Swimmers’ Dutch courage for New Year’s dip

What did you do on the first day of 2011?

Well, whatever it was, you would certainly have needed some Dutch courage to join 10,000 or so swimmers near the Hague in the Netherlands.

Their first day dive into the North Sea has been going since the 1960s after some local swimmers, started the tradition. This year, there were doubts about whether the annual event would go ahead because of the freezing conditions, but in the end the water temperature was apparently a bearable 4 degrees Celsius!

But it is not just the Dutch who feel the urge for a dip on New Year’s Day. In Portugal, they were also at it, not before a dance and a bite to eat first, of course. While many might think it is the time to sleep off the excess from the night before, one dedicated bunch near Lisbon were determined to get at least their feet wet.

Not to be outdone, around 50 brave swimmers in Slovenia jumped into the sea on the country’s Mediterranean coast. Organisers said the temperature was a respectable lukewarm 10 degrees Celsius.

But this year’s award for daring has to go to Germany where even the brass monkeys were wincing when Berlin bathers took a New Year’s Day dip. Apparently, it is good for the health.

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