Ice skating returns to Dutch towns amid lower temperatures

Several locations across the Netherlands offered ice skating opportunities Sunday morning as temperatures dropped. However, as the day warmed, some locations had to close their rinks. Among the places where artificial ice rinks were open were De Lier in Zuid-Holland and Winterswijk in Gelderland.

In De Lier, located in the Westland region, the ice rink opened at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, and by noon, the rink had to close due to rising temperatures, according to Wim van der Berg, chairman of the Hard Gaat-ie ice skating club. "It was incredibly busy," van der Berg said. "There were over a thousand people. This was our first time opening this winter."

The ice rink in Doorn, in the province of Utrecht, opened from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. The Doornsche IJsclub announced on social media that the rink would be reconstructed overnight in preparation for more skating.

In Winterswijk, a town in Gelderland, hundreds of people were skating on Sunday morning, according to the Winterswijkse IJsvereniging. The club said that it plans to spray additional layers of water on the rink overnight. If conditions allow, school children in Winterswijk will be able to skate for free on Monday on a rink known as the "krabbelbaan."

Meanwhile, other towns, including Noordwijk, also had ice available for skating, but not all rinks opened. The ice rink in Lochem, Gelderland, posted on social media that it was unable to open on Sunday due to water underneath the ice. "Unfortunately, there is still water under the ice, so we can't open yet," the rink said. The club hopes that if temperatures remain cold, the rink may open on Monday.