Term III in Amsterdam: Queen's Day!

Anyone thinking of going to Amsterdam, must be there for the Queen's Day celebrations! The only way to get close to explaining this country wide celebration is if you mix New Years Eve in Time Square, the 4th of July, all the Super Bowl and World Series parties and parades, get everyone super drunk, put them in crazy neon orange outfits, and let them loose of the streets of Amsterdam (and then maybe times that by 10). The partying starts Friday night (Queen's Night) and goes well into the night and early morning, then starts back up at about 10am Saturday morning and goes all day. While Queen's Day is celebrating the birthday of a Queen, it is the birthday of the previous queen, not the current one, which doesn't make much sense. It seems to be more of an excuse to dress crazy and get really drunk with millions of other people on the streets of the city.

While crowds that put NYC to shame, pot smoke, and really drunk people may not be my scene, it is definitely something that everyone should experience and something I will never forget. Friday night we wandered the streets, sampled some local bars (including an Irish pub so I was able to have a pint of Murphy's - pure heaven and missed dearly for the past year), and people watched as some of the crazy outfits started to appear. Yet Friday was nothing compared to Saturday. By 11am most of the city was drunk and wearing the most interesting things I have ever seen- all in neon orange (the color of the queen). These included orange one-piece jumpsuits, Umpa-Lumpas in full costumes, many different types of drinking hats, etc. We of course had to keep up with the locals donning feather boas, indian chief headdresses, furry leg warmers, giant glasses, crowns and bows, etc.- all of course, in orange. There was alcohol and music everywhere. Another part of Queen's Day is the venders and street tables selling absolutely everything. It is literally a city wide garage sale, with everyone, including children, selling new and used items. Exhausted by 5pm, we made our way home, but I will never forget this amazing cultural experience. It was absolutely worth the initial culture shock and sore feet and I recommend it to everyone!