Queen's Day

There was no traveling this weekend, and that's because it was one of the biggest holidays in the Netherlands - Queen's Day. Before the day came I kept hearing about how crazy it was, but didn't really know what to expect. Turns out that everyone's descriptions weren't exaggerations and it was a pretty crazy day.

Joining me for the weekend were Job (who's here for a week), Becky, Venkat and Venkat's friend from work David. Together we had a nice American (and Australian) contingent for the Dutch holiday. We started out the weekend by going out Friday night once Venkat and David got it. There were already people everywhere and some stages set up with DJs and music playing, but it proved to be nothing compared to the scene on Saturday. On Saturday it seemed like every street was packed with orange-clad people. Roads were closed, beer and food was being served everywhere, and there seemed to be a stage with a band or a DJ every 100 meters. It was really amazing how many people there were - it seemed every single square was packed shoulder-to-shoulder and most streets were crowded if not packed to the same extent.

The group sets out for the day, appropriately clothed

Heinekenplein - one of many squares with a stage and packed with people

And more people...

We walked around to all the main squares and each was more of the same. Music blasting and tons of people (mostly dressed in bright orange) packed in a big mob. Museumplein had a huge stage, much bigger than the rest, and thousands of people. The other crazy thing was the canals - there were boats filled with people everywhere, and at one point the canal was so packed with boats that it almost just looked like a paved street with people standing on it it was so crowded.

big stage at Museumplein

Orange people all over the Iamsterdam sign

crowded canal...

and an absurdly crowded canal

After a day full of walking around, eating and drinking we came back and crashed for a bit. Then, once we were recharged we went back out for the night. It seemed rather calm after the crazy day (I think everyone was probably passed out), but there was still a good crowd out that night. On Sunday it was weird to walk outside and have it be so peaceful after the chaos of Saturday. The only thing left over was some of the trash from the day before. Quite the experience, and definitely some good Amsterdam memories made this weekend.