Smooth ice on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam

photo rights reserved by B℮n

In winter, Amsterdammers watch the falling thermometer readings with the same focus as people in Aspen and Chamonix. When the temperature drops low enough for long enough, the lakes and the canals in Amsterdam become sparkling highways for the skaters. Little kiosks are set up on the ice to dispense heart-warming liqueurs. I really love this part of our culture. Almost everyone, young or old, likes to skate and is smiling and friendly. The last days the cold was enough for the canals to freeze over a rare occasion. Amsterdammers sharpen their blades and hit the ice. On the 14th of Februari 2021, the first people started skating on the canals of Amsterdam. A lovely view of people skating on the Keizersgracht canal. Who knows times of Hendrick Avercamp are coming back this year. Avercamp was the first Dutch artist to specialize in paintings of winter landscapes featuring people enjoying the ice. Some 400 years on, our image of life in the harsh winters of the Golden Age is still dominated by Avercamp’s ice scenes with their splendid narrative details of couples skating, children pelting each other with snowballs and unwary individuals falling through the ice.

Photo of the frozen Keizersgracht canal in Amsterdam near the Wester church. As temperatures plunge across Europe, many are cursing the cold. But not in the Netherlands. There, many are hoping for further frigid conditions. This weekend we could ice skate even on some canals of Amsterdam. We had three fantastic days of skating.

Na 3 jaar konden de Jordanezen eindelijk weer de ijzers onderbinden. Op 14 februari 2021 nog geen ideale condities want je kon nog niet onder alle bruggen schaatsen. Op de Prinsengracht is het ijs net dik genoeg, er kan best aardig geschaatst worden, maar ook op de Keizersgracht. De grachten eindelijk bevroren en de adem komt in kleine grijze pufjes uit mijn mond. Handen op de rug. Rustig ademen. Ik geniet van het geluid van de ijzers over het ijs, sneeuw en een prachtige gezicht op de Amsterdamse grachtenpanden. Wie had dat nu gedacht, schaatsen in februari in Amsterdam. Wie even wegdenkt kan zich vandaag in Hendrick Avercamps wereld wanen. Als eerste Amsterdamse kunstenaar uit de 17de eeuw specialiseerde hij zich in het schilderen van winterlandschappen met ijspret. Ons beeld van het leven in de strenge winters in de Gouden Eeuw wordt na 400 jaar nog altijd bepaald door Avercamps ijsgezichten met prachtige verhalende details van schaatsende paartjes, kinderen die elkaar bekogelen met sneeuwballen of een man die door het ijs zakt. In de middag is er inderdaad Anno 2021 iemand door het ijs gezakt. Morgen gaat het helaas weer dooien. Het waren drie fantastische schaatsdagen in 2021.

Taken in: Holland / North Holland / Jordaan (show map)

Taken on: February 14, 2021

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Emperor's canal « less

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Camera: Canon EOS 6D, f/6.3, 1/320 sec, 70mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 6D
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/320)
Focal Length:	70mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	PaintShop Pro 23,00
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