About a week ago, we had a "winter storm" which resulted in about 2 inches of snow. For a country not prepared to deal with this kind of weather, even this small amount brings the country to a screeching halt. The trains stopped running, bikes were sliding every which way, buses were on limited schedules, it was a nightmare. But it sure makes the city awfully pretty when it's covered in snow:)
With all these below freezing temperatures, we experienced something that the Dutch haven't gotten to experience in several years. All the canals froze over! This meant that people were coming out of the woodwork to ice skate. Apparently this used to happen all the time in the early 90's so the Dutch are avid skaters. And they all seem to have the long skates that look like this
I guess they are speed skates? Anyways, we went out with some friends on Saturday evening to do a little skating. I did not get on skates because I figured that I am not that graceful off skates and with carrying a baby, I probably shouldn't take the risk. So I just walked around and took pictures.
It was so much fun but my feet were frozen. The next day, Dan and I decided to take a walk around the city...on the canals. We walked for about 45 minutes up canals that are usually only accessible by boat. It was such a neat experience! People were speed skating up and down the canal, pushing children in strollers, and playing hockey. Skating on the canals has been the talk of the country for the last week. Unfortunately, the temperatures have been above 0 the past few days so I think our fun with walking on water has come to an end. However, I'm so glad we got to experience this while we were here!!
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