I doubt that one was random as the picture would suggest. I bet somebody paid (wasted) money on that.
That is very cool, thank you for sharing that. Is it popular? Only in a specific region, Kinderdijk, or throughout the country? Have you taken part? Reminds me a bit of the Rideau Canal skating that takes place in Ottawa, Canada. It is a 7.8 kilometer long skating rink. I've always wanted to try it, but have never had the chance. There are even food & beverage stands right on the ice so people can skate up and get a snack:
Nothing like putting up with beginner-level skating skills to have a cinnamon-sugar beavertail out on the ice.
Kinderdijk itself is very popular among tourist worldwide, because nothing says "The Netherlands" more than lots of old windmills in one picture Ice skating in general is a very popular Dutch habit if nature allows it (which, sadly, is less and less frequent). If I recon correctly there are a few long distance races you can part take in of which one is held at Kinderdijk. I never have entered such an event, but whenever possible I like to spent some time on the ice in our local park. That is some wide waterway to freeze over at winter. But then again, I guess Canadian winters are a bit harder and colder then the ones in the Netherlands nowadays. Grrr, Imrahil
There was some sort of unwritten rule about one picture usage (France has more than just the Eiffel tower and Italy has much more than the tower of Pisa ) But honestly, if it has to be one picture, which will it be? Grrr, Imrahil
I could always use some "lighter" winters... or no winters at all! I feel the same way. Speaking of Italy, I'll never forget seeing this beauty while we were in Rome: I've been to all four of those places!
I think, following the theme of really old stuff, that it would have to be Stonehenge (as it is genuinely the oldest one of the lot, including the castles. I think that iconically Big Ben gives the best "instant impression" of England. Aside from Winston Churchill but I think his image is becoming less and less known nowadays... "We shall never forget!" Nice! My favourite places to go historically were always the castles. Especially as they would uniformally have an arms and amour room, with hundreds of medieval weapons. Awesome stuff. Especially one sword I remember particularly which had a 9-foot blade... I never could work out how someone would actually use that...