Dutch Summer?

Dutch Summer

Having ginger hair means I can’t stay out in the sun too much because I burn very easily. One summer I made the mistake of sitting in the same position for most the day with the sun rising and setting to my right. It did not take long for me to end up looking like Harvey Two Face due to the sun burn down one side of my face and body. Some vampires can enjoy more sun bathing time then me.

However, despite all this I enjoy summer. I just have to be sensible and use sun-block cream. Its great when winter comes to an end and going to the beach becomes an option again or sitting out on a terrasse some where enjoying a drink with friends. Its a good time of year.

So with summer starting this year I packed away my jumpers, put on my sunglasses and stepped out into the sun to be greeted by… the Dutch Monsoon season. I never thought Holland had a Monsoon season but it seems it does. The Armageddon style weather waited until I was out getting lunch to start. By the time I had battled my way through the raging winds and rain (and nearly got blown off a bridge) to get back to the office I looked like a drowned rat. I would have been drier if I had jumped in to a canal.

We had two weeks of warm weather which did seemed to signal the start of summer but for the last few days its been nothing but rain and the forecast is predicting more. It has started getting colder again as well. A few days ago I almost resided to sleeping in the fridge to stop myself melting into a bucket during the night but now with the sudden weather reversion I am turning on every available heat emitting device and even the cat is trying to hide in my bed for warmth.

Last year the office had to be closed twice because it got too hot to work. This year it is more likely that the office will have to close due to flooding. If you don’t see any more posts here you will know Holland has been reclaimed by the sea.

Stuart

Stuart is an accident prone Englishman who has been living in the Netherlands since 2001. Even his move to the country was an unintentional accident, the result of replying to a cryptic job advertisement he found one day in a local British magazine. Since then he has learned to love the Dutch (so much so that he married one of them) and now calls the country home. He started the blog Invading Holland in 2006 as a place to share his strange stories of language misunderstandings, cultural confusions and his own accident prone nature.

7 Responses

  1. marycub says:

    Sounds like here.. from hot hot sun to grey grey grey.

    Ever go to Scheveningen beach? (spelling might be a bit off)

  2. marycub says:

    Nice. I used to cycle to Schev in the summer because we lived about 10 minute drive from there. Should you be passing you need to eat in the Tex Mex in front of the Ker house (not on the beach front side, the other side), it is the best in the whole world.

  3. Invader Stu says:

    I’ve been there a few times but Zandvoort was a lot closer for me. Before I moved out of Haarlem I would cycle to Zandvoort during the summer.

  4. Invader_Stu says:

    Thanks. Next time I’m down there I’ll have to check it out :)

    My parents like to go to Scheveningen when they they come over to visit so I might be over there again this summer.

  5. Rose says:

    We are just getting into the nice weather, however with my leg swelling IÂ’m not in a hurry for warmer temp. Like you if I sit in the sun too long I burn.

  6. RM says:

    I also burn at the drop of a hat. I’m normally pretty good with sunscreen as a result but I always seem to do more on one side of my face than the other and forget the back of my neck so I look weird(er than normal) after an extended period in the sun

    I must admit I’m an autumn person myself – who doesn’t like kicking around leaves?

  7. Invader_Stu says:

    Well it finally looks like we are getting some sun again. Time to break out the sun cream.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.