Ice-skating Fever in the Netherlands

Ice-skaters on the Thornbecke canal in Zwolle last Saturday during the First Zwolse Grachtentocht.

The period of true winter weather we had during the last couple of weeks seems now to be over and with it, the ice-skating fever seems to have subsided, too.

I have lived in the Netherlands for almost 9 years now and I have seen hard-ish winters (nothing really too extreme) and mild winters; gentle snowfall and a blizzard or two with lots of snow falling in a very short time. I've also seen the Dutch landscape getting totally covered in white and nature going very still under the ice, as if every single creature out there in the open was going to sleep, waiting for the spring to come back alive.

Ice skaters in the main canal around the historic city centre in Zwolle.

 But in the Netherlands it doesn't take too long for that stillness to be broken. The birds may be gone, the wind may blow wild and the ground may be covered in white, but that is exactly when this sort of buzz starts slowly to build up, like a bug getting hold of everyone until it becomes like a fever and soon enough half the nation is out there, balancing on their skates, criss-crossing waterways and city canals over the ice.

Only a few days ago we were all holding our breath in front of the tv every time the word Elfstedentocht was mentioned by the newsreaders. A couple of posts ago I explained how excited everyone was about the possibility of finally seeing a new edition of this Eleven Cities Marathon after 15 years of Elfstedentocht withdrawal, for the race has not been held since 1997 due to the lack of good quality ice to make the event possible.
Unfortunately, by the end of last week the committee in charge of inspecting the ice conditions up in Friesland had decided that it would not be possible to host the marathon this year and everyone was really very disappointed.

Another shot taken during the Zwolse Grachtentocht last Saturday.

But it seems that despite the general disappointment, people across the Netherlands, Dutch and non-Dutch, were determined not to let all that beautiful ice go to waste.Whole families were out there riding on sleds or skating on the frozen canals. Despite the cold, young people were hanging out and having fun on the ice and little kids wrapped up in warm clothes were there too, learning how to stand upright on their brand new skates. Experienced skaters were seen showing off and also first-timers, safely leaning on the back of a chair to keep their balance, carefully taking their first turns on the icy tracks.

Over the weekend there were many tochten (marathons) across the country. Amsterdam had its Keizersgracht tocht; up north in Friesland people were skating on the waterways along the Elfstedentocht route in the places where the ice was in perfect condition. In the beautiful town of Giethoorn the 14th Hollands Venetiëtocht was held; the first edition of this marathon in this century.

A young girl learning to skate on ice with the help of a chair.

It was probably this dad's turn to look after the baby but he could not stay away from all that lovely ice.

In Zwolle, we had the Eerste Zwolsegrachten tocht (first marathon of the canals in Zwolle) last Saturday. In just a couple of days, a number of entrepreneurs from the catering sector came up with the idea of organising our own tocht along the Zwolse canals. The idea was received with great enthusiasm by thousands of Zwollenaren (people of Zwolle)  and 1500 participated in the marathon, making it a big success and of course, heel erg gezellig! (a lot of fun)

A view over the city canal in Zwolle during the Zwolse grachtentocht

 Hopefully, we won't have to wait for too many years to see a new edition of the Zwolse grachtentocht; and to be sure, we continue to wait and pray for der Tocht van Tochten (the marathon of all marathons) to finally take place for the first time in this century - the 16th edition of the Elfstedentocht.

First edition of the Zwolse grachtentocht (ice skating tour of the canals of Zwolle)

The logo of the event - their website is going up today with all the information: Zwolse Grachtentocht

While we continue to wait for a decision from the rayonhoofden (I just love that word, which in Dutch means "district chiefs") up north in the province of Friesland to see if we will finally have an Elfstedentocht this year, their Zwolse counterparts* have come up with an ice-skating tocht ("race" in this case) of their own along the stadsgrachten (city canals) in Zwolle.

One of the canals in Zwolle in the winter

 The event will take place next Saturday 11 February as of 12:00. The route will start at the Rodetorenplein following the Thorbeckegracht to the end of the canal and back to the Rodetorenplein. There will be refreshment stalls along the track and the bars and restaurants along the canal will also set up their terrasjes (outdoor cafés) on the ice. The organisers are looking for music bands and entertainers to make sure that there is a festive atmosphere all around. It should be fun! 
As of 11:00 there will be two caravans at the Rodetorenplein for those who want to participate to collect their stamp cards for free. If you want to be a part of it and join in the ice skating fun, you can ask for more information or register via this email address: zwolsegrachtentocht@live.nl  The committee organising the event has also just launched their own website where you will find the programme, the route and a form to sign up if you want to enter the marathon. 

Should the rayonhoofden from Friesland decide that the Elfstedentocht is a Go, the Zwolse grachtentocht will then be postponed so that we all can finally give our full attention to this huge national event - the first Elfstedentocht of the 21st century!

This is me on a bridge across the Thorbeckegracht where the Zwolse grachtentocht will take place.

*The Zwolse grachtentocht is actually being organised by a group of entrepreneurs of the catering industry in Zwolle.