Quirky Queen’s Day
Queen’s day: Koninginnedag is a national holiday here in Holland, celebrated on April 30th in honor of Queen Juliana’s birthday (the current queen’s mother). The party begins the night before on Queen’s night with big parties specifically in Den Hague, featuring a full line up of bands and entertainment going well into the night. Queen’s day is filled with a weird mix of activities, everyone is allowed to sell stuff on the streets, so the country wakes up early to treasure hunt in this nation wide “yard sale”, the day also includes a parade where the queen makes an appearance. There is also carnivals with rides, candy, music, food stands and in the bigger cities there is also a number of open air concerts, featuring bands and DJs, oh and one last thing, the city is a sea of orange with people dressed up in honor of the House of Orange! We had an amazing day, we dressed up for the occasion and tried to blend in and keep up with the locals. The dutch know how to party! Seeing a country’s national pride is something special, I’ve never seen so many people out in the streets, you could really feel the “togetherness” that is the essences of this day. Here are a few snapshots!
