It is the middle of winter in Amsterdam, and while bicycle and strolling tourist numbers are down during the big freeze, there is another activity drawing people to the city’s famous canals.
Amsterdammers have been ice-skating on their beautiful water-ways ever since they were constructed in their concentric semi-circular fashion.
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| On the way to work |
They are serious about it. It’s not fluke. If the temperature drops below -4C for three consecutive nights the authorities take the decision to declare it “skating season”. On the 3rd February 2012 a large number of canals were closed to boat traffic to enable significant ice to form. Since then locals have been sharpening their blades and gliding and sliding their way along large tracts of Kaizersgracht, Princengracht and Lijnbaansgracht, dreaming of recreating the feats of their four-time gold medal winning ice skater, Sven Kramer.
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| Heavy Traffic on the Frozen Canals |
While many are closed for the ice fanatics, some are not. These are prized by the now profit losing tour boat companies and are kept clear by the port ice-breaker. Even in -7C it appears tourists want a canal boat cruise and the hardy few captains who skipper them do so muttering prayers to the sun Gods. They are the only Amsterdammers who do though. Skating on the canals is a rite of passage to the locals and the winter freeze is anticipated by many across the city.
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| Quiet, Calm, and Frozen Lijnbaansgracht |
Families in hand-me-down home sharpened skates, couples in matching white boots, and serious singles in long bladed racing attire arrive at the canal side at the first hint from the authorities that skating may start soon. People take it in turns to test the ice, some stamping with feet, some dropping bricks from the height of a bridge. When a canal is deemed safe, the few short evenings that stay cold enough, protecting and forming thicker ice, are filled by the community arriving after school or work and enjoying a past time as important to them as cycling in the summer. It is not uncommon to see a table and chairs brought out onto the ice, or groups of friends simply meeting on the canal for their evening drink, stroll and a chat. As with all things Amsterdam, skating, or sliding without blades, becomes a way of life.
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| An open canal, kept so by the Ice-Breaker's |
This frozen world is a much-loved time by houseboat inhabitants too. For a brief period the canals are free from boat traffic. Calm and quiet descends over the community, broken only by the smoke streams from wood burning stoves, and the laughter of skaters outside on the boat dwellers liquid gardens. It may be the middle of winter here, but unlike Londoners who fear the cold snap, and whinge and moan about the consequences, Amsterdammers use their indomitable spirit to find a way to look forward to it, and to embrace it for all the opportunity it affords them.
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