Skating away

As skaters reclaim the frozen waters and glide off to otherwise unreachable countryside, Holland expands in size and imagination

Author: By Carol Winkelman, Globe Correspondent

Date: SUNDAY, December 14, 1997

Page: M1

Section: Travel

Schools release children for ij vrij (free for skating) days. Otherwise enterprising adults ``forget'' to work, and skate through cosmopolitan Amsterdam, medieval Delft, or country villages and wildlife reserves. Newspapers and TV teletext daily notify the skating-obsessed country of 6- to 60-mile tours on canals and lakes, and special skating maps guide thousands of winter adventurers over frozen waterways. Koek en zopie (eat and drink) stands create warm havens on the ice, selling hot chocolate, rich pea soup, and spicy Berenburg liqueur. Bands play at a moment's notice.

For a brief while, the water that dikes fend off all year becomes ally and plaything. As skaters reclaim the frozen waters and glide off to otherwise unreachable countryside, Holland expands in size and imagination. The frozen canals form a second system of highways and recreational areas, inviting the Dutch to close their shops, lace up their skates, and join the party.

For years, I'd hoped to skate the canals of Holland. But Dutch winters can be relatively mild, making the skating season -- from December through February -- unpredictable. Once I waited three days too long and arrived in Amsterdam to find the afterglow of a week of ``fever'' -- and ice thawed to a deep meringue.

I promised myself that the next time the canals froze smooth and fast and the Dutch became schaatsgek (crazy for skating), I would be there. Finally, in late December, word came from Amsterdam. ``They're skating everywhere. It's the coldest Christmas of the century -- and they're talking about the Elfstedentocht,'' my Dutch friend, Hanneke, phoned to tell me.

``The Elfstedentocht!'' I thought. The Eleven Towns Tour: the culmination of skating fever. I packed my skates and flew.

The Elfstedentocht, a legendary 122-mile skating marathon through 11 cities in the northern province of Friesland, is, some say, one of the most difficult skating races in the world. It is decidedly one of the most popular, sparking festivities that seem like Mardi Gras, the Super Bowl, and the Boston Marathon all rolled into one.

When skating fever becomes Elfsteden koorts (Eleven Towns fever), the whole country goes mad.

If the race is held, hundreds of thousands travel to Friesland to watch, and more than 16,000 skaters (about 600 serious competitors who skate to win and the rest casual ``tourists'' who skate to finish) will participate. Although the winner becomes a folk hero for the rest of his life, most Nederlanders are content to complete the course simply for the honor of skating it.

Since the race requires ice frozen solid and smooth for approximately 122 miles (200 kilometers), and since nature is usually less than obliging, the Elfstedentocht has taken place only 15 times in the last century. There was a gap of 23 years (1962-1985) because conditions were never quite right. In 1991, the race was a real possibility until the ice thawed and froze again, leaving the course rough and uneven. In 1996, a skating accident the week preceding the race resulted in its cancellation.

The Dutch newspapers I saw on my flight to Amsterdam reflected the increasing fever. The New Year's Eve edition of Algemeen Dagblad, one of Holland's largest newspapers, listed several columns of skating tours. Within two days, there would be 36 skating tours on ``natural ice'' throughout Holland, including the popular ``Windmills and Lake Tour,'' which gave skaters the options of a 9-, 12-, 24-, or 43-mile route. Over the next two weeks, skating clubs would organize about 370 skating tours.

``Everyone is on skates,'' said Pieter Bult, the director of education for the KNSB (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Schaatsenrijders), the Royal Dutch skating organization. ``People are either inside watching the skating competitions on TV, or they are outside going skating. I think we will have no cars on the road.''

Many Dutch try to explain skating fever to bewildered American onlookers by saying, ``It's a Dutch thing.'' They see skating as an aesthetic, athletic, and social experience all wrapped into one.

Kees de Jong, a Frisian skater and shopkeeper, has skated the Elfstedentocht several times ``for the honor of reaching the end.'' He also skates to feel free in nature and to socialize. ``There are no ranks on the ice,'' de Jong says. ``You can talk to everybody you wouldn't ordinarily talk to.,''

Many Nederlanders, including Dutch skating champion Ria Visser, describe skating on natural ice as a visual and auditory high. ``When you are on the ice, the whole world looks different,'' said Visser, who likes to skate in the lake country of Utrecht. ``You hear the silence. It's beautiful.''

I arrived in Amsterdam at dawn, steeped in skating lore and ready for the ice.

I knew just where to find the best skating: the Prinsengracht/Keizersgracht canal neighborhood near Westerkerk (the 17th-century church built by Hendrick de Keyser where Rembrandt and his son are buried, although no one knows the exact spot). It's my favorite neighborhood, rich in cafes, cozy canalside hotels, exotic restaurants and shops, and a bohemian spirit much like New York's Soho.

Each winter, the city of Amsterdam designates the Kiezersgracht (the Keizers canal) as the official skating canal. During skating season, this waterway is closed to tour boat traffic and the water flow is shut down to allow for a smooth, deep freeze.

In the cool early morning light, before traffic assumed the usual buzzing pace, the Kaisers canal conjured the quiet dignity of Holland's Golden Age, when these canalside buildings belonged to wealthy merchants and were used as homes and warehouses. Transportation was by boat during most of the year -- but in winter, it was by skate.

I imagined taking an architectural tour of the canal, skating under arched bridges and past 17th-century architectural masterpieces by Hendrick De Keyser, Jacob van Campen, and Philips Vingaboons to see these stately buildings with their gables and cornices the way they were meant to be viewed -- from the water. I'd skate past the Greenland warehouses at number 40-44, where whale oil was once stored in massive tanks, and then glide on past de Keyser's Het Huis met de Hoofden, at number 123, where sculpted heads of classical deities adorn the facade.

But first, I'd settle into my hotel and check the TV reports on the Elfstedentocht. The newscast was full of ``the fever.'' Finally, after much deliberation, the race was called for 5 a.m. Jan. 4 -- about 40 hours away.

I made a hurried call to a Hotel Water Sport in Heeg, several kilometers off the Elfstedentocht route, just in time to book their last room.

``People are coming from all over the world,'' the owner told me.

Then I called Paul de Bruin, a photographer friend who had recently moved from Amsterdam to Friesland. He had always seemed the ultimate Amsterdam sophisticate, immune from things as fanciful as skating fever. But he, too, had been infected. ``I went out and bought my first pair of good skates,'' he effused.

I would drive to Friesland the next morning with my friends Willem Jan and Marijke, stopping along the way to blade through Giethoorn, the ``Venice of Holland,'' a lovely 13th-century village with thatch-roof cottages and narrow, winding canals. It was first on my list of villages to explore on skates.

Meanwhile, with hours to skate the Keizersgracht, I found easy access to the ice behind Westerkerk on the pink granite steps known as the Homomonument, a memorial honoring gays who had been killed by the Nazis in World War II. The granite was strewn with evergreen wreaths and potted plants honoring others who died before their time: people stricken with AIDS.

The scene was ``very Amsterdam'' with its usual playful eccentricity, making the party on ice as compelling as the architecture.

Skaters sat crowded together as they laced up their leather or plastic distance skates or strapped on the heirloom wood and steel friesedoorlopers. One small boy had strapped his friesedoorlopers on to fleece-lined bedroom slippers.

A young woman zoomed by singing a few echoing bars of opera -- in English -- as she passed under 17th-century stone bridge. Another glided past in mock dress-up: her rhinestone necklace set off by her black velveteen coat.

I'd only been on long-bladed, Dutch, distance skates (noren) several times, but after negotiating deep grooves and lurching out of control, I discovered three essential rules to maneuvering noren: Push off with the sides of the blades (not the toes), find a repetitive ``cadence'' -- like a waltz -- and look down to assess the ice more often than you look up to admire the gables.

At noon the next day, Willem Jan, Marijke, and I headed for Geithoorn. We drove northeast through flat, orderly Dutch farmland. Sheep gathered in neat, woolly clumps on the snow-dusted pastures, and flocks of ducks flew in formation overhead.

Giethoorn is a perfect spot for skating. Since there are no cars, the primary means of transportation is by boat -- or skate -- on narrow, tree-lined canals that meander through the village. The canals divide the village into little islands of thatch-roof cottages with extensive gardens. These islands are connected to one another by tiny arched wooden bridges. Footpaths lead from bridge to bridge.

Giethoorn was even better than I remembered. When I walked down the stone steps to the canal's edge, sat on the folded newspaper provided for keeping out the damp, and laced up my skates while plump ducks formed a semicircle around me, I felt as though I'd stepped into the peaceable kingdom of a European fairy tale.

The canals were alive with skaters: parents pulling toddlers behind them on sleds or teaching children who could barely walk to skate; flocks of marathon skaters in tight, iridescent racing suits matching strides with their friends; and an occasional solitary skater out for a blade around town.

Festivities were not only for the young. Even the very old had taken to the ice, some holding a baton between them while they skated. In the old times, this was for safety. Today, the baton helps couples maintain the same cadence.

Wooden picnic tables set up on the ice near koek en zopie stands created warm enclaves of village conviviality. People squeezed onto the benches to sip hot drinks and devour savory sausage sandwiches.

To top off the afternoon, Marijke brought us to her favorite Giethoorn cafe, Fanfare, a 100-year-old establishment made famous by the 1958 Bert Haanstra movie of the same name that told the story of a brass band, composed of local farmers, that practiced in the cafe.

We ate traditional apple pannekkoeken -- delicate, platter-sized pancakes sprinkled with powdered sugar. Above us was a wall full of black-and-white photos commemorating the movie. Otherwise, the cafe was typical Dutch with dark wood paneling, short Turkish rugs used as tablecloths, and American blues playing in the background.

When we heard of growing Eleven Towns Fever creating traffic jams en route to Friesland, we reluctantly skated down the main canal toward the parking lot.

We knew we were in Friesland -- ``land of eternal fog'' -- when we started seeing signs in two languages, Dutch and Fries. The Frisians, who speak a language closer to Old English than to Dutch or German, keep their native language alive by teaching it to their children. They also maintain their ethnic identity by flying their own flag and preserving their own notorious national character (taciturn, except during skating season when the entire province becomes affable and obsessed with skating).

When we arrived at our hotel in Heeg, we found the restaurant packed with guests and locals. Most everyone was planning their party route for the next day. Some would follow the race from town to town, cheering on friends and consuming vast amounts of Berenburg, a favorite Frisian skating drink with a secret recipe combini000084bs and gin.

On TV the next morning, we watched the true contenders vying for first place and saw the finalists sprinting to break away from the pack and soaring along the ice like low flying birds. At the very end, the favorites fell behind and a young Brussels sprouts farmer named Henk Angenent took first prize.

``Go to Franeker!'' Jeen van den Berg, winner of the 1956 Elfstedentocht and participant once again in 1997, advised me. ``And stay in Friesland,'' he added.

It was good advice.

As skaters passed through Franeker, one of the most exuberant cities on the race route, they were greeted with crowds singing ``We Are the Champions'' and old Dutch classics like ``Tulips of Amsterdam,'' brass bands playing, and police officers dancing on the ice. Bystanders offered skaters hot drinks.

``If you're a good Frisian, you skate,'' a weathered skater with typical Frisian angular cheekbones and jaw, told me. For some Frisians in their 50s and 60s, this was their second or even third Elfstedentocht.

The next morning was perfect for skating. The ice was glassy, the sun bright, and the children out in force. I took out my skating map and went out for a blade around town.

Many Nederlanders already had the same idea. The hotel's cafe was full of locals who arrived for coffee wearing skates with skate guards. They had kluned (walked on skates) from a nearby canal.

Although the day was turning cold and foggy, I was determined to ``tour'' from town to town. I'd start in Heeg, once an 18th-century eel fishing village that is now known for sailing, fishing, and bird-watching.

I found a guide, Deun Lammers, who had the English to explain the scenery and the patience to accommodate my American pace. We explored the marina, skimming along on fast black ice past magnificent old wooden sailboats, renovated freighters, and barges-turned-houseboats.

The protected marina emptied out in the inlet of a lake, the Heegermeer, and we followed a recently plowed skating path into the wind. We found fields and reeds and a thin fog that melded ice and sky but made the brightly dressed skaters stand out all the more dramatically.

As we rounded a bend in the path, we glided onto the river Ee and into the center of Woudsend, a village known for shipmaking and sailing. The river was wide and the ice smooth, considering that 16,000 Elfstedentocht skaters had bladed through the day before.

We skated under the bridge, past 17th-century windmills, gabled storefronts, an antique North Sea freighter -- and didn't stop until we reached the Slotermeer, a windswept expanse of lake between Woudsend and the tiny medieval city of Sloten.

We had traveled 3 1/2 miles. At a crossroads where three skating routes came together, we found a resting place where people gathered, talking in Dutch and Fries. Some men had icicles hanging from their mustaches and beards.

The frosted elm trees and reeds on the nearby shore glistened against a soft gray sky. Across the lake, the distant steeples of Sloten beckoned, and a shiny skating path led the way.

I remembered what a skater who I'd met earlier that morning had told me: ``You skate faster than a sailboat goes. It's lovely.'' If you have a good dance cadence, he said, ``you don't get tired. You go on and on,'' he said, likening the experience of skating long distances to runners' high.

I headed back to Heeg, finding a cadence, feeling as if I could skate on and on, but deciding to save my ankles for the route back and to save Sloten for the next time Holland gets the fever.

Most tours run from 10 to 120 kilometers (6 to 75 miles) and cost from $8 to $10. Giethoorn, with its traditional thatch-roof cottages, meandering narrow canals, and wooden footbridges, is a lovely setting for skating. The Holland/Venice Tour in Giethoorn takes skaters through the village, a nearby lake, and a nature reserve. The Kinderdijk Tour leads skaters past 19 windmills near Rotterdam.

Zaanse Schans provides quiet skating past windmills, villages, and farmland. Breukelen (for which Brooklyn, N.Y., is named) on the Vecht River south of Amsterdam, offers a scenic skate past 17th-century mansions with little tea houses near the water's edge, simple farmers' cottages, and a medieval castle.

The Frisian towns of Heeg, Sneek, Workum, Franeker, Harlingen, and Sloten are ideal for skating. Sloten, a small medieval city, offers tours of the nearby lake.

Skating museums: The First Frisian Skating Museum, 1-3 Kleine Weide (open by appointment), in the town of Hindeloopen, displays an impressive collection of antique Dutch and European skates, a prehistoric pair of bone skates, skating posters, skate-making machinery, and Elfstedentocht memorabilia. The adjoining shop sells traditional hand-painted wooden furniture and friese doorlopers.

The Hans Brinker Museum, Voordam 6, Alkmaar. Open October-February on Sundays, 1-5 p.m.; April-September open on Tuesday-Friday and Sunday. Mr. Voorn, the owner, believes that Hans Brinker was a real person. His collection of skates includes 12th- through 19th-century Dutch skates and French skates made from a bayonet blade. Many of the Dutch antiques are wood and steel skates with traditional village designs.

Safety precautions: Skate only on lakes, canals, and rivers specifically designated for skating. On tours, follow only the marked and tested course. Avoid yellow or fractured ice. Watch out for grooves and snow on the ice and for soft ice under bridges. Wear wrist guards and knee pads for long trips.

Lodgings: Some Dutch hotels have special winter rates (with the exception of the Christmas and New Year's holidays). Rates are subject to weekly fluctuations.

Amsterdam on or near the Keizersgracht, the skating canal:

Hotel Pulitzer, Prinsengracht 315-331, 011-31-20-5235235, sometimes offers special doubles rates of $130, the ``hot'' winter rate; other rooms may go for $277 with breakfast. The hotel consists of 24 converted 16th- and 17th-century canal houses and offers views of both Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals; Canal House, Keizersgracht 148, 011-31-20-6225182, doubles from $112 to $135 with breakfast. This small hotel blends the atmosphere of an 18th- century canal house with an American country inn; Ambassade, Herengracht 341, 011-31-20-6262333, doubles $152 and up with breakfast. Considering the regal decor and peaceful atmosphere, this hotel is a rare find; Wiechmann, Prinsengracht 328, 011-31-20-6263321, simple but comfortable doubles from $100 to $125 with breakfast. Hotel Aspen, Raadhuisstraat 31, 011-31-20-6266714, $54 with shower but no breakfast. Rooms overlooking the garden avoid the traffic noise from the busy street in front.

Heeg:

Hotel Water Sport, De Skattig 44, 515-442229, rates vary from $70 to$100.

Canal-side cafes: Van Puffelen, Prinsengracht 377, 20 6246270; Het Land Van Walem, Keizersgracht 449, 20 6253544; De Prins, Prinsengracht 124, 20 6461547.

Restaurants: Koh-I-Nor, Westermarkt 29, (20) 6233133 (moderate); De Luwte, Leliegracht 26-28, (20) 6258548 (moderate), Bordewijk, Noodermarkt 7, (20) 6243899; (expensive) Christophe, Leliegracht 46, (20) 6250807 (very expensive).

Getting There: Always check with airlines for winter sales. In 1997, January and February sales fares (no advance purchase) ranged from $350 to $399.

Published midweek fares through Feb. 12 (with the exception of 7-14 days around Christmas and New Year's) range from $358 to $1,013, depending on advance purchase times or available sales fares. (Travel between Dec. 11-25 often brings a higher fare.)

Delta flies from Boston through New York to Amsterdam. American Airlines flies Boston/London/Amsterdam, and United flies through Boston, Washington, D.C./Amsterdam. KLM and Northwest also fly from Boston to Amsterdam. Air France, Lufthansa, and British Airways all make connections from New York to Amsterdam

Air-Hitch, (310) 3940550 or (212) 864-2000, offers low fares -- even during holidays and high season.

Getting from Amsterdam to Geithoorn by car. Take A10 out of Amsterdam to Amersfoort. Get on A1 near Amersfoort and take it to A6 at Lelystad. Then turn on N331 to Steenwijk and turn on N334 to Giethoorn. To get to Friesland from Giethoorn, take A32 to Herenveen and watch for signs to Sneek, IJlst, and Heeg.

Rent a car in Amsterdam or arrange for airport transportation through Hotel Water Sport in Heeg. The route by train and bus is inexpensive -- but long and tedious.

Other information: Call the Netherlands Board of Tourism at 312-819-1500.