I was planning to avoid yet another seasonal topic but Holland's scenery during the end-of-year to beginning-of-year season became so typically Dutch I couldn't leave it out of my column.

The coldest winter in 12 years froze much of the water Holland is famous for — canals, rivers, lakes and ponds — several centimeters thick, making the country's avid skaters rejoice and creating fantastic scenes, much like those in Pieter Bruegel and Hendrick Avercamp paintings.

But while both painters are believed to have been inspired by the "Little Ice Age" that hit Northern Europe in their times, recent global warming kept water from freezing to this extent for over a decade.

Some media commented that this rare skating opportunity helped the Dutch to reacknowledge their identity, which is feared to be under strain due to the influx of immigrants.

This was a convincing comment as I watched people skate everywhere while pulled by dogs, pushing a stroller, pulling children on sleighs, playing ice hockey and for some reason dash around on ice with their bicycles. There were of course children learning to skate while pushing against a chair, another typical Dutch practice seen in medieval paintings.

And when a large, 40-meter-wide canal became fit for skating, another typical Dutch sight appeared — houseboat residents selling coffee and hot wine from their balconies, not wanting to miss this opportunity to make a few extra euros.

And when people have such fun on ice, there comes the unavoidable anticipation for the Elfstedentocht to be held, a skate race linking 11 cities in the northern province of Friesland.

But since the temperature must drop below minus 10 degrees Celsius for several weeks to let 16,000 skaters race over 200 km of natural ice, the Elfstedentocht has only been held 15 times since its inauguration 100 years ago, the last time in January 1997.

Its record holder finished the race in 6 hours, 47 minutes in 1985. Crown Prince Willem-Alexander finished it in 1986 under a pseudonym as his mother, the queen, waited at the finish.

But the race is also known for its obvious harshness: Its 1929 champion had a toe amputated due to frostbite after the run. But leisure skating in neighborhood waters can also be dangerous, with two deaths recorded so far this season.

Ruud, a 49-year-old Dutch friend, gave several tips on how to survive skating on natural ice.

"First, listen to the sound under you," he said, because as long as you can hear the usual schhhht sound or even an occasional crack, you are safe since it means the ice still has tension. No sound can be dangerous because the ice may have become a thin layer over melted water.

He also warned about skating under a bridge because "though it looks romantic, ice is often much thinner under a cover."

And if ever you skate so fast that you don't realize when you fall through a crack, don't panic, he said, but look for a dark spot above you to crawl out because while a bright spot seems to be the opening, that is the ice layer you are under. At night, though, the bright spot becomes the opening, which is confusing, he pointed out.

But even if you can soon find the opening, humans become paralyzed in just a few minutes in ice water.

So Ruud, whenever he skates on wide natural ice, goes with a friend and both carry a rope for safety.

"The trick is to throw the rope to the partner that fell in and to stretch, stomach down, far from the crack to spread your weight, so you don't fall in yourself," he instructed. "Then, pull!"