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I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with winter. On the one hand, I love the gorgeous winter scenes and the cozy feeling of sitting by a crackling fire with a glass of wine. On the other hand, I hate the blistering cold wind which seeps into your bones, slippery pavements and the yucky slush. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to various destinations and the winter experiences I had were nothing short of amazing.

A snowy winter in Amsterdam.
A snowy winter in Amsterdam

My first encounter with winter was in Australia, where I visited Thredbo, a ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales. I had loads of fun in the snow and I even learned to ski (well, if you can call it that!).

Amazing winter experiences

Through the years, I’ve spent many winters in Amsterdam or visiting other places for more winter experiences. Scroll down for some of my most unforgettable winter experiences:

Finland

Some of my most extraordinary winter experiences were in Finland, Finnish Lapland to be precise!

This is arguably one of the most amazing winter experiences I’ve ever had: floating in an icy pool in a frozen lake in Finnish Lapland.

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Ice-floating

Read about my ice-floating experience in Lapland, and the best things to do in Lapland in the winter.

While in Finnish Lapland, I also went husky-sledding and stayed in the Snow Village! Read about my husky-sledding ride in Finnish Lapland and my stay in the Snow Village in Lapland.

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Husky-sledding in Finnish Lapland was another awesome experience!
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Another memorable winter experience in Finnish Lapland: Sleeping in this bed in the Cupid suite at the Snow Village!
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And sipping on Finnish peppermint vodka in an ice glass at the Ice Bar!

Another wonderful yet quirky winter experience in Lapland was a ride on a sauna gondola! Read about my experience in the sauna gondola.

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Oh, and there was this quirky and unforgettable winter experience in Finnish Lapland: sitting in the sauna gondola!

But the most awe-inspiring experience was seeing the Aurora borealis or northern lights! Read about my experience of seeing the northern lights in Lapland.

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Northern lights (image courtesy of Visit Finland).
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Canada

Some of the coldest winters I’ve experienced were in Canada. I’ll never forget looking at the temperature meter in a taxi in Calgary and gasping. It was minus 27 degrees Celsius (minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit)! During that trip, I had a terrific time walking on a frozen Lake Louise and partying in Banff.

Frozen Lake Louise (image by F.Freitas/Unsplash)

I got to experience winter in Montreal as well! It was VERY cold but me and my friends had such an awesome time partying at the Igloo Fest, ice-fishing in the St. Lawrence River and ice-skating!

Me with my friends Melvin, Nienke and Becki in a wintry Montréal.
Winter in Montreal with my friends

We also went to Mont Tremblant, a ski resort village a few hours north of Montreal. My favourite winter experience there was a snowshoe hike through the forest.

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A wonderful snow-shoe hike in Mont Tremblant
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And I also learned how to snowboard!
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Amsterdam

There have been numerous cold winters in Amsterdam. Sometimes, it gets cold enough for the canals to freeze! It’s always an amazing sight when that happens.

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Skating on the Keizersgracht.
Ice-skaters on the frozen Prinsengracht canal
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The frozen Keizersgracht canal.

Read about the winter in Amsterdam in 2018 and snow and ice in Amsterdam in 2021.

Just north of Amsterdam is the historic lake-side town of Marken. One winter, the Ijssel Lake froze over and the wind started pushing huge chunks of ice onto the dike that circles Marken. It was pretty incredible to walk along the dike to the Marken lighthouse to see this amazing phenomenon.

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Marken

Do you enjoy the winter? Feel free to share your favourite winter experiences in the Comments section below.

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