Dubbed "Storm Darcy" by the locals, the week-long snowstorm was something even the Dutch hadn't seen in the past 10 years, but here we were on our 2nd year of living in Amsterdam watching it unfold. So, how was this different from the mild snow day we got in January?

 

Well for starters, the snowy days didn't just last for a day - we were experiencing close to 3 days of snowfall. Roads were closed and certain shops began announcing how they're taking personal choices to close too, mainly for the safety of their staff. Unlike the January snow, the cold that Storm Darcy brought forth meant we had negative temperature throughout the week and it was so cold that most canals froze over. 

 

So I obviously had to go sit on the frozen canal. 

 

I watched the locals pull out their wooden sleds and skating shoes, but clearly my other half and I weren't as ready as they were. In the end, we simply stood on the frozen canals in our shoes and sledded down hills in our pants. It was a wet affair, but it was just one of those experiences money couldn't buy.

 

 

 

 I made that snow angel, can you tell? 

 

This time around, I also got to fulfill a lifelong dream: I made a snow angel because the snow was thick enough for it. Allegedly measuring at 20 centimetres thick, it was the ideal kind of snow condition for me to just drop into the snow and flap my hands around. A whole lot of this snowstorm experience felt really magical...until it stopped being special.

By the 5th day, it felt like the snow had long overstayed its welcome. Most of the powdery, white snow was starting to turn into a dirty slush, possibly from the mix of car tyres, people walking, and bicycles zooming past. It made a real mess in my home as well, because we would have snow stuck to the sole of our shoes, only to melt into puddles of dirty water. I now understood what my friend meant by how he didn't like snow days very much in the UK. 

 

Possibly packing a snowball to attack my other half. 

 

Despite the messy days and the bone-biting chill from the negative temperature though, Storm Darcy was still an interesting experience. We would have never gotten to see this in Malaysia, and the Dutch locals seemed just as excited as we did because snowstorms have become so rare. So at the end of the day, was the mess of the melting snow worth it? 

 

 

 

But until the next snow day, I really wouldn't mind some sunshine in Amsterdam these days. And just before you're wondering, no, we didn't get out at 2AM like we did the last time because of the curfew laws in the Netherlands. Covid, amirite?