Guus Bosman

It's been really cold in the Netherlands the last two weeks and many canals and rivers are frozen.

Harm sent me beautiful pictures of a ice skating trip he made through the city of Haarlem, where we used to live. My uncle skated over the Spaarne river from Haarlem to Spaarndam and took nice shots of windmill De Adriaan at the Hooimarkt.

Unlike most Dutchmen, I do not personally enjoy ice skating. My childhood memories of learning to skate are mainly about very cold hands and clumsy falling. When we lived in Opperdoes there was a small river behind our house, with a view of the farmlands surrounding the village. I vividly remember the bitter cold when trying to tie my wooden skates to my boots.

At the other hand I have very happy memories of our wooden sleigh, and my father pushing Ettie and me through the snow.

Cold winters like these are fairly rare in the Netherlands. There was the hope that the Elfstedentocht skating marathon would be held this year, but it was not to be. Ettie and Gerben sent us cute videos of Jasper's first experience on the ice at the Bonkevaart in Leeuwarden. I hope his early childhood memories about the ice will be happy.