Although the beginning of summer was cool and rainy, this week marks the first real hittegolf in the Netherlands! Today is the warmest July 1st since 1901! Temperatures are above 30 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) and there is no sight of rain for the next week…which makes me VERY happy! Although the Netherlands isn’t the top beach destination in the world, there are plenty of activities for this very warm weekend!

• Strand
  There are plenty of beaches in the Netherlands to spend the weekend in. The most common one is Scheveningen but there are plenty more beaches to enjoy the sun and take a dip in the water.
• Vijvers en rivieren
  Although the central and eastern parts of the Netherlands have no sea, there are plenty of lakes and rivers where you can swim in. In Roermond, I have been to a lounge by a lake and it almost feels like the beach. Perhaps this can be something to repeat this Saturday!
• Strand volleyball
  The Netherlands is hosting the  Beach Volleyball World Championships. Some of the host cities are Den Hague, Amsterdam and Rotterdam and the games are open to the public (with a ticket, of course). The finals will be this coming Sunday.

Beach Volleyball (photo by David van der Mark taken from Flickr.com)

While the heat is a nice relieve from the cool weather, a heatwave in the Netherlands is just as dangerous as anywhere else. The following video talks about the dangers of overheating and what to do to prevent it.

Where do you like to go when the temperatures get very warm? What do you do to prevent overheating?

Related Vocabulary:

de hittegolf- heatwave
de warmte- heat
de uitdroging- dehydration
de tropische temperaturen– tropical temperatures
het Nationaal Hitteplan– National Heat Plan which is the plan with rules and suggestions to follow during a heatwave, especially with at-risk populations
de transpiratie– sweat/transpiration
de schaduw– shade
de opwarming– warming up