That one time I experienced snow in the Netherlands!

When I got the job, and it was all confirmed that I would be moving to the Netherlands, my initial thought was to be prepared for all eventualities in my new job. I wanted to make sure I at least had some of the basics for day-to-day living whilst concentrating on settling into my new job and home. Including a decent pair of boots for the colder Winter months. Which, I would soon discover, would be used for that one time I experienced snow in the Netherlands!

I had, wrongly perhaps, assumed that it snowed every Winter in the Netherlands as it does in most parts of Europe. As I’d only ever travelled there in the Spring and Summer months and not really thought about the other half of the year! I can only assume that this assumption stems from the fact that the Netherlands is in Northern Europe and is geographically relatively close to Scandinavian countries. Or, it could be from the Wintery pictures of skating on the canals and Dutch buildings covered in snow we quite often see on Christmas cards and Christmas biscuit tins!

But, after moving here, I quickly discovered that this rather arrogant assumption on my part wasn’t quite right. And that there would only really be one time I experienced snow in the Netherlands!

In fact, snow is quite a rarity here. Often the Winters are grey, dull, and there’s more rain than any other type of weather. And, it’s really, really cold! Sometimes, to me anyhow, it feels like winter is going to last forever. I don’t usually mind. I like to get warm and cosy on those really cold days and just watch a film with the curtains closed, if I can. Only, I just wish Summers seemed to last a little longer than the Winters seem to!

During a school trip once, the two ladies who were running one of the workshops we attended during the day described how, when they were children, they often skated along the canals. And that the canals used to freeze over every Winter when they were young, but now they don’t or very rarely do. These two ladies were probably only in their mid-60s at a good guess.

I remember the children looking puzzled, and some questioned them further about ice skating and playing in the snow. Making you realise all the more just how rare snow is now and how little experience most children have had with it in current times. And, it also raises that question about climate change and signs of warming temperatures doesn’t it?  

So, as we got into the Winter months my first year here, I wasn’t really expecting to experience snow. Pretty much in the same way as I wouldn’t really expect to see snow in the UK!

However, this particular Winter was obviously quite different!

After checking the weather forecast and alerts, a couple of my colleagues informed the rest of us that we were to receive heavy snowfall. Some were already making plans and checking the tram timetables from where they lived. As we Brits didn’t expect to receive a snow day! One colleague, who had been at the school for several years, said that he’d never known there to be a snow day. Even after a heavy snowfall!

So, we were all quite surprised when we had an email from senior management confirming that the school would be closed the next day due to expected heavy snowfall.  

I really wasn’t expecting a ‘snow day’ in the Netherlands. After all, most other European countries aren’t like the UK, are they? They don’t shut down, they just get on with it! But, I was thankful that I didn’t have the fuss and faff of trying to get into work without slipping on my backside a few times, or several times it being me! There would have been no chance of me cycling in that day. Wouldn’t have even considered it! It would have most certainly have been an ‘I’m getting the tram’ type of day!

Having said that, instead of risking slipping on my backside several times trying to get into work, I risked falling on my backside several times meeting with a friend. We planned to meet halfway between where we lived and near the canals. I didn’t just want to see the snow. I wanted to see the snowfall in the Netherlands. On the canals and on the Dutch architecture. Just like you’d see on a Christmas card! But instead, I would be standing there, in the Netherlands, looking at it and experiencing it first-hand. And it was magical. So pretty and picturesque. I’m glad I made the effort to walk there. And thankfully, without slipping and falling on my backside! There and back! But I was also very happy to get back to the warmth of my apartment again afterwards.

I’d still take Summer and Spring over the other half of the year weatherwise if I’m being totally honest! However, Winter can still be cosy and fun. Or maybe I’m just saying that because I managed a snow day in the Netherlands without slipping on my backside! However, the snow on the Dutch canals and buildings is beautifully picturesque and certainly something worth seeing for yourself. When it does snow in the Netherlands, that is! And, it’s not too hard to find a warm, cosy spot in a café somewhere to watch Winter from a window the rest of the time!