It’s been a week of sub-zero temps in the Netherlands, and the Dutch are dreaming that the country's many canals, lakes and ponds will freeze over so that they can strap on their ice skates and go gliding on natural ice. Along with these dreams of skating on natural ice is the hope that this will be the year of the Elfstedentoch, the Eleven-Cities Tour.
What is Elfstedentoch
The Elfstedentoch is the world’s longest and largest speed skating competition and ice-skating tour. The 200km skating marathon on natural ice takes place when the temperature drops enough so that the canals freeze to a depth of 15cm and goes through eleven cities in the northern province of Friesland: Leeuwarden, Sneek, IJIst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker, Dookun then returns to Leeuwarden. As excited as the Dutch are about the possibility of the race, it is a rare occurrence that has only happened 15 times since the race began in 1909, the last time in 1997.
When ice is frozen to depth of 15 cm, race will be scheduled for 2 days later. Only members of the official association, De Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden, are eligible to join the race, and once the race has been scheduled, a lottery will be held to see which members can compete.
Skate on Natural Ice
For those not members who still want to skate on natural ice, daily newspapers have skate calendars that list all the nearby places where it is safe to skate on the ice. There is also natural ice skating news and information (in Dutch) on the website www.natuurijsschaatsen.nl. The forestry commission also reports that they are hoping to organize skating routes and tours throughout the country in the coming week.
If you do get a chance to skate on the natural ice in Holland, a word of caution: several injuries and deaths caused by skaters falling through the ice have been reported.
See more photos of Holland in Ice photo essay here.
For more Netherlands Travel and Lifestyle subscribe by clicking the button at the top of the page, become a fan on Facebook and follow @monique_rubin on Twitter.
Comments