Snow Day!

So, this morning as I was making coffee and doing morning stuff, I noticed some snow in the rain. I love snow, but didn’t think that it was cold enough for it to accumulate.

But it started to fall thick and fast, and kept distracting me from the article I was trying to write.

I started to get a little bit excited because this was looking like actual snowfall!

And it just kept coming down!

After a while, I suddenly realized that I needed to abandon my plans, because this was going to be a bona fide snow day! I needed to get out in it!

Everything was quiet and slow, typical of a Sunday anyway, but snow always adds an extra hush.

And it’s so fitting that everything is decorated for Christmas.

I went up to Munsterkerk, because it’s my favorite, and it was just as magical as you would think.

 

The kids were having so much fun stomping in the snow and making snowballs.

And of course the Christmas market on Munsterplein, which has a tiny ice skating rink

Then I went the way I always do up to Marktplein

A little guy was actually sledding in the square! Adorable!

I went over to the Designer Outlet, where I never go, but I thought it would be festive…

But somehow, despite the snow and the decorations, it just didn’t feel very festive and happy, so I didn’t stay. Instead, I went out the other side toward the river.

It was stunning, and I went out to the bank where there were no footprints but my own.

Then the light fluffy snow turned to an icy stinging little rain and I decided to head home.

On my way back, I ran into a group of women wearing big velvet skirts and bonnets, looking like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. They had me take their picture in front of Munsterkerk. But, more importantly, I ran into THESE!

They were ringing little bells and talking to each other and utterly fascinating and adorable!

I don’t know what they were for; they didn’t hold out a cup or anything, even for these people posing for pictures. I love them!

When I got home, I couldn’t resist another picture of the final accumulation on my terrace:

An hour or so later, just after sunset, the light was absolutely magical:

So it was a beautiful and unexpected day, and I hope not the last snow day of the year!

 

all pictures by yours truly