Skating in De Rijp

After two days of skating on the Amsterdam canals, it was time for a change of scene. Thanks to a friend's Dutch partner and his family, Marlon and I found ourselves heading north of Amsterdam on Friday afternoon for a last-minute, out-of-town skating trip.  

We caught the 301 bus behind Central Station bound for the medieval village of De Rijp. Everyone on the bus was carrying a pair of ice skates and sandwiches, making it feel like a school trip with total strangers. On the road, we passed people skating on the frozen waterways between towns, and farmlands covered in snow. 

My friend's Dutch boyfriend Tob described De Rijp as an "adorable little town in the North"... which it is! I'd probably go bonkers living there, but it sure is cute. Still, I'm glad I had the chance to visit—it was so pretty, and I'm sure I wouldn't have found out about it on my own.

We were the last to arrive after getting lost and feeling like our faces were going to fall off before we found our way. When we got there, our friends were already out on a pond (or small-ish lake) that had been completely frozen over.



It was Marlon's first time out on the ice this winter. His skates are actually ice hockey skates; they were one of the last few pairs left at the sports store. He's skated before (in Canada, not just in Megamall!) so he took to it so much faster than I did. Naturally.

Heading out into the frozen North, I began to comprehend the full extent of the Dutch love for skating.

Schaatsen op de grachten

... or in English, skating on the canals. Yay!

Just as winter doesn't automatically translate to snow, it also doesn't necessarily mean ice. In Amsterdam, where winters are relatively milder, ice is a rare thing. There's too much moisture in the air here (I know, humid pa pala sa lagay na 'to) and the city is warmer than the countryside. Smaller canals and ponds outside the city freeze faster, but the canals in Amsterdam are a different animal altogether. 

So when the mercury (and the snow) began to fall, you could feel excitement rising in the air, prickling and spiking with every degree that dropped below zero. The city was literally abuzz with one question: "Are the canals going to freeze?" 

Freeze they did. This has led to my discovery of the one other thing, apart from summer, that creates happiness for the Dutch on a national level. And that is... the ice.  

Heading out to the canals was like seeing a Dutch painting come to life. I was particularly reminded of the Hendrick Avercamp winterscape displayed in the Rijksmuseum. 

Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters, image via Wikipedia

I've also discovered why ice drives the Dutch bonkers. Simply put, ice = skating. In Amsterdam, it means skating with a UNESCO World Heritage Site as your backdrop. The last time the canals were any good for ice skating was 15 years ago; some parts haven't been skated on since the 1970s. This winter, the city closed some of the locks, or gates, to help the canals freeze over faster. 

When Megamall opened its ice skating rink in the 90s, I was there on the very first day. So how could I possibly miss out on this?

Photo courtesy of Michelle

Join me on the ice, after the cut!