
Canal ice helps Dutch rediscover national identity - gibsonf1
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/16/europe/skaters.php
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russell
I grew up in Maine and have fond memories of skating on the ponds and lakes.
We used to build bonfires in the evenings out of old tires and skate around in
the warmth and light. I suppose if we tried it these days we would have the
EPA, FBI, and DHS after us.

In high school we graduated to cars. It was great fun to go as fast as we
could, cut the steering wheel, hit the brakes, and go spinning down the lake.
(Don't try this at home. We were trained professionals. Not to mention the
effect of global warming on the thickness of the ice.)

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brandnewlow
This story's hilarious:

"Hundreds of thousands of skaters, their cheeks as red as apples in the
freezing temperatures, took to the ice, and hospital wards were filled with
dozens of people with fractured arms, sprained ankles and broken legs."

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furyg3
_Will there be another cold snap to freeze the canals of the Eleven Cities
Tour? "Not in the coming weeks," Geurts said. "At the earliest, in February."_

I'm crossing my fingers. During this last freeze I was at home with my sick
girlfriend, watching all the news reports of people skating on the big canals.
Here in Amsterdam there wasn't enough ice to skate on the canals, so I'd have
to head north which wouldn't have been very nice :(

Would have been nice to see all the Dutchies out in skates, everyone seemed so
happy about it. Plus, this poor Californian has never skated on natural ice!

Any other hackers in Holland?

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spazmaster
sure! where you at? I'm in Arnhem working in Amsterdam.

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furyg3
Ahh, I was actually just in Arnhem a few weeks ago, cute little town.

I'm living in A'dam finishing up a Masters (why did I go back to school?!),
then I have to decide if I'm going to get involved in another IT project or
try and save the world.

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gommm
I used to spend my winter holidays in northern germany near bremen as a kid
and I loved skating on the river... It's a completely different feeling from
skating in a ice skating rink...

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echair
Getting subtler, are we, gibsonf1?

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gibsonf1
:)

I actually found this very interesting as a peek into Dutch culture as well.

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jws
_... water pollution and ... have made [canal freezing] so rare..._

What mechanism does water pollution have in freezing point depression? Surely
they don't have enough dissolved solids to make a significant difference. A
quick googling didn't reveal an easy answer. Perhaps this is "hacker
knowledge".

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time_management
I've enjoyed the "cold" (by which I mean normal) winter weather. These past
few days have reminded me of Minnesota and brought back fond memories.

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kingkongrevenge
_With an influx of immigrants, the country has been struggling to maintain
what it considers its Dutch soul, and Gustafsson was one of many here who
thought the skating experience enabled the Dutch to reconnect with their
identity. "There were only Dutch people on the ice," he said. "I saw no people
of Arab descent."_

OMG you nazi! How dare you question the goodness of flooding your country with
people who have nothing in common with you.

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delano
That makes two outrageous comments.

