Queen's Day in Amsterdam

“Are you seriously going to Amsterdam on Queen's Day??? Good luck surviving it.”
This was the general response we got whenever we told people that we're going to go to Amsterdam on Queen's Day. But, nothing could discourage us from spending this historical day in the capital.

We left Kruiningen VERY VERY early in the morning because someone (read: our fellow Dutch volunteer Marc) told us that if we don’t take the first train, we won’t be able to get into Amsterdam.  However, the train was almost empty and, of course, Marc had to take jokes about this the whole day. 

Article in PZC (center picture)

A journalist from PZC was also on the train looking for people who were going to Amsterdam to find out why they decided to spend this day there, what they think about the royal family, how important the Queen’s day is for them and so on.  Since there weren’t that many people in the train, eventually she found us, and the next day – we were in the newspaper! 

After arriving in Amsterdam, we immediately went to Dam Square. A big crowd was already there. After less than an hour, the abdication was broadcasted on two big video walls. After that, the royal family came out on the balcony to greet their loyal subjects. After some ten minutes of royal hand waving they went back inside to continue with the formal ceremonies and Amsterdam turned into one huge party. We decided to visit the flea market in Vondel Park first. 

Now, that was one unique experience. Seems like this was the best day to sell any kind of junk you had stored in your house; most of it was just old clothes and shoes, but also jewelry, video games, DVDs… But, there were also some less conventional attempts to make money. There were people to whom you paid certain amount of money; they would give you a box of eggs, put safety goggles on and it was up to you to aim and throw. Also, parents whose children had any kind of talent brought them there to sing, dance, paint…you name it.

After that, we walked to the Museumsplein, and then back to the center, trying to find a party with the kind of music we like.

It’s really difficult to explain the atmosphere of this day. I have never experienced something like this in Croatia, except maybe only after we win during some football championships.

Klara, Croatia