Summer Rain in Holland

Summer Rain in Holland

To say that Holland’s summer has been slightly unconventional this year would be putting it mildly. In fact, saying that Holland has experienced ‘a bit of rain’ would be like saying Australia sometimes gets a bit sunny and sunscreen is advised or Canada gets a bit chilly and occasionally experiences snow fall. Neither of these statements do the reality justice. What would be more realistic would be to say Holland has had enough rain fall this last week to fill every canal in the country twice over (with more rain forecasted on the way).

There have been a lot of disappointed looking tourists arriving all over the country the last few days because they forgot to pack their umbrella and a snorkel. I’ve had a strong desire to run up to each and every one of them screaming, “It’s not usually like this. I promise.” But I don’t do this for two very good reasons. (1) It wouldn’t work. They wouldn’t believe me and (2) they would think I was a crazy person for randomly shouting out a weather forecast at them in the middle of the street.

If the weather continues this way the Dutch tourist board is going to have to give some serious thought to rebranding.

Come and enjoy the many sights and attractions Holland has to offer:

  • Why not take a canal trip on one of Holland’s many flooded canals.
  • Experience historic Holland as it was thousands of years ago; below sea level.
  • Re-enact scenes from the ‘Singing in the rain’ with your friends.
  • Enjoy a brisk swimming in Dam square.
  • Stag party? Don’t miss the Amsterdam Red Light District wet t-shirt competition.
  • For hay fever suffers; enjoy an extremely low pollen count.
  • And finally… Why not remember your visit with a collection of souvenir umbrellas for you and the entire family.
  • Summer Rain Postcard

    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.

    18 Responses

    1. Ernestine says:

      Love this Stu! Fantastic postcard.

    2. VallyP says:

      Brilliant Stu! I love this! Maybe you could add a muddy welly throwing competition to the attractions list…

    3. Laura says:

      Best postcard ever!

    4. Wezz6400 says:

      Well at least we can leave it to you to make some fun out of it. ;-)

    5. Koen Havik says:

      bah… true… sad…

    6. Windmilltales (@windmilltales) says:

      Super postcard and post, at least you and my DH have no excuse not to spend the rainy days preparing for the imminent arrivals

    7. Stacey says:

      Great postcard!!

      I’ve been there in the rain, it is NO fun and the frites get soggy.

      On the other fan, if you like museums the weather is great!!

      Unfortunately the weather is the one part of a vacation you really have no control over, you just gotta deal with it.

      If you’re interested, I’ll let you have some of our (Canada’s) heat and sun for a couple of days of rain; 30c in parts of central Canada.

    8. dragon lady says:

      Visitors from England will feel sooo at home.

    9. Yvette says:

      My boyfriend who lives in the UK is visiting me this week. He thought this was hilarious when I read it, but his only note was it’s not like things are all that better this summer back there. ;)

    10. Frieda says:

      :D finally I have some ideas how to enjoy my vacation. Brilliant!

    11. That image *needs* to be made into a postcard. Stat! Along with some posters for the wet t-shirt contest, ha!

      (I type this on a day when it honestly has rarely stopped raining in Miami, by the way. At the rate this is going, I might be able to swim from my house across the Atlantic to Holland within the next couple of days.)

    12. Invader Stu says:

      Ernestine – Thank you

      VallyP – I think that would be a great attraction for the English tourists :)

      Laura – Thank you

      Wezz6400 – I have to try :)

      Koen Havik – Agreed

      Windmilltales – What are you talking about? These computer games aren’t just going to play themselves :p

      Stacey – Done! How do we make this exchange work? :p

      Dragon Lady – No kidding

      Yvette – No but Holland is giving England a run for its money I bet.

      Frieda – Happy to help :)

      Barb the French Bean – You want to see cartoon me in a wet t-shirt?

    13. Likeahike says:

      There’s another advantage maybe: no queues in the Efteling, or anywhere else for that matter. Oh, wait, queuing is your national sport, isn’t it? Shame! ;-) I’ll keep my fingers crossed for sunshine so you might cheerfully queue again.

    14. Likeahike says:

      P.s. Love the postcard by the way. It’s great to have a laugh about this gastly weather.

    15. Joey says:

      I’ve always enjoyed the description of “mildly moist” when refering to this summer.

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