Koninginnedag!

Like I told you yesterday, I spend most of my Monday celebrating Koninginnedag! I came across this description of Koninginnedag and it actually says it all:

Queen's Day
Queen's Day (Koninginnedag) is the royal birthday bash. It is celebrated 30th April (birthday of Queen Juliana) when there is some chance of dry weather, since the ruling monarch's (Queen Beatrix) true birthday is in January when the weather is guaranteed to be inclement. Many cities turn into a large flea market for the occasion. The Dutch save up their old junk and try desperately to sell it tax-free on this day. There are infinite street stalls, selling all types of food and beverage, spread throughout the town centre. In larger cities, the crowds are unbearable and at
times unruly. An atmosphere of orange (the royal colour) prevails as many celebrators dress in orange-coloured clothing and wear silly hats. There are parades, live bands and other forms of public entertainment. All in all it is definitely an occasion to be experienced ... once. (http://www.volkskrantblog.nl/bericht/89420)

Above they mention some chance of dry weather. Well, we had that; it was another glorious day. I say another, because we’ve been having summery days for quite some time now. It actually feels like we just skipped winter and spring all together and jumped right into summer. The temperatures jumped from 12 to 25º C in just a matter of days. Downside though, we're experiencing some drought! I can’t even remember the last rainy day, but according to the internet it was March, 22. Anyway, there was nothing but blue skies, yesterday.

I also told you earlier, I was going to the free market or flea market but I ended up seeing more gigs then junk (although some bands can be trash too).

The first band I saw is called the Amazing Stroopwafels. I’ve seen them a gazillion times already, because there simply is no avoiding them. They are everywhere! No, they are not, but they always get an invite when there is some sort of celebration here, so it just feels like they are everywhere. So, I watched for a couple of minutes and then moved on. Maybe I shouldn’t have because I stumbled upon this little scene.

You can’t actually see them, but it’s the Baden Powell band (you guessed it… a scouting band). I was actually a bit mesmerized by the guy standing in front of them. He just looked like one of those evil drill sergeants. I felt quite relieved when they eventually marched off.To be honest, not because I was that impressed by the guy, but because another band called K-bam could start their performance.

(front)

(back)It’s just an average cover band but fun was had by everyone, young or old, average folks, skater dudes & dudettes and even bikers.

On one of their breaks I went to see another band called Pluis & de Struikrovers (Pluis & the Highwaymen). Sound like a cute name, but they are actually a bit of a metal band. Not really my thing, but I just had to take a picture of the lead singer, not sure why though ;)

On my way back to K-bam I spotted this Queen (it’s not extremely visible, but she’s wearing a little crown) and her King.

This was all I saw from the free market, piles of left-over junk nobody wants.

Or did I just make a mistake there. Apparently people do want left-over junk just as long as it’s for free (must be a Dutch thing ;))

(another pile of left-overs)

Anyway it had a lovely Monday, I hope yours was quite enjoyable too :)