We had a beautiful white week here in North Holland. It didn't snow nor was there freezing rain. The white that you see on the trees are frosty pillars of frozen fog. It was really bizarre and even the locals said that they had never seen anything like it before. I'm sorry now that I didn't get any close ups of the trees. Every branch was stacked with 2-3 cm of ultra lite frosting. The coating lasted for two days before being burned off by brilliant sun just before Christmas.
But the real bonus of more than a week of sub-freezing temperatures was the ice that formed on the local canals and ponds. It wasn't enough to freeze the big canals used for the once every 20 year famous 11 city ice skating race, but it was cold enough to strap on the skates and get the kiddies and dogs onto the ice. It was hillarious to see how excited they all were.
The local mill park, during the day....
...and at night.
Relaxing in a cafe after some last minute shopping.
And what is Christmas without the annual hikes/exploring to new places. First it was the beach...
...then it was the city. The (in)famous Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam.
Going up? Rotterdam has always been known as the newer, high-rise city of The Netherlands. But recently the Dutch have figured a new way for the swampland that underlies most of their country to support more weight. It's being put to the test in Rotterdam as the city embarks on a massive building boom skyward.
Cubic houses were built in the 1970's to help bring life and interesting architecture to the otherwise bland new city. Furiture must be specially made to fit in these houses. The building in the background is from the same architect and is known as "The pencil".
The famous statue commemerating the feeling of May 14, 1940, which made all the rebuilding necessary.
A reminder of what they had to work with after that night.
We spent Christmas eve at Zannenpark here in North Haarlem where they brought out the decorations, cocoa, and carolers for an evening sing-along. Funny to hear Silent Night and Oh Christmas Tree translated to Dutch. It was a good ol' fashioned gathering, just like in the movies. But the big sing-along was on the Grote Markt in the center of the city...unfortunately it didn't start until midnight and we were too comfortable at home in front of the fire. So I took this capture from the Haarlem web cam. The turn out was about 1500 revelers.
And the most unique present this year? Hot pepper sauce served up in a very shapely naked woman jar. Thanks Katie and Jodi!!! You'd fit right in over here in The Netherlands. When are you coming for a visit?
