Some winters were so severe it brought not only inconvenience but also excitement to Arnhem’s population, as the mighty river Rhine started to carry ice floes, all the way from Switzerland.
Crossing the Rhine was possible only if the ice had settled and perhaps at least 30 centimetres thick, enough to carry some weight. What a joy it was to set foot on that uneven and slippery surface of the once mighty flowing stream. Weeks later we were once again in awe of nature’s force, when the thaw had set in, the silent waterway came alive again with a lot of moaning and groaning as the ice came adrift, wrestling itself loose from Father Frost’s grip.