Queen's Day
From the moment I arrived in Amsterdam, people were talking about how great Queen’s Day is. “A must” natives proclaimed. Horrified that I might miss “the best day in Amsterdam” due to vacation, I regularly had to assure people that I was leaving the day AFTER Queen’s Day.
They said it was a city wide festival which was fun… I had no idea what I was going to experience when I woke up on Queen’s Day.
It is a combination of Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day, City wide yard sale, and American Idol. The people of Holland don the country color of orange and put those Tennessee fans to shame.
The day begins at a decent hour where I spent most of the morning perusing the streets of Jordan part in awe and part in shock at some of the things I was seeing. This is the only day where you are able to sell anything and no license is required; believe me these people sell anything! Nicely displayed in front of their canal homes one can
find a wealth of vintage treasures or as some call it, junk in hopes to make a profit or at least pay for the drinks during the evening. The streets turn into markets, the canals turn into an avenue for booze cruises, and the corners turn into opportunities for the next big star. I witnessed break dancing, clogging, tap dancing, and singing for all age ranges.
They said it was a city wide festival which was fun… I had no idea what I was going to experience when I woke up on Queen’s Day.
It is a combination of Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day, City wide yard sale, and American Idol. The people of Holland don the country color of orange and put those Tennessee fans to shame.
The day begins at a decent hour where I spent most of the morning perusing the streets of Jordan part in awe and part in shock at some of the things I was seeing. This is the only day where you are able to sell anything and no license is required; believe me these people sell anything! Nicely displayed in front of their canal homes one can
find a wealth of vintage treasures or as some call it, junk in hopes to make a profit or at least pay for the drinks during the evening. The streets turn into markets, the canals turn into an avenue for booze cruises, and the corners turn into opportunities for the next big star. I witnessed break dancing, clogging, tap dancing, and singing for all age ranges.
The day turned into the afternoon which brought on more of the drinking. Having not really “experienced Amsterdam” up to this point – I was in for a shock! Ingmar as my tour guide and his friend Paul as his accomplice we managed to make friends with a whole block of people while enjoying the live music and the drinks kept flowing. The afternoon turned into night which brought on the dj and in typical Julie fashion a few falls on the dance floor; not mention a few stellar moves as well. The rest of the evening is blur however I do remember seriously enjoying some street food and somehow managing to unlock my front door and stumble to bed!
Despite my level of intoxication, one thing is for sure I will be marking my calendar for Queen’s Day 2008 (April 20th) yes it is a Tuesday however I have been assured that no matter the day of the week every year is the same. And if 2008 is anything like 2007, a good time will be had by all.
posted by Julie @ 12:14 PM
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