This is the first time that i have been in the NL for a protracted cold period and the first time that I got to see (and partially participate in) Dutch skating culture. A friend became the ijsmeister for Wageningen - and cobbled together a system of cleaning devices for keeping the ice surface clean and maintain a three kilometre track around the uiterwaarden.
I didn't skate but I did nordic ski around the dykes - where the snow was still thick enough. And I got to help out in the ijsmeister's little ramshackle cafe. Warming up chocolate drinks for all the cold skaters. A good 'living Dutch' lesson and a chance to feel like a boy scout again.
I didn't skate but I did nordic ski around the dykes - where the snow was still thick enough. And I got to help out in the ijsmeister's little ramshackle cafe. Warming up chocolate drinks for all the cold skaters. A good 'living Dutch' lesson and a chance to feel like a boy scout again.
4 comments:
Amazing that there has been that hard a freeze. The ice has been thin down in Maastricht, except for filling the cobblestones. I'm tempted to take a drive north on a weekend to see it all...are you doing any skating?
It's all melting away now. I stuck to cross country ski-ing.
Fingers crossed for another cold spell soon - I miss it :-)
Great photos, Nick.
Even my girlfriend in Jaipur is sad that she isn't here at the moment. She really likes the winter weather. Especially when it's snowing and there is natural ice.
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