Reeuwijkse Plassen and more ice-skating, winter 2012 /Schaatsen in Reeuwijk, Nederland 2012

 
Yesterday the weather service in the Netherlands informed us that the first 10 days of February 2012 have been the coldest since... 95 years!!! Wowww.....

 

Next to Gouda (the famous cheese city) one may find the so called lake area Reeuwijkse Plassen, which presents 13 lakes connected with small or bigger canals. As you can imagine this becomes one really huge natural ice-skating rink when it freezes! What I have done 2 years ago and was happy to repeat this year is arriving at the harbour cafe "Het Wappen van Reeuwijk", putting on the skates and slide on the frozen lake just in front of it...

 

Some of the local houses on the lake were selling warm drinks and warm soup to the skaters (above advertisement was written with red on snow).

 

One could also skate on the Brevevaart, the canals in front of the cafe, which were nicely cleaned with machine. For the kids there were several attraction such as ice-sleight, with metal picks. Sometimes a "Plassentocht" (a tour of all lakes by skates) is organised. This year only the lake in front of "Het Wappen van Reeuwijk" was cleaned  and ready for safe ice-skating. A great thing to do once one get too cold is to have  a warm chocolate, tea or glühwein in the very cozy cafe!

Ice-skating in the Netherlands, season 2012/ Schaatsen op natuurijs in Nederland

 

When the negative temperatures stay long enough for the canals to freeze, the Dutch (and all other ice-skating lovers) start counting the days and the ice depth! This year we were lucky to have the cold and minus 16 to minus 7 (around the Hague, more in the rest of the country) over night for almost a week now and the natural ice skating rings got ready!

 
For the ones who don't know me: I am the one on the right below...

Ice-skating on frozen canals is something like national sport here. The people first clean the canals from the snow and then everyone gets on: with skates, shoes, sleights or something else! l do love it too, so today I enjoyed a sunny day ice-skating with some local colleagues!
One may skate on frozen canals or lakes or go to some official "ijsbanen" such as the frozen lake in Schipluiden, see last 2 pictures from sunny skating in club "Vlietland" before/by sunset there last Saturday!

Skating on frozen canals in the Netherlands...

Some colleagues told me they did not remember (in the last 20 years...) a winter as cold and white as this one in the Netherlands. Last year (and to be more exact in January 2009) was the first time the Dutch canals were frozen (again) for the last..... 12 years!!! Why is it so surprising-well some decades ago this was happening every winter in the low lands...

But to come back to last and (of course!) this year! Young and old (and even the Queen-if one may trust the press) put on the skates and went on ice. Does not matter the skates: on ice I have seen next to the well-known figure- and ice-hockey-skates also the very famous here Dutch "noren" (speed-skates: the one on left side, picture above). A Swedish colleague impressed me with the Skandinavian version of speed skating: the one without a shoe and very funny form, on the right side in the above shot.

Snow-ball fights were also possible...But the minus-temperatures lasted only a bit more than a week and the ducks are happy now to have again water!