there’s music sometimes not defense a

Little it’s already a little mystical to walk over here sometimes eerie but it’s good that I have so many of you with me I’m in Brussels somewhere north of North or South I don’t even know all blur witch no not that e is it wow look at this is it feels a

Little as I’m as if I’m planted on another planet with their own magical structures plants trees whatever it is okay let’s go to the next one oh wow this one is also beautiful don’t eat them now I think look at these hanging what is it looks almost like mushroom or big

Hats mushrooms on the trees blue ones and then in the middle part Wow these are magic mushrooms for sure no I don’t uh I don’t eat I learned my lesson I learned my lesson on the if some of you know that on a tour maybe some of you know just guess what tour did I eat or drink something that was not completely well wow wow Wow okay the next one we’re going still over drowned roads I I think don’t think you can see if you can maybe hear just my feet in the sometimes in the in the M but we’re going to a place have the feeling that angels are going around over here more trippy

Parts look at this Wow E Thank you Kine yeah that was Ellis in Wonderland still visible I didn’t even know that eat me drink me don’t do that never do that wow trippy yeah that’s the right word that’s the right word for sure okay just saying goodbye to this lights elf lights and then we’re going

To the next one into the next M Pool half of the lights by the way that you were seeing of these elf lights were just the reflection of the lights in the in the ground on the ground I see sometimes the connection is going a little down but I think it’s too

Dark for you to see hopefully okay just going to the next one also don’t know exactly I think I was reading that the route is about an hour to walk completely so I’m trying to move a little faster between the installations so we can have a good time in

Between okay I’m hearing some music again got more lights over here Wow Wow it is beautiful isn’t it yeah look at the reflection of the Nut whoa sometimes feeling my feet slipping away Okay okay the next one the next M Pool look at this little house Do you recognize it the Clock Wow amazing how they made this it’s going to the next one this will be wonderful again I’m seeing it already over here in front of me we’re getting some water it’s slowly starting to rain again oh we didn’t have a lot of rain the last month and it’s wonderful because this is

A part over the water that they made I have to be a little careful that I’m not stepping into the water myself because the pot itself I don’t know if you can see the shape it is not completely straight so and I’m also trying to of course to get beautiful shots for

All of you oh wow this is really nice you can maybe see that it’s the drips in the water from the rain n the main reason why I am almost on my own over here is because one it is late after 10 on the Rainy evening just what is the day I don’t

Even know the day is it the Wednesday I sometimes forget no it’s a Thursday I think so wow this is RA over here thank you here lucky with the weather sometimes not to be honest for the people who are following me already a little longer two years ago

I had a year where I’ve been drowned maybe five or six times in a row tours behind each other and then last year I think almost every tour I was like and this year somewhere in the middle I got some rainy tours some really beautiful ones so

Typical how it should be in the Northwestern European weather but yeah colum that was one of the worst but I also survived that but to be honest it inspired me when I got the tour over there it inspired me to get a better rain jacket so I now have

That I thought it’s uh worth investing for a long time I thought like yeah it’s quite expensive and is it worth it and I now got it two weeks and I’m already very happy that I did that it is rain proof it’s breedable a little so okay

Um during daytime you can even jump from area to area over here but look at this wow it’s really magic over here it’s beautiful isn’t it on a windy day and then we’re getting over here oh this is an interesting one we have to go here and look at this

Bridge I think we’re going over a floating Bridge yeah it’s a floating bridge I’m feeling feeling like a kid again okay I got it the other side okay we’re going up and then talking about magic mushrooms just looking back a little more we just got from over there and then over here magic

Mushrooms wow look at these watching magic mushrooms but if you’re coming more nearby then you’re seeing that it is basically just flowers wow from Ma I don’t know is this Halloween no I don’t think so wow this is that’s Am I Dreaming enough another trees you hearing music somewhere far Away and as you see in more and more locations light festivals I’ve done already several ones but to be honest some of them are so much better than others and to be honest I really loved really loved the ones earlier this week in Bru that was a very special

One okay I think we have to follow this green lights if you can see it or do we have to go the other way I don’t know they not really I guess I also see something there now this is the way back let’s see I see also something at the C over

There wow this is and by the way if you did not see the tour that I did earlier this week in Bru I can really recommend that it’s h not only the city that is magical but the light art this Edition and this is the third time that I did this light

Festival and I was uh I was really flabbergasted by how good it was how magical it was completely different from what we see over here we coming nearby also but it was really magic wow there’s more I think there is a little pump here in the middle looks like it

So and thank you for sharing that link so I will keep that one a live I will get that one live because I will not go back anymore and next season it will be different a I love the oh okay then it was gone oh and then it turned again

Wow I just I think there was a glitch in The Matrix oh another glitch I’m coming back to the nor board I think or maybe not but it’s aing with this old Towers here on the side I wonder do more to be honest it is so late now that I don’t

Even know the exact rout I think I have to follow this Kawa bar oh no I don’t have to go to the bar there’s a bar just going I see the what do we have over here I’m hearing water see yeah it’s very windy it’s very windy

I’m seeing I have to go this way but at the same time I don’t know okay I’m just going to try so under construction over here look like this is not the way I think we maybe have seen most of the works now the signs are not very clear there

Are lines everywhere so I think I have to go back I don’t to cost over here I don’t know if you can see it it’s very eerie only one little light is on and the rest is all dark so all the ghosts are living over

Here I can yeah I can do Halloween toor GES to over here for sure and then let’s make our way to the bar and then maybe there’s more at that s side I’m seeing a little further away more insulations so about how to get there no clue we finally got lost yeah

True finally we got lost I think maybe there’s more over here I’m just fing the lights and then somewhere further away I see more so let’s see what happens and then over here there’s a court again well this is also not the win so it was nice to be here I’m just

Going back to the green light because there I know have to get back at least okay um LLY there are lights everywhere I’m feeling a little tracked now maybe I’m tracked in the dream or just somewhere missed like a Corner that’s too hard to see right

Now but I think the green light over there will take us home okay I see green light here green laser and maybe later on there still somewhere a road to the right where we can pick some of the other works it’s already amazing to be here and yes I’m feeling

Lost I am the only one when I came here there were still some other people oh there’s another line so I’m just I’m just going yeah Belgium also has one one too look at this green light this laser is hundreds of meters it’s really beautiful so

Strong and I see some things here they right so maybe got okay we’re just going to have another part I think against the direction but we still have some time we still have 20 minutes I just got now over three different lines in a row so I don’t know

Let’s see what we have over here little Ellison Wonderland feeling well and I’m walking literally over the mud now wow there are B is over here it’s like giant Hots or so look at them I think they’re showing over here what you can do I would like to Stranges of the

Willow this is no more BL Rich yeah oh look at this Wow I see the Nord star and I also can see the Moon the Moon is there okay thank you everyone was still there getting lost with Me Wow and this all just if you think about it the effect is amazing with just some fences some LED lights that you have in your christm tree and some music at least I can see the puff that’s true that’s true but the whole time I’m wondering where did I get lost

Somewhere because over here at the end it is dark again follow the rabbit isn’t it always follow the rabbit okay let’s see where do we do us there are several ways just following the road there’s a little house over there on the side that’s behind the water okay fences

So I cannot go to the left I’m also not allowed to go to the left over here so the only way is to go straight and then okay I’m now getting here wow maybe there hits living over there yeah that’s true it sounds a little like that isn’t

It I now think they’re just turning off so we’re at the end I just see them turning off several things so I think it is it is almost 11 so we have to follow the road back and then this is the end of the tour so just going to a part

Where it’s a little lighter so at least you can see my face again before I’m getting lost and before I will cycle back so we just had the last hour of this light festival and you saw it we did only see two other people and the rest was not

There so I hope you enjoy it this last tour Before Christmas the next one will be I think on Christmas day but you never know if I’m seeing more interesting things in the coming days I can always add more uh and uh yes but I hope you enjoyed it so let me just

Show you my face oh wrong but no also not yeah there it is so this was me thank you for joining today uh I’m going to get back to my bicycle and then cycle back to the city center of Russells hopefully Google is now sending me a little more relaxing

Roads but otherwise I will I will get back I will get back and you will see me back in the coming days if you like this tour then um you can all of course they all tip supported so uh you you can leave a tip a coffee buy me a coffee or

PayPal or there’s even a third way nowadays and I’m very grateful because that is how I can keep on doing these tours and you’re very welcome I hope you enjoyed it even getting lost a little in the last part I’m uh I’m seeing the green line again oh we have to help its

Places here again and also you even hear some sound of people walking in the grass so or it is Granda or it is just that they use the sound again okay so and I will let you know if I made it back home ah it’s dark

Here okay the green lights I see it again wait I’m just going to scen again so you can see what I’m seeing Oh what I’m seeing almost stepped into the mut again so it’s so wet under here okay the green lights we’re almost back on the I think

This is the main road and just this green light is follow we have to follow it and it’s going all the way to the exit so that’s the it’s a good marker Point thank you again for joining I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and I

Hope to see you again thank you and Bye-bye