Koniningingdag?...Koenigdag?...let's just say: Queen's Day

Fri, 04 May 2007 19:54:29 GMT

A personal post, this.

I just have to say, I have just had a brilliant very long weekend in the Netherlands, where on the 30th April they were celebrating, koninginnedag, or as we say in English, "Queen's Day".

I've uploaded a few of the 50 odd photos I took at the weekend to my photo album here on the blog.

I have to say, I absolutely adore Amsterdam - this was my third time over in Amsterdam and every visit I love it more. The people there are great, so friendly and welcoming, even when its clear your Dutch is more like Double Dutch! I also have to say, as a red blooded male, the ladies there are WOW - the Dutch ladies are beautiful!

The Queen's Day party seemed to go on for at least 3 days and nights - from the band we saw in Nieuwmarkt on the Saturday to Koninginnenacht (the night before Queen's Day) where there were frantic parties going on all over the place to a wander through Vondelpark early on the day itself seeing the many stalls where people were selling their goods and children played instruments and sung and danced to raise money (all street trade is allowed just on that day and, so I heard, in Vondelpark is restricted to stalls run by children - except the adults usually are there just to keep an eye on them and run a fair few of the stalls!). After Vondelpark, me and my friends I was staying with wandered off to the hectic party in Leidseplein, got some food, and then eventually headed off to the massive party with a crowd of 80,000 on the museumplein. That party went on till 10pm - unfortunately I didn't stay till the end because the wife of the couple I was staying with had to work and frankly, I was already sunburnt to a crisp!

I have to say, I had an amazing time and it was more fun in such a relaxed, stressless environment than I've had in some time. So, thank you Amsterdam, for a wonderful, wonderful party, a wonderful place and I hope I'll be back soon!

And I still can't pronounce "koninginnedag"...

In-Cider Knowledge: Travel

Koniningingdag?...Koenigdag?...let's just say: Queen's Day