Last weekend was Queens Day (Koninginnedag) celebrating the Netherland’s Queen’s birthday. We went to Amsterdam, which has a particularly big party with free concerts all over and a city-wide garage sale. We had a great time wandering around taking photos of the party-goers.
We had a weird experience taking photos. When people noticed us shooting their direction, they rushed over and asked where they’ll be posted. I kept expecting them to demand that they’re deleted, like I’ve experienced in the US, but they just wanted my website. We probably had 10 different groups ask for our info. I wonder if any will actually check it out.
The crowds were huge and all decked out in orange. In this photo, I turned off all other colors, so you can see just how much orange there was. It was a great time, with everyone hugging, drinking, and dancing in the street. I’ve never seen a big celebration like this in the US before.
Also, you may have heard in the news about the car crash/attack on the Queen. Several friends and family were worried when we didn’t come home that night and update our Facebook statuses – more about our surprise overnight in the next blog post. Anyway, they were concerned that we might have been hurt in the event, but we actually weren’t even in the same city. We saw it on Twitter during our train ride there, but weren’t concerned because it was 80km away. Sorry to worry y’all.
The rest of our photos are posted on Flickr:
- Queens Day 2009 – Amsterdam (85 photos)
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Looks like a fun celebration! You got some great shots!
i hope you wore orange!!
it is crazy isnt it?
looks like a lot of fun.
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The last photo here is so great. It looks like you’ve set it up. All the black and whites and oranges.
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Yep, Europeans know how to throw a festival. In 6 months I went to an Onion Fest Bern, the Love Parade Berlin, and a Techno Parade in Zurich (and Oktoberfest, of course). All crazy people on the streets. Same with the Christmas markets and New Years. Maybe its the tiny living spaces, but people definitely love to party on the streets. Wish we had that sense of community here. Maybe if our cities were more packed together or public transit more common.. i dunno~~~
love the orange of your photos.
Summer is festival time around here, so both Belgium and the Netherlands party for most of the summer. The Dutch are so much more nationalistic than the Belgians though…it’d be easier on the eyes if the royal family’s last name was Mauve or Taupe instead of Orange.
Awe, good memories! Glad you guys had a fun time! Loved all the orange photos!
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Wow, it sounds amazing! DId you get anything at the city-wide garage sale? See any great bands? I love the fact that everyone wanted to know your blog and wanted their pictures posted!
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That is really interesting to learn… about them wanting to know where the pictures would post. I love how small children are digital savvy and always ask to see their picture in the camera… such a new way from what we grew up with!
I wonder what festivals we might have the chance to enjoy…