Cold

The weather is, and is going to be, pretty cold... so in the Netherlands that means that, as every year, almost everyone is hoping for frozen ditches and canals and is discussing feverishly the possibility of ice skating and, maybe, an Elfstedentocht (200 km long ice skating marathon on natural ice in the north of the Netherlands which, probably because we haven't had one since 1997, has grown to mythical proportions). I'm quite okay with cold weather although I don't care too much for ice skating (I prefer thick layers of snow over frost), mostly because people get so obsessed with it these days :) .