Europe remained in the grip of the Best from the East on Friday as temperatures continued to hover below freezing and snow fell across the continent.
Making the most of the bad weather, families in Amsterdam – where the temperature was -1C on Friday – decided skate down the city’s frozen canals.
Dozens of men, women and children strapped on their blades and glided along the Prinsengracht canal on Friday, with people even taking their dogs out over the frozen water.
Water authorities imposed a ban on boats on some of the city’s canals this week and closed locks and sluices to help the ice develop.
Skaters in Amsterdam are making the most of the cold weather in Europe by taking to the surface of the Prinsengracht on Friday as temperatures in the city remained below freezing
Dozens of people decided to wander out on the canal, with some even taking their pets for a walk out over the ice
City water authorities had banned boats from some parts of the canals and closed sluice gates in the hope of making the ice thick enough for people to enjoy
While the Netherlands has escaped the worst of the snow that brought parts of Europe to a standstill this week, temperatures have not risen much above freezing this week
While the ice was thick enough in the middle of the canal for skating, people were told to avoid the edges, where holes remain
Ice bird: A kingfisher was spotted frozen solid in a ditch just north of Amsterdam on Thursday
Unlucky bird: The bird, which dives into water to fish, may have dived into a hole in the ice and not been able to find its way out, or a hole it used to get in and out froze over
A skater in nearby Oostzaan, just north of Amsterdam, made a heartbreaking discovery in the ice – a bird frozen solid in the ice.
Christoph van Ingen discovered the bird while ice-skating in a wide ditch on Thursday as the temperatures in the region had hit -8C.
He explains: ‘I found the bird while I was skating. I saw something blue under the ice and stopped skating. Then I took the photos.’
It is thought the kingfisher might have dived into the water through a hole in the ice to catch a fish, but may have not been able to find its way out, or the hole quickly froze over.
Meanwhile swimmers in Dortmund, where the temperature was also below freezing on Friday, took a dip in an icy outdoor pool.
People in Dortmund also decided to take to the water on Friday, though rather than going over they decided to go under with a very chilly dip in an outdoor pool
The bathers broke a hole in the ice of a public pool near the Borussia Dortmund stadium before plunging into the cold waters
Swimmers – including one in a Borat mankini – scramble to get back out of the water after a brief dip in Dortmund
Northern Italy was still being blanketed with snow on Friday as public transport struggled to cope with the cold weather (pictured, a tram running through Milan)
One creature enjoying the cold weather in Milan was this dog, who enjoyed chasing a ball around The Indro Montanelli Garden near Porta Venezia
Further south snow continued to fall across northern Italy with Milan, Florence, Bologna and Parma all given a coating of flakes on Friday.
Trucks and cars were also pictured stuck near the tollgate of the Melegnano motorway, a few miles south of Milan, after icy conditions caused highways to shut across the region.
On Thursday one in two trains were cancelled across the north, with the government blaming poor planning by the rail companies for the disruption.
Schools were also cancelled in Florence, while the usually sun-drenched hills of Tuscany were coated with a thick blanket of snow.
While Germany has escaped the worst of the snow, temperatures remain punishingly low with the town of Barth, along the Baltic Sea, reaching a low of -17.5C overnight.
A woman walks through the The Indro Montanelli Garden as northern Italy continues to shiver under a blast of Siberian air
Tourists take selfies as snow falls in Duomo Square in Milan on Friday
A Eurasian coot spreads its wings as it walks over the partly frozen Spree river in Berlin
A tractor removes snow at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland
A visitor to the United Nations headquarters in Geneva stops to take a picture of the wintry scene on Friday
A statue outside the United Nations is covered in snow on Friday
Relief is set to come over the weekend, however, with the south and west due to see the mercury above freezing.
Even the typically winter-hardened nations of Sweden and Denmark were suffering with the severity of the weather, with the Swedish government warning against all-but essential road travel.
Meanwhile in Denmark authorities warned people not to walk out on to frozen lakes and rivers after a 12-year-old wandered on to the ice in North Jutland.
While the girl managed to make it back to shore safely, it comes after a seven-year-old boy plunged through the ice in Copenhagen and had to be rescued.
Cars and trucks stationary near the tollgate of Melegnano at the entrance of the A1 motorway in Melegnano, northern Italy
Italy struggled to cope with the ice and snow on Friday with 50 per cent of trains cancelled and roads closed
A gritter covers the road near Bologna in salt after the motorway was forced to close due to ice
Migrants clear snow from a pavement close to Porta Venezia in Milan