Today it snowed again! The first snow was two weeks ago, Tuesday. It was beautiful biking to IKEA in the snow. There was enough snow to make it look pretty, but not enough to make biking difficult. It has snowed on and off since then. Now it is no surprise to wake up in the morning and see a white blanket outside. Sadly, the afternoon sun warms everything up and the snow melts.

Today was no exception. The snow was melted by mid-morning. However, today it seemed like the sunshine was short lived because it was freezing cold this afternoon. I biked home from the train station after Bible study and I could barely get my key out of my bike to open the front door – my fingers were so frozen. I stayed close to the radiator for about 10 minutes with my coat and hat on trying to warm up.

The weather here doesn’t seem to stop people from going about their daily activities. I see people biking in the rain, snow, and wind. The traffic does increase slightly in bad weather because those who have cars tend use them more often when the weather is poor. But if you are like us (or the average Dutch person in the city), who only have bikes, you make due or take the bus.

I have a hard time judging what kind of attire to wear outside in this weather. I keep looking at the other Dutch people to see what they are wearing especially when biking. I see a lot of wool coats and scarves worn in all types of winter weather – even in the rain. Most women do not wear hats and only half of them wear gloves. I can’t understand how they aren’t freezing. Sometimes it is all I can do to keep biking when I’m cold.

I don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, but how am I supposed to stay warm if I dress like everyone else here?